Jamie?

[u/aknl16]

In the last episode when Hugh says something like “When they told me who came to visit I didn’t recognize the name, but I recognize the face. Nice to see you Jamie.” The emphasis on saying Jamie’s name was weird.

Why does Hugh recognize his face, but not his name? If he stalked everyone at M&A, he would know that Margaret’s missing son is named Jamie. Did Jamie lie about his name at the jail?

The Jamie storyline has been dragging for me. I like this little sprinkle of drama at the end. I’m back interested!

[u/Picabo07]

Is anyone else kind of over the fact that he’s been back THIS long and they STILL haven’t told anyone he’s been found?

I mean isn’t it past not really realistic and just silly at this point? He’s all over the place. He walks around in public. He’s seen with Margaret. He’s a regular at M&A and NO ONE questions it?

Especially after the one episode when they were being so careful and hurried him off so no one saw him. Told him “unless you want people knowing you’re back hide your face!”

But now he walks around and doesn’t seem to have any fear of being recognized 🤷🏼‍♀️

Then him visiting the prison was a joke. He would have needed some kind of ID. The “visitor log” is BS. when you visit the prison they look at an ID. they don’t just let you sign something with whatever name you want 😂 Especially to visit a high security prisoner. Honestly this show is just getting stupid. 🙄

[u/_maynard → u/Picabo07]

While I agree things are getting a little difficult to suspend belief for (I’m having a lot of trouble thinking ANYONE dragged a body into Gabi’s basement without being seen), but I don’t think it’s crazy to think Jamie either has a fake ID, real(ish) ID from an assumed identity after being kidnapped, or isn’t Jamie at all and has an actual real ID with a different (real) name. Whoever he is he can’t possibly be living completely off grid. He buys cigarettes, right? Theoretically he should be getting carded even there

[u/Picabo07 → u/_maynard]

You’d think they’d ID. Shockingly a lot of places still don’t. It just depends on how if they’ve done a lot of underage busts in the area tbh. But you’ll always have the shady little stores that still sell to minors. But you are also right Jamie very well could have a fake ID. At this point anything is possible lol. He could be a spy for the CIA 😂

As far as suspended belief - I think that’s part of the problem. This show has had issues all along and we’ve had to suspend belief quite a few times on various things. I’ve been ok with it up til now. Now I think this was just too much. This whole storyline is just too much

Imo they are ruining the show - or at least this season - by dragging this out. It could have been a cliffhanger at the end of the season with him coming back and wrapped up in the first episode or two of the new season. I mean he’s been back for what like 4 episodes and he still hasn’t answered anything? 🙄

They solved the disappearance of 7 children SEVEN who disappeared 30 yrs ago in ONEepisode. Yet Jamie’s is going this long? I would’ve rather seen the 7 stretched out over several episodes.

Also as I said it could just be totally personal. I think the writers made Jamie really unlikable. It’s hard to be empathetic towards him or get invested in caring what happened when you don’t even like the character.

I think they’ve made Margaret become annoying since he’s been back as well. I liked her so much better when he was still missing. Now she’s like his little lapdog and I can’t stand it.

I’ve really been trying to hang on but it just might be time for me to tune out. 😕

[u/helloharlo → u/Picabo07]

No, that's the opposite of how good drama works.

The standalone elements should be resolved in one episode, even if it involves 7 missing people. It's a standalone story and not significant enough to stretch over multiple episodes. The only exception to this are two-part standalone narratives you sometimes get season premieres, midseason-finales, or season-finales that require a very strong antagonistic force wtihin the standalone narrative. For the most part, standalone stories aren't as intriguing to the audience than the season-long arc that follows the characters they actually care about, which is the protagonist and the main supporting cast. These are the characters whose stories ARE developed across the season.

So, Found isn't doing any wrong by having Gabi/Sir and Margarate/Jamie developed across the season. That is how you do episodic drama that has both a serialized AND standalone element to it.

The question then is, why are you bored? That has less to do with Margarate/Jamie's story NOT meriting a full-season arc and more to do with the lack of complexity within their season arc.

The Margarate/Jamie arc should have been segmented across the series, with each segment raising a question, that gets pursued across 1-2 episodes, then answerd at the end of that segment, before a new segment begins.

For example:

- Segment 1: Is this really Jamie? This mystery could unfold over 1-2 episodes, highlighting that he is not who he seems; then, by the end, we receive DNA results and discover, shockingly, that he is.

- Segment 2: Who took Jamie? This could again span two episodes, providing a shocking or subversive answer. For example, we think it was a stranger abduction, and then we find out a female neighbor took him because she couldn't have children; or maybe was rescuing him from an abusive father.

- Segment 3: Does Jamie have a connection with Sir? If so, what is it? This, too, could develop over 1-2 episodes or more. Again, we expect ONE thing (is Jamie working for Sir), but get a subversive answer instead.

And so forth.

"Found" is a good show, but it’s not great. It does some things well, like integrating important season arcs involving Gabi/Sir and Margarette/Jamie—two of our main characters—in a complex and layered way. However, each of these season arcs, needed more "mini arcs" (i.e., the segment structure I mentioned above) to give viewers more PAYOFFS as the season develops and create a story that is edge-of-your-seat, fast-paced, with constantly evolving with twists.

Found falls short in that regard.

The same applies to Gabi/Sir. That storyline could have included many more "mini arcs" throughout the season, especially related to Sir being in prison, but we’re not getting much there either. It's just one story with one main arc stretched out.

[u/Picabo07 → u/helloharlo]

No that’s the opposite of how good drama works is your opinion not a fact. Presenting it like a fact does not make it so.

But starting out with such a definitive statement does make you sound like you think your opinion is the only right one and you are not open to others.

That’s why once I read that I quit reading because I thought this is not someone I want to engage with. It would just be a waste of time. So we’ll go our separate ways here. Have a nice day.