ROLLING POLL, CONTINUED! Your ongoing reaction to The Return, PARTS 1-16 (SPOILERS)

[Novalis]

Surprising. First time I've seen the poll drop below 80% for the lovers. Have recent developments been 'too little too late' perhaps?

I'm now myself in the mixed, leaning towards like camp. I think I've overcome a lot of my initial joy at simply having the show back, and the whee-gosh-golly feeling of seeing old characters show up. Things may change but right now I have to admit to being a little disappointed with some of the choices being made.

[Deep Thought]

I've finally voted after being unsure up until this point. The sheer amount of material to digest is intimidating, but I am starting to see the bigger picture. By ep. 18 I may be completely wrong, but as of now I am voting "love" for the insane amount of beauty contained in this series.

Really, just insane amounts. (Film is too much to ask, so I won't!)

I had a severe falling out with Lynch upon the launch of his website so many years ago, but am ready to forgive him . . . maybe. Bring on the conclusion!

[Jasper]

Last chance to vote for parts 1-15 before the debut of pt 16.

I would love to hit 200 votes before the poll locks (which will happen right before the debut of parts 17/18). I think we've mostly maxed out on highly active voters, but if you're reading this, your opinion counts.


Remember, votes can be changed as many times as you like along the way.

[Jasper]

I think my plea resulted in one or two new votes. 27 in a week might be something of a tall order. Usually it's more like ten. We shall see.

Here's the poll as it appeared prior to the debut of part 16:

poll_pts_1-15.png (59.76 KiB) Viewed 9598 times

Like or Love: 79% (137 votes)
Mixed, Towards Like: 12% (21 votes)
Mixed, Towards Dislike: 4% (7 votes)
Dislike or Hate: 5% (8 votes)

TOTAL VOTES: 173

[Novalis]

I'm back in the love section following part 16. And the poll hits 80% again!

[Mr. Strawberry]

Following the events of Part 16, I've changed my vote from "Like or Love" to "Heavily Mixed, Leaning Toward Dislike".

[Jasper]

Whoops. sorry, Novalis, but it appears that Mr. Strawberry's absconded with the 80%.

The poll giveth, and the poll taketh away. I am but a humble pollster, tending this poll. I cannot but collect data.

I do try to figure out why it does this or that. I know some people joined because of the Profoundly Disappointed thread. That's not a judgement, but perhaps it's partially related to some of the fluctuation of the past two or three weeks. I notice some votes moving up and down, but they seem to be very few. Nevertheless, we're still a bit below an ideal sample size, so individual votes remain a bit hefty. In any case, I think the results are roughly accurate.

[Agent Earle]

Following the events of Part 16, I've changed my vote from "Like or Love" to "Heavily Mixed, Leaning Toward Dislike".

Whoa, that's quite a turnaround. I'm curious as to what caused it ... Not that you're under any obligations to say if you don't feel like it.

[The Gazebo]

Ended up with 'Heavily mixed - leaning towards dislike'.

And yet I hope that when this is all over, and sufficient time away from anything related to TP has passed, I'll have an eagerness to rewatch the whole thing, and maybe have a fresh and improved perspective on it.

[Mr. Strawberry]

Following the events of Part 16, I've changed my vote from "Like or Love" to "Heavily Mixed, Leaning Toward Dislike".

Whoa, that's quite a turnaround. I'm curious as to what caused it ... Not that you're under any obligations to say if you don't feel like it.

I'm trying to raise myself from the general disappointment enough to properly articulate in the other threads, but to summarize, the unbelievably silly and sadly unsatisfying revelation that Diane was not actually Diane but a Tulpa, the instantaneous snap to fully recovered Cooper, and the dull fact that "The Doppelganger" really is just an "Evil Villain" with zero complexity, all leave a generally flat story to be completed. The setup was tremendous and the possibilities were infinite, but here we are, suddenly up to our neck in a tale that is rather meaningless due to lacking any real depth or tragedy. I really hope that I'm dead wrong, and that in viewing Part 16 we've just witnessed a brilliant flourish of misdirection.

[alreadygoneplaces]

Following the events of Part 16, I've changed my vote from "Like or Love" to "Heavily Mixed, Leaning Toward Dislike".

I've also downgraded after ep 16, though only as far as leaning towards like. The categories don't make it easy though- I do still like it, it and I've gotten a massive amount of enjoyment from the show, but my misgivings with it are large enough for me to not want to vote in the highest category.

[Agent Earle]

Following the events of Part 16, I've changed my vote from "Like or Love" to "Heavily Mixed, Leaning Toward Dislike".

Whoa, that's quite a turnaround. I'm curious as to what caused it ... Not that you're under any obligations to say if you don't feel like it.

I'm trying to raise myself from the general disappointment enough to properly articulate in the other threads, but to summarize, the unbelievably silly and sadly unsatisfying revelation that Diane was not actually Diane but a Tulpa, the instantaneous snap to fully recovered Cooper, and the dull fact that "The Doppelganger" really is just an "Evil Villain" with zero complexity, all leave a generally flat story to be completed. The setup was tremendous and the possibilities were infinite, but here we are, suddenly up to our neck in a tale that is rather meaningless due to lacking any real depth or tragedy. I really hope that I'm dead wrong, and that in viewing Part 16 we've just witnessed a brilliant flourish of misdirection.

Valid points all around, I'd say. THX for your thoughts. It remains to be seen if the final two parts will in any way subvert your reservations, though, honestly, I think the crucial points leading up to the final act are well set up by now (Lord knows they had enough time to do it), and it's highly unlikely things could take a wild turn this late in the game. Then again, this is Lynch, and we needn't look any further than S 2 finale to see how his eclecticness can soar, so ...

[Jasper]

Remember, this poll will lock BEFORE the debut of parts 17 & 18.

If you haven't voted or would like to change your vote, your time is limited.

The poll stops short of parts 17 & 18 because it's designed to measure reactions along the way, rather than reactions to the complete work. We'll have a separate final poll for reactions to the whole of The Return.

[Framed_Angel]

Voted "leaning toward dislike."
I found value in re-watching each episode, was the most unexpected aspect for me this season> Until Part 16. then I realized I was just substituting puzzle-decoding for the richer pleasure of taking in a storytelling adventure that rewards as much as punishes. S3 mostly punishes me. Adding also that the same rewatch value I reaped per Part does not seem likely to hold rewatch value as a series overall, in the future...

[IcedOver]

I started off in the "leaning towards dislike" group. I thought for a while, between Parts 8 and 14 (even excepting Part 12) that I was in the "heavily mixed, leaning towards like" category, but the subpar last two episodes have put me back in the "leaning towards dislike" group. I'm already thinking back that if I were to re-watch the whole show so far, I might like it more because it'll play more like a movie with themes that resonate between parts, but it'll depend on the finale. With a show this delicate, these final two will make or break it. If Lynch and Frost made a catastrophic decision such as making it all a dream or any similar laziness, the show will be put on a trash heap for me as a very sad failure.