The Mist – Season 1 Review

Season 1 of The Mist was a love-hate rollercoaster for me. Ultimately, I downright loathe how it turned out. I mean WTF? Here’s our season 1 review.

After watching the season (and maybe series?) finale of The Mist season 1, my first thought was; What a shit show!

And really, this is not what I expected. Afterall, I loved the pilot episode of The Mist and gave it a very positive review.

Of course, I also had to return with a follow-up review of the following episodes, since it went very wrong, very quickly.

I mean, you can expect shows to sometimes lose their way in season 2. Yes, Lost, I’m thinking of you. But to completely f*ck it up during season 1 of The Mist. No, I did not expect that.

Instead of listing all the many, many, many ways The Mist season 1 lost its way, I’ll do easy to digest bullet point lists of the good (yes, there was some), the bad (there was a lot) and the downright awful (WTF).

The good parts of The Mist season 1

Honestly, these mentions just go to actors, who did their characters justice and overall impressed and/or surprised.

• Danica Curcic – from the pilot episode to the overall season 1 experience, she continued to deliver as Mia Lambert!
• Okezie Morro – as Bryan Hunt, he delivered an interesting portrait with depth and mystery.
• Dan Butler – His portrayal as Father Romanov was one of the most intense and creepy of The Mist
• Frances Conroy – well, obviously, she’s a powerhouse and was mesmerizing as Mrs. Raven!
• Darren Pettie – I really didn’t care for him at first, but he ended up being the standout surprise for me. As Sherif Connor Heisel, he had many scenes with Frances Conroy’s character and they worked perfectly together.

I knew most of the above-mentioned actors in some way, before watching them on The Mist. Still, they’ve all left me wanting more of them. All scenes featuring these actors (and their characters obviously), offered the best parts of The Mist season 1.

The bad parts of The Mist season 1

This goes mostly for the awful writing. Every single plot “twist” was easy to spot a mile away and the lines? Oh, dear Lord, the lines were cringe-worthy.

• They focus a lot on a very unhealthy gay encounter that features very violent gay bashing. I can imagine the creators are feeling very progressive, but I assure you, it’s very much the opposite. Queer as Folk did the same storyline a million times better more than 15 years ago. And many other TV shows have touched on the same issue with far more finesse.
• A girl was raped but seems to get over this very quickly. That’s just a very wrong message to send to the world. Period.
• The boy accused of raping her (named by a witness and not herself since she was unconscious) doesn’t seem sad for the girl even though he claims to care for her. Whether he raped her or not, somebody did, which is established in the pilot.
• Also, the season finale plot twist (which they totally give away in the “previously on” recap) really makes you wonder why the mother didn’t speak up sooner. (This isn’t Star Wars, and it’s really not cute! Or shocking. It’s just another fucked up detail you can’t pull off.)
• Where are the monsters?
• Everything takes place within five (yes, that’s 5) days, and everyone is afraid of starving to death and it’s Lord of the Flies within the first 48 hours.
• Where are the monsters?
• What Mall in the United States is not filled to the brim with food and water? Literally, any book, clothing, or pet store in the United States (no, it’s not like that all over the world) tend to also have something to eat and drink. For human consumption. So, how can they run out of food so quickly?

• Where are the monsters?

To be fair, I think I already know the answer to the monsters question; We are the real monsters.

Well, alrighty then, isn’t that just oh so innovative in a The Walking Dead kind of way? Still, that is not the story of Stephen King’s The Mist.

And I was looking forward to watching Stephen King’s The Mist in season 1 of a TV show based on said story.

The awful parts of The Mist season 1

THIS PART MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Oh yes, the “bad parts” are not nearly the worst thing about season 1 of The Mist. No, that would be the fact that this could quite possibly come across as Donald Trump’s wet dream. And not a nightmare vision from Stephen King.

• The bisexual and somewhat androgynous boy from the TV pilot turns out to be gay by episode 2. A pet peeve, but come on, get those things straight – pun intended.
• That’s not the awful part, of course. No, that would be the fact that he turns out to be the psychopath, who is more dangerous than the mist itself.
• Who’s gonna die? Well, if a character is a minority, then they’ll probably die.
• If the minority character doesn’t die, then they’ll probably be the one doing the killing.
• So, basically, you’re fucked either way.
• If you’re a white, straight, male, then you’re safe. In fact, you’ll be accused of things you would never do and – despite the fact that you act guilty and creepy – you will, of course, save the day.

The Mist season 1 premiered on Spike TV June 22, 2017. It will be out on Netflix in various other countries after the season finale on August 24, 2017.

Should you watch it? Well, yes, for Danica Curcic and the very few creepy moments. But mostly, you should watch it to learn how not to adapt a Stephen King story.

And then you should head on over to the Audience Network and watch the brilliant adaptation of Mr. Mercedes.

Plot

After an eerie mist rolls into a small town, the residents must battle both the strange mist and its lethal threats. All while fighting to maintain morality and sanity.