371 replies to this topic

[TWoP Mars]

From HBO.com:

Season Finale. Butchie and Kai wake up to a joyous revelation; Imperial Beach plays host to a makeshift parade organized by a revamped Stinkweed.

[kathy999]

I’m pretty much speechless! I loved it – “Mother of God, Kai”. Bill Jacks rocks – Zip came back – did Lois? Other Questions:
What was with Freddy and new friend?
Where was the physician?
It seems Linc confessed to the crowd what he did wrong and now has a clean conscience. Why is he passing the CEO position to Hat-Guy?
There’s got to be another season.
More after I rewatch.

[floretbroccoli]

Wu! Woooooo!

Con Stapleton. Eh.

Edited by floretbroccoli, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:02 PM.

[lanter]

If I never hear the phrase “take a dump” again it will be too soon.

Sigh, if this show was billed as a miniseries and hadn’t put the final nail in Deadwood’s coffin I might have viewed it differently but in the end it just wasn’t worth it. No disrespect meant to those who enjoyed this but after ten long episodes I don’t see why this show should get a second season. Hell, I found The Comeback more entertaining and that didn’t get one. If this is renewed I won’t throw a fit about it, I won’t care at all because I am done. I would like to see the actor’s (minus Fletcher) on other shows because the one thing that this series really got right was the casting. I also want to give special kudos to Ed O’ Neill who rocked his part. Other than that I’m putting JFC behind me and moving on. The new Alan Ball Vampire show sounds like it might have potential.

[Caroma]

Woo hoo, Wu! Keone was in da house!

Dr. Smith was not, though. Waaah. But he was pretty much the only missing element.

I don't understand everything I just saw, but I was grinning like a big fucking idiot at the end of it.

Whew, what a ride!

[MJS]

I got seriously lost... Regarding the Physician, John said something about him being born 20 years earlier.. I think..

[Green]

I did not feel any kind of satisfaction at all from that finale that supposedly explained everything. Nope! Sure didn't! And I feel especially ripped off not seeing the physician at all.

So much time was wasted in this episode. Too much time spent on the sale of the El Camino, especially since I didn't really get the significance of that car in the first place.

Is John staying there, then? I guess he can just pay rent with his unexplained pocket money.

I wish I could get my 10 hours back. Plus the time I spent trying to figure all this shit out. I am glad Zippy came back, though. And that Barry seemed to be getting somewhere towards inner peace.

Sure would have liked a lot more from all of this. A LOT more.

Edited by Green, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:05 PM.

[baconneggs]

So Dr. Smith came back from Cincinnati 20 years younger. Hm. Cissy got knocked up and now she's bigger than Leona Helmsley. Hm. Mother of God CassKai. Hm. So, basically what I'm saying is, Hm. I don't get it!

Edited by baconneggs, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:13 PM.

[Smoggypants]

Did jesus come back and start a surf label? Is that what just happened?

[TeresaDee]

Liked it . Want more. Rewatching now.

[dsears]

Dear Mr. Milch,

Please, put the drugs away.

[charlenen]

OH Baby! I loved it!

I think John is from the future....the much further evolved human being. He did say he is the end after all.

See God's Mother Cass/Kai! That was great :)

Cissy pregnant! She was healed and with her Mitch :)

I'm happy they ended it with Bill finding some peace in his upstairs room. And Zippy returns!!

Too much else swirling in my head to write about right now.

I hope HBO picks it up, but if they don't I'm happy with the end. I would say Milch pulled it off!

Edited by charlenen, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:12 PM.

[Smoggypants]

{snip}

Edited by TWoP Mars, Aug 13, 2007 @ 2:31 AM.
Manners

[kathy999]

Another thought - Shaun wanted to leave his grandparents and go live with his dad and John. Maybe the Trinity? Jesus left Mary and Joseph to teach in the Temple at age 13.

Edited by kathy999, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:13 PM.

[Lila82]

Hello, Mr. Wu!

The opening sequence was mesmerizing. The song choice -- Bob Dylan's "Series of Dreams" -- was on point, but I think I held my breath during Shaun and John's triumphant return to the living while riding perfect waves. The music, the wonder and joy on Butchie and Kai's faces, the gorgeous photography...suddenly, the mental agony I go through on weekly basis to try and figure it all out, became truly worth it. Just for that incredible opening.

Congrats to the poster who called Stinkweed re-branding themselves with the Monad logo.

I think I'm forever traumatized by Jennifer Grey literally eating Willie Garson's face.

Is Kai dead? Riding the waves to the big surf tournament in the sky? Is she gone now that she's put the Yosts back together and saved Butchie? It certainly seemed final when she thanked Ramon for looking after him all these years. Of all the things I didn't understand in this episode, and there were many of them, the final shot confused me the most.

John's "father" is a used car salesman trying to unload an El Camino for fifteen grand?

And finally, when did this show morph into a comedy?

I got seriously lost... Regarding the Physician, John said something about him being born 20 years earlier.. I think..

Join the party. I think he also implied that Cissy had another kid and evolved into a bigger ballbuster than Leona Helmsley. Huh???

[charlenen]

I think the God theme is more along the lines of seeing God in ourselves, and everybody else, and striving to evolve. Cass/Kai being God's mother means every human has that chance...to evolve to the highest being possible. I know I'm probably not expressing that very well.

[lynch]

Was that Kai surfing in the final shot?

It's nice to see that Dickstein got his blowjob. It's better than any alarm clock I imagine.

The return of John and Shaun was simply awesome in it's simplicity.

Linc appears to be laying cover by claiming that all the wierd goings-on were a publicity stunt perpetrated by himself.

It's perfect that they ended the season (series?) with Bill. There was never any instant where he wasn't the show's high point.

I had trouble understanding a single thing that Con Stapleton said. If anyone could be spared the usual brand of Milchspeak, you'd think it would be a car salesman, but I guess not.

[newslady]

I tried really hard to get into and understand this show and after watching that finale, I'm left believing it was a lesson in futility. I don't mean any disrespect to those of you who faithfully followed this start to finish, but this show is not a bona fide Sunday night replacement for The Sopranos. It was a mess. I expect more from David Milch and he just didn't deliver with JFC.

I'm not sure what was more jarring; knowing my beloved Deadwood is cancelled yet seeing so many of the actors from that brilliantly written show to then turn up on JFC. Wu, Con Stapelton, Trixie. . . there were too many.

If HBO gives this a second season, but wouldn't give Carnival a Season 3, grrr. I guess I only have the Wire and Big Love to help wean me from my Soprano's addiction.

[rocketman909]

No. Milch let us down. There was no resolution. No questions were answered. No mysteries were explained.

Who is John, where is he from, and why was he here?
Who was responsible for the very real miracles - resurrection, levitation, etc.

Now that we've seen it all, there is no denying that John From Cincinnati was ridiculously self-indulgent. Just because David Milch understands it doesn't mean others will. As others have said here, couldn't he have thrown us a bone and given us some concrete, satisfying answers - no matter how bizarre?

abstruse: difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge.
esoteric: confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle.

[lulu514]

I loved it. I don’t necessarily understand it all, but I loved it! I didn’t think Milch could tie it all up in the final episode, but he did. The 10 eps hold together so well as a great story that a second season almost feels superfluous. If JFC isn’t picked up for another season I won’t feel cheated at all.

[charlenen]

Who is John, where is he from, and why was he here?
Who was responsible for the very real miracles - resurrection, levitation, etc

John= evolved human.

Miracles=what evolved humans can obtain.

John came to show us the possibilities.

Edited by charlenen, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:22 PM.

[lynch]

The HBO promo people must've been laughing hysterically to themselves when they put that "All Will Be Revealed" line into the promos. There's just no other explanation.

[TedSez]

The things John said at the end are what we could expect from the second season. Does Milch actually believe there will be one? Talk about floating on air.

The physician will come back from "Cincinnati" 20 years younger. That would make him about Shaun's age, right? Does he know how to surf?

Cissy will have another kid... I feel for that kid. Unless he's literally an angel, he'll probably run away from home at age 5.

John bought an El Camino, which is sort of a hybrid of a car and a pickup truck. Is that the future of mankind's evolution?

The entire family is finally getting co-opted by Stinkweed, but now it's okay, because they'll be spreading the word of John and his father. Which is, um, good?

Cass' videos are magically spreading through the Internet, so everyone can see what' happening without having to stand around a motel parking lot. Which, again, is good, I guess. Because John says his father's words are more understandable through Cass' zeroes and ones. And Jesus will have his own MySpace page.

If this show really is about to take off for a permanent celestial Cincinnati surfing contest, it would have been nice to have a little more clarity as to WTF John was talking about all this time. At least Dylan McKay tried to get some information out of him, not that it helped. But seeing Al Bundy get his bird back was nice, anyhow. Bye, John! Hope you get to take a dump someday!

[Mr. Sobell]

I love Deadwood too, but shut the hell up already.

It would make me very happy if you didn't tell other posters to do that.

[jenjo]

I loved this episode. Now - would someone please explain it to me? Is this one of those things where whatever you as an individual take from it is what it's supposed to mean so it is ambiguous on purpose so as not to take away from the individual message? I can dig that I think. I like that Milch just doesn't care - completely flying in the face of formula driven television. As for answers though, I am praying for dvd commentary.

Edited by jenjo, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:34 PM.

[Teawaddle Hill]

If nothing else....I can watch the opening sequence over and over. Seeing John and Shaunie surf back home to the amazing tune of Bob Dylan. That took my breath away!

[Fat Elvis]

Watched the whole season. No idea what any of it was about.

[marleyfan]

I loved it! I liked how Linc stayed with John and tried to figure out what was going on. And, I had tears in my eyes when Zippy came back.

I think the God theme is more along the lines of seeing God in ourselves, and everybody else, and striving to evolve. Cass/Kai being God's mother means every human has that chance...to evolve to the highest being possible.

I know what you mean.


I hope this gets renewed.

Edited by marleyfan, Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:36 PM.

[rocketman909]

John= evolved human.

Miracles=what evolved humans can obtain.

John came to show us the possibilities.

Totally plausible - as is:

John = alien visitor
Miracles = alien superpowers
John came to show us how aliens can change the space/time continuum.

And what about Milch's comment on Letterman (I think) that John From Cincinnati was about what would happen if God wanted to communicate with man? Would he send a highly evolved human? Sure, why not? Or would he send Jesus back? Sure, why not? But that would mean John's 9-day visit was the Second Coming, right? And it was used to rehabilitate a surf supply company? Thus, the "possibilities" are that we can always bounce back?

Okay, I guess, if that's what the show meant. But did it? No one can state that with certainty except Milch. And he didn't.

Maybe everyone who believes the show means whatever we want it to mean are right. But speaking only for myself, I don't like narrative drama that's open-ended. I just don't. Ambiguity is one thing. Incomprehensibility is quite another. I think.

[Sean C]

Too much time spent on the sale of the El Camino, especially since I didn't really get the significance of that car in the first place.

On a purely practical level, it was the perfect "parade car," since it's low like a car, but has an open bed like a truck--it's perfect for standing the whole Yost family in the back as you travel the parade route. Symbolically...who the hell knows?

As for the episode, I loved it, but thought John's quick voiceover about Dr. Smith, and Cissy, and Barry, and Dickstein, and Jerri, and all that...it seemed like a thrown-on, quick "in case we don't get to come back, people can't say we didn't tell them what happened" addendum. Don't know if I like that. Loved the last Bill scene, though.