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The Knick - Season 2 - Fridays on Cinemax

UrbanRats

Member
When Algernon mentions he as to find a new vocation due to his eye, it looks as though he's becoming a psychiatrist and will further psychiatric medicine. I could see next season's plot going with him experimenting with early forms of electro shock therapy and other early forms of mental health treatments.
I wouldn't mind that.
 
Holy fuck at the last ten minutes. Just...holy fuck.

If there is going to be third season, I really hope to stick to what happened and don't just bring back Thack back. I know there's a temptation to do such a thing, but a timeskip with Birdie becoming someone like Thack would be preferable to me.

And I guess we got confirmation this episode that Algy's eye is completely fucked now thanks to Galliger. That motherfucking cunt...
 

Maddocks

Member
I really hope there is at least 1 more season. I think Thack has earned a happy ending, of course his ending could be his own personal happy one, maybe he wanted to die.

I get that bad guys win sometimes, but a father killer? nah dawg I can't let that sly and of course we need Gallinger to become a nazi doctor because that seems to be the perfect place for him.
 
fuck that was an awesome episode

not sure what people are talking about it getting too ridiculous .. nose chick dying clearly sent thack over the edge

best show on tv or streaming or whatever right now
 
Holy fuck at the last ten minutes. Just...holy fuck.

If there is going to be third season, I really hope to stick to what happened and don't just bring back Thack back. I know there's a temptation to do such a thing, but a timeskip with Birdie becoming someone like Thack would be preferable to me.

And I guess we got confirmation this episode that Algy's eye is completely fucked now thanks to Galliger. That motherfucking cunt...
Yeah Edwards story arc give me a cold and empty feeling. That man got royally fucked and his tormentor was rewarded for it.
 

UrbanRats

Member
fuck that was an awesome episode

not sure what people are talking about it getting too ridiculous .. nose chick dying clearly sent thack over the edge

best show on tv or streaming or whatever right now

I think nobody complained about Thack's side of things, infact, it's basically what really saved it for me.

Henry's/Cornelia's was the worst part in my opinion.
 

Lamel

Banned
I think the thack story was the best part about this whole show. The ending line of "this is all we are" was perfect. An amazing man with a terrible vice.
 

jerry113

Banned
Holy fuck at the last ten minutes. Just...holy fuck.

If there is going to be third season, I really hope to stick to what happened and don't just bring back Thack back. I know there's a temptation to do such a thing, but a timeskip with Birdie becoming someone like Thack would be preferable to me.

And I guess we got confirmation this episode that Algy's eye is completely fucked now thanks to Galliger. That motherfucking cunt...

Yeah the whole thing with Bertie suddenly adopting Thack's white shoes signals a passing of the baton. The show doesn't hinge on Clive Owen - the rest of the cast is very strong. Continue plz.
 
Yeah the whole thing with Bertie suddenly adopting Thack's white shoes signals a passing of the baton. The show doesn't hinge on Clive Owen - the rest of the cast is very strong. Continue plz.

Get real. Without Owen the minuscule ratings would dwindle even further.
 

B33

Banned
Thack's dead. The showrunners on The Knick official podcast flat-out said it.

Furthermore, there's little that could be done for him with a surgical laceration to the aorta, aside from clamping the artery, placing him in Trendelenburg, and attempting to use compression wraps to shunt blood to his core.

A detail I found intriguing was that no one intervened until after Thackery lost consciousness. Implied consent doesn't apply until after a patient loses consciousness. All of the physicians in the operating room abided by his wishes until he could no longer protest.

"This is it. This is all we are." It's a perfect end for Thackery. Of all of the surgical procedures, this was the most difficult to watch. Everything about the sequence was masterful.

Should the series have a third season ordered, I'd like to see Bertie take over Thack's position, Algernon continue forward with Thack's addiction ward and perhaps become a pioneer in psychiatry, and have new talent brought in to fill the void of Owen's departure from the series. The arcs of Barrow and Gallinger have come to a satisfactory conclusion, the former dying of cancer with all of his assets in Junia's possession and the latter departing to extol the "virtues" of Eugenics.

The Cornelia/Henry arc was the weakest part of this season. I understand the writers intended on keeping the audience from predicting Henry's involvement, but aside from Henry being obstinate and investing in the subway network, I didn't see that reveal as being earned.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
(Don't forget to vote for The Knick in the 2015 TV Show of the Year voting thread!)

No way man, Season 1 felt much more cohesive and with solid arcs.

Better arcs, but not as watchable and entertaining.

Season 2 had plotpoints like Algenon's wife (or eye for that matter) that didn't really go anywhere, and others, like Henry being behind all bad things, that felt pulled out of a hat with little to no foreshadowing, in his characterization.
Bertie looked like something interesting was going to happen between him and the journalist, but then that line also settled down very fast.

Now i'm not saying every plot point has to evolve into a drama, but here it felt more like "oh, we need to finish? Wrap it up!".

I don't disagree!

Thack's dead. The showrunners on The Knick official podcast flat-out said it.

Welp.
 

B33

Banned

They discuss Thack's surgery from 00:00 to 06:25.

One quote regarding Bertie trying to resuscitate Thack with Adrenalin:

"What I loved about it is that we set up this Adrenalin thing for the entire season, and people are going to be like, 'They're going to save our hero!', and it doesn't."
 
I'm fine if that is the finale. I'd rather it end there and Soderbergh go on to do something else that is great than have a potentially worse season involving new characters and elevating/changing current characters.

Few thoughts on the series then? I'm just going to spoiler them since I don't know the etiquette for this stuff.

Nurse Elkins' turn in season 2 is too abrupt and out of character for me. And I didn't like the stuff with her father. She went from a fairly important character in season 1 to an almost incidental character in season 2. It seems odd.

Bertie's arc felt rushed or incomplete? Again, this is partly because of Elkins and Thackery's arcs, but also the new love interest not having much of anything to do despite being a potentially really interesting character. Also, Bertie isn't a compelling enough character to carry the show like Thackery did. And with everyone else now dispersed, it'd have to be almost an entirely new cast to keep things going for the show. And considering the writing to be the weakest link in the series, I don't think it can be pulled off successfully.

Cornelia was probably my favorite character. But, to go from tackling people to running away at the end feels, again, incomplete or rushed.

Henry was a bad guy from the beginning. He's has such a nice guy put-on, and he's into porn! Anyone into pornography is bad, people!! His turn wasn't so much "sudden" as it wasn't desperate enough for the character to do what he does; the money for the subway isn't enough of a motive to do all the ill he does.

Gallinger is great. He was a prideful jerk from beginning to end, and of course he's going to Germany to promote eugenics! Him getting into eugenics makes complete sense, but I still don't like the cartoonish kidnapping of Thackery and nearly killing the guy to become the hero during a surgery. And I'm happy he didn't get his comeuppance. bad guys win all the time. "Make the Knick great again!"

The Harriet and Cleary romance twist was really unsettling. Also, the confessional scene was probably my least favorite directed sequence in the entire series; I get what Soderbergh was going for, but I don't think he pulled it off. Either the camera needed to get progressively farther away as the confession went on, or he needed to find more interesting static angles, or something. Maybe just show static images of the saints in the church as the audience hears the confession to contrast things better? I dunno. Also, do they set up the fact that she was turned in by anyone? The friendship/romance develops nicely, but I never got the initial spark of the turn.

Barrow is going to die from radiation poisoning? Is that what is wrong with his hands? If so, I like that the stuff from season 1 paid off. Even though he "wins" at the end of the season, the audience knows it is a house of cards ready to topple at any second.

And, Thackery, I'm totally cool and really like that cocaine and his own hubris get him killed.

Season 2 had more flaws and wasn't as polished and leisurely as Season 1, but it was still great television.

I wonder what Soderbergh does next. Does he keep doing one 10 episode season of television per year, or go back to two movies a year, or something else? Maybe split and do a mini-series and HBO/TV movie per year? I dunno. Glad he's still working.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
They discuss Thack's surgery from 00:00 to 06:25.

One quote regarding Bertie trying to resuscitate Thack with Adrenalin:

"What I loved about it is that we set up this Adrenalin thing for the entire season, and people are going to be like, 'They're going to save our hero!', and it doesn't."

Thanks. I'm kind of hoping the show doesn't continue now.
 

ezekial45

Banned
Call me stubborn, or just thick-headed, but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to believe that Thack is dead. I felt that there was enough ambiguity present in the editing, but also the language used by the characters to give some possibility that he lived after all. Yes, I know that podcast seemed to lean towards them saying he's gone, but I feel that given the state of things regarding Season 3, and that Owen seems to be down to continue, that they'll definitely bring him back. Plus, Bertie went and got the adrenaline, and they can't have it fail again after Abigail. If it did, then it would've been a total waste of time for all that effort they put into it this season if the only success was the rabbit. The cutting away as he plunged it into Thackery was to me, a big indicator that things might work out.

In regards to the quote:
"What I loved about it is that we set up this Adrenalin thing for the entire season, and people are going to be like, 'They're going to save our hero!', and it doesn't."
I'm inclined to believe he's talking about resolution, rather than the viewer literally seeing Thack come back to life. All we got was the sight of a clean and empty operating theater with Algernon speaking with Henry about owing Thack and continuing the addiction research.

Also, I don't think bringing him back would diminish the power of the finale necessarily. If he were to live, I think a close brush with death would likely give him a new outlook on life and his relation to people, possibly as a way to overcome Abigail's passing. I don't know, I'm just spit-balling here. I do think that they ended it in a way that would allow it to work as an end to the series, but to continue it without Thack would be unusual, and I don't think the other characters are interesting or dynamic enough to lead the series. Even though the others had some very engaging stories happening, Thackery was the catalyst for them, and his absence would leave a very big void in the overall narrative, IMO.

So yeah, I'm personally leaning towards them bringing him back. It'd be too weird without him, and there's definitely enough wiggle room to make it happen. Then again, I might be still bummed out that they ended the series on such a downer, and that I also might be hoping they give it another season to give something more hopeful to end the series on. After all, the series is about the birth of modern medicine.

EDIT: And I read the indiewire. Yep, he's dead. :(
 
What a great episode. I hope its the last. There's no reason for it to continue as is, and it would simply dull the impact of a completely ballsy move. End it on an artistic high note!
 

Alpende

Member
I wouldn't mind another season and if they decide not do another season that's fine as well. The ending concluded almost everyone's storyarc. I did like the imagery of Bertie wearing Thack's white shoes during surgery, he's pretty much his successor which is cool because I really like Bertie. Thack performing surgery on himself was insane, him grabbing his own intestines was gross as hell. Algernon starting Psychology was well done, felt natural.

Solid season finale.
 
i leave this show with soderbergh, if it continues and he doesn't move forward with it i might stop watching (no disrespect to the writers or all the great actors in here but i really loved the experiment of it being like a long miniseries more or less)

god damn that finale was chilling. and for the love of god get clive owen in a good movie again, he reminded us just how much of a scene-stealer he is in this series.
 

Nothus

Member
I'm torn. Part of me understands that this would be a fitting end to the whole thing, but another part of me thinks it would be criminal to only get two seasons out of such a great setting and such brilliant characters.

I got chills when Barrow mentioned the 'dozens' of x-rays he'd had. I know he's a scumbag, but damn.
 

Mist

Banned
Great finale. It was cool to see Bertie running for the adrenaline. I actually expected he would've done that in episode 8 already for Abigail.

But if I understand correctly, there's a higher chance of this being the series finale instead of just being a season finale? I think it'd be a fitting end to the series, but I'm definitely interested in more.

Also, Cornelia has a beautiful voice.
 

UrbanRats

Member
i leave this show with soderbergh, if it continues and he doesn't move forward with it i might stop watching (no disrespect to the writers or all the great actors in here but i really loved the experiment of it being like a long miniseries more or less)

god damn that finale was chilling. and for the love of god get clive owen in a good movie again, he reminded us just how much of a scene-stealer he is in this series.
Sacrosanct.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Playlist: Steven Soderbergh Says More ‘The Knick’ Is Coming, Reveals Rough Plan For Season 3 & Beyond.
The director explained he had revealed the long-term plan to Cinemax from the beginning too. “I told them, I’m going to do the first two years and then we are going to break out the story for seasons 3 and 4 and try and find a filmmaker or filmmakers to do this the way that I did. This is how we want to do this so that every two years, whoever comes on, has the freedom to create their universe.”

And to hear it from Soderbergh, season three and beyond could be radically different. The filmmaker said in the hands of new filmmakers they could totally reinvent the show. “They don't have to shoot it the way I shoot it. They don't have to score it the way I score it. They don't have to cast who I've cast,” he said. “They have maximum freedom to come in and just go, ‘I want to wipe the slate clean.’”

Soderbergh said he and writers/showrunners/creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler are currently working on the story for seasons three and four and making a list of filmmakers who they think would be a good fit to the specific demands of a show shot on an intensely quick schedule.

But what direction is the show heading, and will it pick up with the same cast or the same hospital? Soderbergh was noncommittal. “The key obviously for us is to keep that sensation of a medical drama that audiences haven’t seen before. I feel good about as we sit down and talk about three and four, where this can go. I think we have some ideas that are strong.”
As of of Friday night, Cinemax and HBO has stressed to me that nothing was green lit and all these plans were tentative, but Variety has revealed that Cinemax has already ordered season three scripts and negotiations are already underway so it seems like Soderbergh’s proposed plan is in full swing.
 

jerry113

Banned
Interesting. So Soderbergh might be out, but he wants to make the transition easy for the new directors. It's going to be strange going from every single episode directed by Soderbergh to... directed by someone else entirely.
 

Mudcrab

Member
Despite maybe losing Soderbergh, I won't give up on the show until I see for myself that it won't be as or even somewhat close as good as the previous 2 seasons. The phenomenal cast and crew have earned that much.
 
I loved the scene with Barrows pestering Thackery as they walked the halls of the Knick. His "bully for you" to dismiss him bragging about his stupid club membership was priceless.

I always thought Cleary had a heart of gold, but that was a pretty fucked up thing up do.

Anyway if that's the end of the series or the season it's great either way.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus

jerry113

Banned
Uh. Hm. That's, uh. Hm.

Okay. I really don't want Soderbergh to go, but if they're playing this as a (potential) 2 year anthology series, then that's interesting. A 'Knick' with a completely different visual style (one that isn't trying to ape Soderbergh's) and score (one that isn't trying to ape Martinez') could be really exciting.

They should do a mini time jump to accompany whatever visual and soundtrack changes come with a next season. Might make the transition to a new style more natural. Maybe to when Bertie is more seasoned.
 
While the idea for future seasons is interesting, I don't get why a random high quality director would want to jump aboard this specific creation detailing obsolete medical practices.

Wouldn't they rather create their own show?
 

orioto

Good Art™
While the idea for future seasons is interesting, I don't get why a random high quality director would want to jump aboard this specific creation detailing obsolete medical practices.

Wouldn't they rather create their own show?

What if the other seasons are not at the same period ?

At least that season finale, to me, felt like definitive closure for all those characters.
 
What if the other seasons are not at the same period ?

At least that season finale, to me, felt like definitive closure for all those characters.

I agree, but you're essentially saying there will be nothing the same besides the name and the two writers. Unless the director has an inherent desire for the subject, it seems kind of pointless it me.
 

Flo_Evans

Member
Fuck amazing show.

Fuck!

Not sure about season 3 but I would give it a shot.

Fuck I just finished watching it still processing.
 
I fully expect Thack to show up in flashbacks for next season but yeah...goodnight sweet prince :(

I feel like it's a weird problem for the show to have its title as I don't see everyone being trapped in the hospital.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
This is awesome.
Editing notes between Soderbergh and Cinemax on S2.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...0151222?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Cinemax:

201-15
Can we cut the first beat of Algernon squinting? Feels a bit obvious and overdone. Let’s present the impact of the retinal damage a bit more subtly.

Soderbergh:

Let’s be clear: SUBTLE IS NOT HOW YOU WIN AWARDS, and awards are the only reason I get up in the morning. I made this change, but we should all understand none of us will have to prepare an acceptance speech...

Is this real?

Cinemax:

201-16
Can we clean up the end of this exchange, specifically by cutting away earlier before Gallinger delivers the “you’re as dumb as you think I think you are” line. That line feels like it may be a bit too clever.

Soderbergh:

Too clever for a racist? Interesting. I like the transition from Gallinger to Lucy, and I can’t lose the line and keep the transition, so...TRANSITION WINS!

wtf cinemax no

Cinemax:

201-41
The wrestling beats feel a bit stagey, and the Cleary-Pouncy dialogue feels a bit obvious. Perhaps we can present this scene more impressionistically with music (like the rat stomping scene last year) and cut it a bit less literally.

Soderbergh:

Well, it didn’t take you very long to figure out the quickest way to get me to do a note is to suggest I steal from myself. Done! Oh, and wrestling IS staged, btw...

lol

Cinemax:

202-33 / 202-B35 Transition
At time code: 38:25 there is an errant musical fragment from the carnival to be deleted.

Soderbergh:

Okay, that errant musical snippet is ART, my friend, and instead of chopping down the art to fit your mind, you should open your mind to fit the art! But in the interest of time, I will remove this bold approach to scoring which every filmmaker worth his or her salt would be employing in a matter of minutes, IF THEY COULD ONLY SEE IT!

Soderbergh is hilarious
 

megamerican

Member
I've never been more impressed than I was by the debut season of The Knick. Season two was a lot more uneven, too many pointless plot threads and bizarre character shifts, yet its finale was probably the best episode of the show. An amazingly ballsy finale, and a perfect sendoff for Thackery.

I have serious doubts about whether the show will be back. The ratings were never really there, and without Soderbergh and Owen there is really nothing left but a very loose concept and somewhat suspect writing.
 

Wozzly

special needs, sexual needs
I've had time to let the finale sink in and I love it even more. It left me feeling blank, cold, and sad. Thackery's line "this is all we are," will haunt me for a long time. I'd be content without a season three as the show ended on a good note. Sure, there's some loose ends, but we saw the completion of their story to a degree: Cornelia going away from her dangerous brother; Cleary and Harriet together (based on a lie); Barrow giving away everything to his new gal pal.

That surgery was the only surgery that made me want to look away, but I didn't. That soundtrack is just so so good.

I'm a bit under the weather so excuse the rambling.
 
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