Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams: The Commuter

October 2, 2017 8:14 AM - Season 1, Episode 3

Ed encounters a mysterious woman who sets him on a journey to a town that doesn't exist. Ed returns to find his life has changed for the better, but this gift has come at the ultimate cost.
posted by lmfsilva (5 comments total)

This was horrible and depressing and confusing and I didn't like it.

Just me ?
posted by Faintdreams at 11:31 AM on October 3, 2017

I liked the use of Poundbury aka Chuck's Folly
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:51 AM on October 15, 2017

This one was my favorite of the season so far. Timothy Spall was just amazing! And it really leaned on Dick’s favorite tropes, like the tenuousness of consensus reality, mental illness, and the “emotionally distant dark-haired woman” (as phrased by whir in the previous episode’s post). And like the previous episode, it had a bittersweet ending, in that Ed did right by his son, but his decision has guaranteed misery for himself, his wife, and his son in the future. But still, that was a genuine smile on Ed’s face at the end, not the fake one that he reflexively flashes at every human interaction.
posted by ejs at 8:42 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

man... what a headcase. i honestly put myself in his shoes and i still couldn't really decide. like, do you want that child to exist at the cost of everything he'll damage, including himself? but that love for your child is one of the strongest human bonds.

i both like and disliked that they didn't explain the "power" of the town. its origin is explored a little bit, but it's almost like magic. i guess that's fine.
posted by numaner at 8:43 PM on January 28, 2018

I wanted to like this one, but it felt pretty after-school special-ish. It leans hard on the choice Ed makes, but by making one reality true and one plastic and hollow and fake, there was no real choice from a storytelling perspective.
posted by nequalsone at 6:41 AM on May 23, 2018