The Old Man: IV
July 1, 2022 1:49 PM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Both Chase and Harper try to move forward with their plans, but their choices backfire.
I really like big chunks of this show and also dislike other big chunks. Lithgow and Bridges are matchless. I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of John Lithgow's career, but he's as good in this as anything else I've ever seen him do. Its like a mashup of Aaron Sorkin and Brian De Palma.
I can completely do without the backstory scenes. They almost have negative dramatic impact for me. Perhaps that's due to the difficulty of unknowns trying to match the star power of their characters' older selves, but it just doesn't work for me. Stallone was more convincing in Rambo that young Dan Chase is.
posted by hwestiii at 6:26 PM on July 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
I can completely do without the backstory scenes. They almost have negative dramatic impact for me. Perhaps that's due to the difficulty of unknowns trying to match the star power of their characters' older selves, but it just doesn't work for me. Stallone was more convincing in Rambo that young Dan Chase is.
posted by hwestiii at 6:26 PM on July 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
Agreed, hwestiii!
I appreciate backstory, but the pacing was a fail. I don't even mind subtitles.
Yeah, Amy Brenneman is super reliable and she's owning her Zoe role here.
posted by porpoise at 8:16 PM on July 1, 2022
I appreciate backstory, but the pacing was a fail. I don't even mind subtitles.
Yeah, Amy Brenneman is super reliable and she's owning her Zoe role here.
posted by porpoise at 8:16 PM on July 1, 2022
Yeah, the chupacabra scenes are not so great. OTOH I did like ghost Abbey talking to young Dave about how he was making a monster out of Hamzad, and how that would make them monsters, etc. That was fine.
Not a fan of the Skyler White Redux turn that's going on with Zoe now tho.
The Ligthgow/Maeby part of the story was really weak in this one. Way too much: "I want to speak to Mr Big." "You can't speak to Mr Big and that's final" "Well tell him I know about... the thing." "I hardly think that will interest him." "Do you want to be responsible if he doesn't hear about the thing?" "[Intimidated] I will ask him about the thing." etc.
Also a little hard to believe that the two assassin guys are working as orderlies or something, which seems like a 9-5 job, and then they just take vacations to be mega murder assassins anywhere in the country or world, and supposedly do meticulous prep? Also, Lithgow did try to warn him that this target was special and he was like, ":eyeroll: yeah they all say that," plus AFAICT his actual amount of preparation was fucking nothing, like not really super dramatic writing-number-down "is this conversation over" god tier assassin stuff. Can't tell if undercutting or just poorly thought out. The cherry on top is Lithgow is getting tipped about a mole for no reason really.
posted by fleacircus at 9:36 AM on July 2, 2022
Not a fan of the Skyler White Redux turn that's going on with Zoe now tho.
The Ligthgow/Maeby part of the story was really weak in this one. Way too much: "I want to speak to Mr Big." "You can't speak to Mr Big and that's final" "Well tell him I know about... the thing." "I hardly think that will interest him." "Do you want to be responsible if he doesn't hear about the thing?" "[Intimidated] I will ask him about the thing." etc.
Also a little hard to believe that the two assassin guys are working as orderlies or something, which seems like a 9-5 job, and then they just take vacations to be mega murder assassins anywhere in the country or world, and supposedly do meticulous prep? Also, Lithgow did try to warn him that this target was special and he was like, ":eyeroll: yeah they all say that," plus AFAICT his actual amount of preparation was fucking nothing, like not really super dramatic writing-number-down "is this conversation over" god tier assassin stuff. Can't tell if undercutting or just poorly thought out. The cherry on top is Lithgow is getting tipped about a mole for no reason really.
posted by fleacircus at 9:36 AM on July 2, 2022
The cherry on top is Lithgow is getting tipped about a mole for no reason really.
Especially when Lithgow knows that Chase was stopped by cops the night before. That's a very good reason for him to pack his bags the next morning and GTFO.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:50 PM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Especially when Lithgow knows that Chase was stopped by cops the night before. That's a very good reason for him to pack his bags the next morning and GTFO.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:50 PM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I really like that this show just seems to drop the viewer in, drop names and stories, and expects you to follow along.
posted by oldnumberseven at 2:31 AM on July 4, 2022
posted by oldnumberseven at 2:31 AM on July 4, 2022
I'm reading the book at the same time, and it's very disorienting. This series is *very* loosely based on the book. At least so far.
posted by nevercalm at 11:24 AM on July 4, 2022
posted by nevercalm at 11:24 AM on July 4, 2022
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Glad to see that both doggos survived. Harold definitely seems to be floundering--I think one thing I'm enjoying about this series is that too often, these are "stoic experienced agents who push their emotions underground to get the manly man jobs that they do done," but both Harold and [Dan] make all kinds of mistakes and flounder around because they do have these emotions and blind spots and desires that make their manly man espionage jobs difficult. (And I find myself connecting to Harold a lot more than I usually would because of his intense grief and where he finds himself right now, and his attachment to Angela/Emily.)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 2:02 PM on July 1, 2022 [2 favorites]