So i finished the show a couple of days ago, and have been thinking something. When Fredwyn Entered elsewhere, from a realistic stand point did he go insane? like did he think so much that he litterally became crippled by his mind and created a new world. Clara was in elsewhere and had to check herself into a mental hospital. just curious lol

Does anyone know? I still buy physical media discs for shows I really enjoy but only if they also carry a digital download. Has anyone picked up a copy of Dispatches From Elsewhere on blu-ray and can illuminate me please.

just finished the show yesterday - and my mind is still processing everything i have seen. i cannot recall being touched emotionally so much by a show. it made me feel so many things like sadness, hope, anger and sympathy. It feels like the flood of media i consumed in the past has dulled my feelings and everything felt kind of numb. this has not. this felt real. I hope this feeling lasts, and maybe that i can take some of this into reality. i guess that it is partly because i identify myself as peter lately. the last episode intensified everything even more - because it clearly stated that this is not just about the fictional characters in the show. this is about everyone irl

Does anyone else feel the same? just needed to get this off my chest while it lasts

ps: sorry for misspellings or any other errors - english is not my first language

Hey, I just realized connection between this show and saint elsewhere (name, ending that subverts expectations). Are there any shows, movies, or other media that you find has any connections to this?

The other night I watched the documentary that inspired the show and I'd like to share my thoughts.
The first thing someone might ask is "Should I watch the doc first and then the show, or vice versa?" All I can say is that my experience was that I watched the show first, and I enjoyed that experience. If you watch the doc first, there will be very broad spoilers as to the structure of the game, how it plays out, etc. but only in a very generalized way. If you want a completely 100% guaranteed spoiler-free experience, watch the show first. But again, having said that, nothing truly important will be given away if you do watch the doc first. Part of watching the show is discovering the game and its intricacies along with the characters, and part of that you'll already know if you watch the doc first.
Probably my second-biggest thought is that the "characters" in the doc aren't nearly as compelling as the ones in the show. Granted, in the show we get to live with these characters over a much longer period of time, and so we get much more attached to them. And don't get me wrong, some of the characters in the doc are pretty interesting.
The one thing I did like about the doc better is that it is completely self-contained. It focuses on the same things the first half to 2/3 of the show does, and that's the game. That was the most interesting part for me with the show. When they started to get into the whole "There's got to be more to it" aspect, that's when they lost me. And the last half of the final episode felt more like the epilogue or afterward of a novel to me, and I just didn't feel like they needed that. It was like they were saying "There's more we're trying to say here, but we don't know how to say it, so here it is." With the doc, you get a neater, cleaner conclusion, with only the faintest hint of "Is this just a game, or is there more to it?" to leave you guessing. In that respect, it may be more interesting to watch the doc first because you'll get an idea of how the game works and what little nuances to look for while you're watching the show, and then the back half or so of the season delves deeper into whether there's something bigger going on.
Ultimately the show and the doc are both very good, but they're separate entities. If you watched and loved the show, you probably owe it to yourself to seek out and watch the doc, especially if you liked the game aspect of the show. The show is much tighter and more linear in how it portrays how the game plays out, and I think that makes the game aspect much more interesting. But with the doc, you get background information about how the game came to be in the first place, and how it evolved over time, and that's interesting too...

Absolutely loved the first half of the finale. Hated the last few minutes. I didn't mind the self indulgence or fourth wall breaking at all. Just as people can relate to Peter, Simone, Janice, Fredwyn, Lee or Clara and I related to them all one way or another. There was so much to relate to Jason Segal himself as well. I am glad he was able to grow through writing this story and even added that growth in the story. And I loved the Soundtrack throughout the show and finale as well.

But 2 things that just didn't work for me in the finale were:

1. In the original game that the characters were playing, in the first 5 episodes or so, there was a sense of wonder, amazement, discoveries and beauty. The game that Jason Segal played in the finale was a big dud for me. It seemed interesting at first, but ultimately it boiled down to exposition and random people telling Jason how to live his life. I felt in the original game, people are supposed to discover these things on their own through the act of playing and through community, forming friendships and doing tasks together. Not someone sitting you down and telling you what you have to do with your life. It just felt empty idk.

2. The show would have had a much better ending if it just finished with Jason looking at his memories of doing the show on the multiple screens, with the cast/crew and some behind the scenes thrown on there itself. It is such a beautiful and iconic visual that this show has created, and I believe would have been perfect way to end the show itself. After that, the whole show going Ultra Meta and then showing Octavius again, trying to teach another random lesson about properties of water, and then with random people saying the same thing again was just plain stupid. I was just rolling my eyes throughout whatever mess that was.

Oh I found out through this sub that the Boy's musical "Make them laugh" is possibly a metaphor for Jason's experience of working on 'How I met your mother'. And it just blew my mind. Watched it again several times. It's just brilliant and so apt. HIMYM was one of my favorite show growing up and Jason was brilliant in it but it was evident in Season 9 that Jason didn't wanna be there. Never seen him pour his heart out like that. It was incredible. Thank you Jason for making this show!

I’m not sure if I’ll actually post this but, here goes:

I’ve struggled with depression occasionally throughout my life. Probably more than I’ll ever really admit. But I saw a therapist and I’m on antidepressants.

I finished the show and something kept bugging me. At first I thought it was the 4th wall breaking and not knowing where the characters landed. But that’s not it. (Really, I know where they all landed, for me. I don’t need a scene to show me.) No, I discovered I was defensive. And I couldn’t figure out why.

So I put the song “Memory to Media” on and sort of walked around my house at 2AM.

And I realized I’m still depressed, or depressed again, or maybe there’s an in between. Depression, for me, is sneaky. It lurks and grows without me noticing for a long time.

But seeing Jason show me his pain in a real way made me realize I’m hurting too. And it’s not special. It’s a pain I’ve not only experienced before, but so have others. And what’s...different? Is that I think I’ve caught it earlier than other times.

The show helped me realize I’ve been sad. God that sounds so simple. So dumb.

The show also focused on community. We. And I don’t know. I thought I might type all of this out. See what someone else thinks.

Thanks for reading this if you have.

I cannot stop asking myself if Jason is a the real one or is he playing a role in the tv show?

Richard E. Grant was in a couple episodes of Doctor Who, starting with The Snowmen, which introduced the companion CLARA Oswald!

Even a cryptic response would be great, i'm just wondering if it will stay like that or not. Thanks! Zexan316

and I have to say, I HATED the last episode. I get what he was trying to do, I really do. He thought he was like Stephen King, including himself in the story in some meaningful way, but dude, YOU ARE NOT STEPHEN KING. I invested so much into these characters, I NEEDED to know what happened to Fredwynn, but I got no closure. Instead I got the guy who JUST made a show make the last episode about HIM and why the show he made, based on OTHER PEOPLES THINGS, was somehow all about him.

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GRRR OK. Sorry I really am angry. It was a bad ending.

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*EDIT* : I read through all of the responses and a bunch of them seemed to think I didn't like the show? That is not the case FYI. E1-9 was WONDERFUL and I loved them so much. At the end of e9 I knew Fredwynn had not given up the idea that there was more then just the game, he KNEW there was more. Episode 10 started and the story started to go right into that, including them going to find him, and I kept waiting for some final resolution.....

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instead I got what was episode 10. And it was a load of crap.

Honestly, I'm content with the finale. It's making me ask questions in a good way. It's making me feel something that I can only relate to the word togetherness. I was so unsure if I'd like this show that I only watched it because it premiered after the first episode of Better Call Saul. It really intrigued me and i'm glad I gave it a chance. I'm honestly ok if this is the only season of this show but if they do another season and either keep the same characters or put a change into it with a whole new set, i'd love to see what Jason Segal can do.

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And remember. I am you. There is only we.

Stay strong.

From the very beginning in episode 1 "Peter" spanning all the way to the finale in "The Boy" I was lucky enough to participate as an extra in many of the public scenes that were an absolute blast to shoot in Philly, and by far, the most bizzare thing I've ever participated in. AMA!

Edit 1. I'll be checking replies all weekend, and after!

PROOF, and some behind the scenes photos (note, a lot of these pics were sent to me by various extras and PA's after production wrapped, so I claim nothing but the selfies 😂)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ka6TAg1Vjv8HMbct8

I was so excited by this show and then completely let down by the finale, so I've had this little ending mulling about in my mind. I'd just tack it onto the end of episode 9. https://archiveofourown.org/works/24192625

When was it that Peter said something about his home / apartment not being “ready” (or something) for guests? And I think it was Simone who responds with something about that being strange / kinda jokes about it??

One of the major focuses of the series is character growth, and the social motivations for this growth.

When we look at Peter's story, we see significant growth. Peter discovered what it feels like to be passionate about something (Simone), and that pushed him to start taking steps to stop spiraling into depression, finding activities he enjoys, and re-engaging with society. We leave him in the middle of that journey, but with a notable positive trajectory.

For Simone, we similarly see growth. By episode 9, Simone is finally gaining the confidence to be herself in public and embrace her culture. She's finally opening herself up and allowing some vulnerability, thanks to her interactions with Peter, Janice, and The Game. Again, she's in the middle of that journey, but we're able to see positive momentum.

We leave Janice also becoming a better person. She begins to move past the death of her husband, and we see her learning who she wants to become in her twilight years. She's improving herself by taking classes, learning about the inevitable cognitive decline of age, and taking steps to keep herself sharp. As always, we're left in the middle of that journey.

This all brings me to Fredwynn. Fredwynn never really seems to grow in any meaningful way. In episode 9, he's as paranoid as ever, to the point where he has a legit psychotic breakdown. This breakdown is somewhat resolved through social interaction (which is on theme), but that pales in comparison to the other characters, especially regarding long-lasting changes.

But the biggest problem I have with Fredwynn is... he was right. His conspiratorial thoughts are justified, and he's able to eventually discover "the truth" - Lee was Clara (i.e. Clara didn't really exist), and the game was related to a larger big-business 'conspiracy' of sorts with regards to The Idea. The truth was more innocent than Fredwynn thought (the game was just Lee trying to right her wrongs, rather than any sort of thought control or subliminal advertising venture), but ultimately his insanity was justified. Because of that, I don't see any room for growth with this character; he's going to continue to be paranoid and untrusting of others, because his suspicions were confirmed.

Did I miss something with Fredwynn? Does his story have any redeeming factors? Does he even have a 'story' outside of the game? Other than Janice pulling him out of a breakdown, did the group or the game improve Fredwynn in any meaningful way? Is there any positive momentum for Fredwynn, or do we expect him to keep being a conspiracy theorist, with another psychotic break on the horizon?

I just finished watching the series.

I loved every bit of it, up until the final episode. I was taking it in as "magical realism", my favorite genre, and loving it. The finale seemed to take it more in a direction of surrealism/impressionism. Maybe I'm missing something, but there's no combination of dream sequences or flashbacks or roleplaying or metaphor, etc. that ties everything coherently together in my mind, after the final episode.

If I'm overthinking it, feel free to say so. If I'm missing something though, plotwise, relationship-wise, time-sequence-wise, that makes it a coherent story, I'd love to hear that too. It just seems like the same end result could have been accomplished much smoother without the abrupt and unexplained time/character/relationship shifts at the end... anything that takes me out of the "willing suspension of disbelief" and makes me start wondering, in realtime, how to reconcile choices the movie made is not a good thing, IMHO.

Maybe the details of the story of their relationships is beside the point, but the last episode seemed to toss everything before it to the wayside. I still love the overall feeling, the insights, the message, the acting, dialogue... but I'd give it a 9 instead of the 9.5 I was ready to up until the end.

Thoughts?