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Enlightened Season 2 |OT| Even agents of change get cancelled sometimes.

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Bladenic

Member
The fact that Krista didn't tell anyone makes me actually like her more. I felt like they kind of redeemed her. Of course she was about to pop when Amy told her, she may just not had the care for it. Regardless I can't wait to see where they go with the characters in S3.
 
I thought it felt like a series finale. Has a third season been confirmed ? I hope the two-episode-less season is not foreshadowing a bleak future for the show.
 
When Connie told Amy "I'll pray for you" and Amy responded with "Likewise", was she being sarcastic, just playing along, or sincere? Either of the three could be in-character in its own way, but the interpretation of the scene (along with Amy's considerable growth as a person compared to when we first met her, which she amply demonstrated at other points in this episode) changes significantly with her intention, so it left me wondering.
 
I loved the,

"You're the worst employee I've ever had."

"You're the worst boss I've ever had."

"Give me a call sometime."

Dougie is the man.
 

destrudo

Member
I loved the,

"You're the worst employee I've ever had."
"You're the worst boss I've ever had."
"Give me a call sometime."

Dougie is the man.

I laughed so hard at that part. So many nice touches throughout the episode.

It drives me crazy to think that this show may get cancelled. Is there anything we can do? lol
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
The fact that Krista didn't tell anyone makes me actually like her more. I felt like they kind of redeemed her.

Me too. I actually felt really bad for Krista, despite what she's acted like in the past. She really didn't deserve to be treated that way, though in Amy's mind she was the only one who could have spilled the beans. I felt like their relationship was pretty much mended in episode 7, but now I feel like it's been irreparably damaged. :(

It drives me crazy to think that this show may get cancelled. Is there anything we can do? lol

Spam HBO's twitter with RENEW ENLIGHTENED tweets. Call and tell them you'll cancel your subscription if they cancel Enlightened.
 
Spam HBO's twitter with RENEW ENLIGHTENED tweets. Call and tell them you'll cancel your subscription if they cancel Enlightened.

Every Enlightened viewer could cancel their subscription, even though we all know they won't, and it would feel like a mosquito bite to HBO.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
If it were to be renewed, I think we might have heard already.

Not necessarily. It took them forever to renew season 1.

Every Enlightened viewer could cancel their subscription, even though we all know they won't, and it would feel like a mosquito bite to HBO.

Maybe, but I feel like the threat of cancelling your subscription would make more of an impact than tweeting some hashtag or something.
 
Maybe, but I feel like the threat of cancelling your subscription would make more of an impact than tweeting some hashtag or something.

Oh sure, I just don't think either will have that much of an effect on HBO. I still hope it gets renewed, I just don't think we can really do anything to influence the decision unfortunately.
 

anaron

Member
NPR Fresh Air: Mike White On Creating HBO's 'Enlightened' Whistle-Blower


TIME/James Poniewozik - Enlightened Watch: This Beautiful, Upsetting World


Individually, there have been better episodes this season than “Agent of Change”; Enlightened’s episode order was cut from 10 to 8 episodes, and maybe as a result the ending of its corporate-thriller arc these last two episodes has felt a little rushed.

But it was deeply satisfying as an ending to a fantastic season’s story, and even more so as a restatement of the series’ themes of change and openness. The opening sequence, with the birth of Krista’s baby, is a pretty little tone poem, but it’s also something bigger. The perspective shift to the point of view of the newborn, seeing its mother’s overjoyed, exhausted face, feels like a visual mission statement for this show, which has always tried–sometimes in uncomfortable ways–to get us to see the world with fresh eyes.

Here’s hoping it gets to keep doing that. I can’t claim that HBO, any more than any other network, has a moral obligation to keep on the air a show whose ratings are in the six figures, and not the high six figures. But if Mike White has a pitch for another season, I think there’s a self-interested reason for HBO to keep it around. HBO needs hits, but it is also, to an extent, in the halo business. It cultivates a reputation as the network that creates beautiful things that no one else will and keeps them on the air when no one else would.

It does this not merely out of charity but because this is its identity; you know that HBO will take chances on producing amazing things, and people feel that they want to have HBO, even if they don’t watch everything it produces. And in Enlightened, whether it planned things this way, HBO has the best thing TV is doing right now—a show no other network would probably make, telling a story that the movies couldn’t tell, not at such length and depth. Without HBO, this story would not exist, and HBO is a company in the without-us-nothing business.

In other words, HBO doesn’t owe it to us to keep Enlightened on the air; HBO owes it to itself. That’s what you get when you bring something amazing into this beautiful, upsetting world.
 

anaron

Member
AVClub Review: A
That exquisitely complicated happy ending allows for a little gushing in the final montage. Besides all the smiles, there’s Krista, who is so tangential to Amy that the shots of her holding her baby have nothing to do with the voice-over. Now that she has a baby and a dependable husband, she really does have everything Amy wanted, begging for a perspective episode in season three. Eileen shows up at Tyler’s door directly thanks to Amy, and Dougie is walking, talking proof of Amy’s communicable ideals. He holds a touchy-feely what’s-next session with the Cogentiva workers, and he even stifles a joke about Ken’s plans to finish writing his young adult novel. No wonder Dougie gets the most satisfying farewell scene outside of the montage fly-bys. Helping Amy make a clean getaway, he tells her at the elevators, “I gotta say, you are the worst employee I have ever had.” She says, “You’re the worst boss I ever had.” Through the closing doors he says, “We should hang out some time.” Solidarity!

The happily-ever-after parade makes “Agent Of Change” a comfortable series finale, but Enlightened has never been about comfort. It’s about a weapons-grade irritant bragging about her self-actualization. Another season isn’t just a chance to see what this climax means for everyone. It’s a chance to study everyone’s varying degrees of enlightenment after the dust settles, apart from the Abaddonn mission, outside of the thriller crucible. Dramatically, thematically, cinematically, Enlightened stands alongside the very best of television drama, and I hope HBO renews it. I don't have any inside info, but its horse mortality rate speaks for itself.


Sepinwall - Season finale review: 'Enlightened' - 'Agent of Change':

This was a really stunning season of television, one that makes me eager to see what else White might do in this universe even as I accept that this would be a perfect ending if HBO decides they want a different show to be their charity case in 2014.

If "Enlightened" goes away, I can imagine its replacement as being more accessible (probably far more). After the eight episodes we just got, though, it's hard to imagine one being better.

Fantastic season. Fantastic finale. Bravo, Mike White.
 

Snake

Member
I want to give Mike White a big ol' hug and congratulate him on making such a good show. Even if he's entirely different I can't help but see him as Tyler, and I feel like he could use the boost.
 

inm8num2

Member
This will be my face if Enlightened is renewed.

Mike+White+Premiere+HBO+Enlightened+Arrivals+hrrepUnRWZjl.jpg
 

inm8num2

Member
Let's hope HBO is aware of this.

I don't think HBO hears anything other than lavish praise and hype for Girls.

Okay, enough Girls jokes...yes, I hope HBO is aware. But I think giving the show a second season is the tough "renew or cancel" decision they already made. Just from the sound of how hard the show has been fighting for its life according to Mike White, I remain skeptical.

Hey, if it's not renewed, it went out with one hell of a bang.
 

Klocker

Member
this really had the feel of a Series finale. It was like watching a mini series TBH.

great job by all involved and if it goes away I feel closure.

Honestly don't know where they would go with these characters from here.


Edit:
rewatching the episode it struck me how calm Amy became during the realization she was found out and was getting fired and that they were scared of what she'd done. She went from a manic hyper-emotional person, in general, to being transformed in that moment to a person at peace.

Really cool to see
 

ivysaur12

Banned
I don't think HBO hears anything other than lavish praise and hype for Girls.

Okay, enough Girls jokes...yes, I hope HBO is aware. But I think giving the show a second season is the tough "renew or cancel" decision they already made. Just from the sound of how hard the show has been fighting for its life according to Mike White, I remain skeptical.

Hey, if it's not renewed, it went out with one hell of a bang.

Supposedly, it's pretty up in the air. The positive buzz the series has gotten over the past few weeks hasn't falled on deaf ears, though.
 
Supposedly, it's pretty up in the air. The positive buzz the series has gotten over the past few weeks hasn't falled on deaf ears, though.

It's got to be a tough decision for HBO to make. It's too bad that HBO hasn't ever been able to successfully program scripted stuff on anything other than Sunday nights. It leaves them with a lot of programming to air in around 96 hours a year.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
It's got to be a tough decision for HBO to make. It's too bad that HBO hasn't ever been able to successfully program scripted stuff on anything other than Sunday nights. It leaves them with a lot of programming to air in around 96 hours a year.

If I had to put money on it, and going just on my gut versus anything particularly concrete, I would say it gets renewed. I think it's turned in a show that really helps their brand.

That could just be me trying to project my own wishes, though.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
So was the last episode written as a season finale? Or is it a bit open-ended with threads still untied?

No spoilers please, I'm still in season 1
 

ivysaur12

Banned
So was the last episode written as a season finale? Or is it a bit open-ended with threads still untied?

No spoilers please, I'm still in season 1

Written as a very conclusive season finale that has threads that could absolutely be explored in season 3.
 

Empty

Member

anaron

Member
Salon: “Enlightened” makes us all into Amy Jellicoes


Think Progress: ‘Enlightened,’ Aaron Swartz And The Consequences Of Activism


"Enlightened" Is One Of The Few Things To Make Me Feel Less Alone In This World, And I Beg You Not To Take It Away From Me, HBO



The Nation: HBO, Renew 'Enlightened' Already!

Where this rejoins Enlightened is in the idea, which runs through some of those laudatory pieces about the finale, that Amy Jellicoe’s story reached an appropriate end. Perhaps I can’t offer any affirmation for this other than personal testimony, but not only is there a story in the aftermath, the uncertainty doesn’t end the second you walk out into the sunny world, having done The Right Thing. White said he wanted to give the season an upbeat ending and he did, but Amy hints at other parts of this experience when she tells her ex-husband, “I’ve been driving, and I don’t have anywhere to go.” One reason HBO ought to renew Enlightened is, of course, Mike White’s talent in executing all this. But another is that, in a very real way, Amy’s story—like mine—has a lot left to it. Everyone else can call that finale a wrap-up, but from my standpoint, it was another, subtler cliffhanger.
 
just listened to this. that stuff about his dad whisteblowing on homophobic evangelical churches and dealing with the reaction was fascinating.


I've watched his father's interviews on CNN in the past. He seems to have alot more integrity than people like Ted Haggard. Like his son has said in interviews, however, it puzzles me why his father feels compelled to plead for acceptance by a community that will never be receptive to him on account of his sexual orientation. It's a weird approval complex. And these people are so wretched to begin with, why would he want to waste his time. They're already dying out, and the younger ones will never achieve the widespread appeal of guys like Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell. Robertson, Billy Graham, and James Dobson are the last of the old guard. Who do they have now to supplant them once they pass on? And this is who Mel White feels the need to prostrate himself to. It just staggers me that it hasn't dawned on him yet that redemption comes from within.

I will say this, however. If the legacy of one's life is measured in the quality of their children, I can confidently say that Mel has produced quite a fine addition to the human race.... a distinction that the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham could only hope to achieve.

Hey Anaron. Have you ever seen Six Feet Under before? I'm a huge fan of that series and realized recently that the guy who plays Amy's dickish supervisor played the best friend of one of Claire's boyfriends who O'D'ed on embalming fluid.
 
Brilliant finale and season. HBO, you better fucking pick this up!!

Amy was fucking on fire this episode. I love that she was completely blind to the obvious - that being Tyler spilling the beans and going off on Krista. White is unafraid to make her somewhat unlikable and i appreciate that. The nods to the Pilot were also great.
 
I don't know why HBO is hesitating. It's probably less costly to produce than other shows because of its low episode count. Shows like Game of Thrones are the budget gluttons. I don't understand why Girls is so popular, and they're actually contemplating kicking this show to the curb. It's just another serial dating show like Sex and the City and Entourage, except with a different coat of paint.
 

anaron

Member
Hey Anaron. Have you ever seen Six Feet Under before? I'm a huge fan of that series and realized recently that the guy who plays Amy's dickish supervisor played the best friend of one of Claire's boyfriends who O'D'ed on embalming fluid.

I've only ever seen Six Feet Under sporadically so I didn't actually know Timm was on there. I had however seen him first on Apatow's "Undeclared."
 
You really should do yourself a favor and check it out. It's the best show ever produced. At the very least, it will give you favorite show a serious run for its money. Timm had a very small role in it. His most signifigant moment was the episode where he nearly o'd's on embalming fluid in the second season. He was in a few episodes of the first season, but he was always playing second banana to Eric Balfour's character.

I really like Enlightened. It's the best show I've seen in years to the point I will say this: Cancelling Enlightened before Mike White has a chance to finish telling his story would be akin to Six Feet Under being given the axe without being allowed to give itself the ending that it deserved.

I think Mike White shares the same kindred sensibility that Six Feet Under's creator, Alan Ball has.

I enjoy the crime dramas that HBO puts out, but it's the shows that explore humanity without the flashy props that win my heart in the end. Six Feet Under had an incredible cast up and down its main and supporting roster, and was blessed with the most gifted and disciplined set of writers one could hope for. And not only was it given the send off to end all send offs, but it had a great leadup into the final moments of its finale.

I'm curious if any other fans of enlightened also enjoyed Six Feet Under. I found Laura Dern's performance to have some of the same subtle qualities that Frances Conroy had as Ruth Fisher.
 
Six Feet Under had its best moments when they were grounded in reality, but sadly they had big storylines in the first season (Guliardi) and then entire seasons, where they totally went full Soap Opera in the most obnoxious ways. Season 5 turned it around a bit, but I have the unpopular opinion that the finale should have ended ten minutes before it actually did.

It still some of the best performances ever from Peter Krause and Rachel Griffiths.
 
I don't know why HBO is hesitating. It's probably less costly to produce than other shows because of its low episode count. Shows like Game of Thrones are the budget gluttons. I don't understand why Girls is so popular, and they're actually contemplating kicking this show to the curb. It's just another serial dating show like Sex and the City and Entourage, except with a different coat of paint.

They're probably hesitating because the ratings for this show are catastrophically bad. Since HBO only airs scripted stuff on Sundays they have a very limited number of hours in which to program a lot of shows.

I'd love to see Enlightened season three, but if HBO decides they'd rather air stuff that gets higher ratings than a test pattern would I can't really blame them.
 
Slotting any show in the same hour as The Walking Dead and Good Wife isn't helpful. however. Maybe putting it on tuesday or thurday could help.
 

Empty

Member
av club's todd van de werff tweeted that they've done a walkthrough with mike white for enlightened season 2 (like this freaks and geeks one which i enjoyed very much). should be interesting.

i should probably not bump this thread anymore without renewal news :p
 

Klocker

Member
You mean Enlightened? Putting an already low rated HBO show on any day other than a Sunday would be disastrous. See: Bored to Death season 3 and Enlightened season 1.

well last year it was on Mondays but the switch to Sunday barely helped. :(


I think the writing is on the wall.
 

anaron

Member
well last year it was on Mondays but the switch to Sunday barely helped. :(


I think the writing is on the wall.

If they were going to renew it based on season one's lukewarm reception and even worse ratings, cancelling what is now being widely referred to as "the best show on TV", just does not make sense for me.
 
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