Death and Other Details: Chilling

March 5, 2024 12:35 PM - Season 1, Episode 10

After discovering the true identity of Viktor Sams, Imogen must make a choice
posted by miss-lapin (13 comments total)

After calling that Hilde was likely Kira, the reddict fan sub for this show is very much not pleased with the finale. The show ends with what is likely intended to be a segue into the second season, but most people on the sub (myself included) have said that won't be tuning in. You can't tell viewers that a character is incredibly observant and attentive detail and then have her not recognize her own mother until being told "Imagine me with blue eyes." Also don't have a series where attention to detail is key and then have a character with a truly awful fake accent that no one notices. I mean, c'mon.

I'm also not thrilled with Imogen's character. Despite Anna's failings, she was a friend to Imogen-getting Imogen her favorite meal on the anniversary of her mother's death, getting her a job, and letting her get away with stealing from the company. And Imogen just...abandons her completely. I get why but even AFTER everything she asks Leila why she doesn't just divorce Anna? Like does it not occur her to that Leila might feel guilty just dumping her with everything that Anna's gone through? Sunil calls Imogen before going to trial and she's just like kthanxbye.

I'm annoyed I wasted my time on this.
posted by miss-lapin at 12:48 PM on March 5 [7 favorites]

Yeah, not going to be back for another season of this if there is one. I can't believe I stuck through the whole thing.
posted by synecdoche at 7:16 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]

I mean there was some silly fun, and I liked it more than A Murder At The End of The World, but the last two episodes holy hell. It seemed like the show could have found a way to have the stylishness of a Miss Fischer episode in a more modern setting. But they just dropped any pretense of anything making sense, which is kinda a big problem for a murder mystery show.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:40 PM on March 5 [5 favorites]

I feel sorry for the wall.

The one they threw everything at.
posted by dumbland at 9:07 PM on March 5 [4 favorites]

i was pissed they sank the boat. i mean, i know it wasn't REAL, but damn - that was pure evil. plus, y'know, the killing and all.
posted by lapolla at 2:37 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I didn't mind the ending TOO much, but it does feel like a lot of contrivances happened in service of a season two. A lot of events and character motivations were teetering on the cusp of perhaps being plausible, but would have needed some actual on-screen explanation to push them over. Some of them made no sense whatsoever, though.

Example: Why wasn't Imogen kinder/closer to Anna after all of this? Well, it's because Anna is an asset for 'Viktor Sams', so they can't be too close! But of course, Imogen doesn't/can't know this...! Why is Jules somehow working with international(?) law enforcement, despite a deep criminal history and a lot of work put into hiding from them ... meanwhile, Sunil is at home with an ankle monitor, awaiting trial...? Well, it's because these important characters need to be 'placed' for season two! I guess...? How did our squad of 'protagonists' convince the rescue ferries (sent by 'Viktor Sams') to allow them to load up with a bunch of servers (as evidence to prosecute the very same 'Viktor Sams') while human lives were at stake?

All that said, I liked the season as a whole and would probably watch a season two, though I don't have a lot of faith there will be one, and it'd have a LOT of explaining to do.
posted by destructive cactus at 6:39 AM on March 6

Also don't have a series where attention to detail is key and then have a character with a truly awful fake accent that no one notices.

The only thing that stopped me from considering that detail was that Mandy Potemkin had an equally bad fake Matt Berry British accent, which faded to almost American by the end of the series.

I enjoyed the silly fun though. What this came down to for me is that it was a dumb mystery with the trappings of a smart one, which told us almost every week how smart it was. It's like watching "Big Bang Theory" or "Frasier" -- shows about very smart people whose writers usually weren't up to the task.

If there's a Season 2 I'll go into it expecting a dumb mystery and I'll probably enjoy it. I watch a lot of dumb mysteries. (Thanks, Harlan Coben!)

My biggest pet peeve is that "VIKTOR SAMS" comes so close to being an anagram for "KIRA SCOTT". Well, KIRA SMOTVS...
posted by mmoncur at 12:29 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

"KIRA'S TV: MOS"

(MOS, hence getting away with the accents?)
posted by nobody at 4:00 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

It appears the next season is already being teased on insta.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:10 PM on March 9

After the preposterous previous episode, the finale was a little more bearable for me. I've got a LOT of problems with Kira but a team of Imogene, Jules, Leila, and Teddy would be really entertaining to watch for a second season.
posted by Ber at 8:33 AM on March 14 [1 favorite]

This was utter nonsense.

If the Colliers killed Kira (or believed they had killed Kira), why hire Cotesworth to investigate the murder?

If Celia and her husband worked for Collier Mills 50 years ago, the chemical was legal at the time. Yes, they continued using it after it was banned, but the timeline makes Celia useless as an informant.

If this is supposed to be a polemic against rich people, why are the protagonists hanging out at a ritzy Alpine ski lodge at the end?

What role did Cotesworth play in the series? He accomplished absolutely nothing, and was completely absent during the penultimate episode when the twist was revealed.

Why stage that ridiculous arrest scene at the end where all the other characters magically appear and recite their lines? Did they have to rehearse that ahead of time?

I will never get that time back.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:45 AM on March 21 [2 favorites]

I had a delay in finishing the last two episodes. Episode 9 was kind of dumb but still okay. I get wanting to try that twist, even if it wasn't the best execution.
Episode 10 was over so many times but it just kept going! I think if everyone had gone over to work with Viktor, I would be more excited about season 2.
posted by Acari at 6:28 AM on March 25 [1 favorite]

Cancelled.
posted by dumbland at 5:09 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]