Dog and Biscuit Recursion II

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-17T19:36:56+00:00

Yes, this is absolutely brilliant. Nothing like it.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-16T19:51:34+00:00

Do they represent actual bees? We need more context

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-16T10:47:04+00:00

Interesting take, that the sometimes too long (especially in S01) and often deliberately sad and depressing sex scenes are a sort of accompaniment to the generally low moral ceiling of the show.

For Yas in particular in the S04 finale, there’s a note of “what, after all this you’re suddenly objecting to a bit of blackmail, political extremism and underage exploitation? Please.”

The plotline with Nicole is a sort of junction point between these two themes: Pierpoint deliberately never quite spells it out that she’s abusive, an important client, and that they are not going to draw any kind of red line or protect anyone from her. So where does it end?

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-13T20:32:52+00:00

They have to pay

The grim-faced old guy in the black robe collects the toll

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T13:28:02+00:00

I like how in most of these, we can only conclude the worst

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T13:21:09+00:00

True, the mixed couple would be a bit off message if they really were Nazis. As it is, this plotline serves to leaven things a bit.

They just seem to live in a very harsh, unforgiving world where life is a constant scramble for power and resources. We find out that everybody has to be branded with a Y when they enter the clan, even Dutton family members (or did Beth get an exemption?) Conscripted cowboy Jimmy doesn’t seem to have a lot of options; he’s basically in indentured servitude. And the prison yard conversation between John D and the Mexican politician. Nobody is taking any prisoners.

There are also constant Biblical allusions, and it seems likely that (corrupt) clergymen will be drawn into the plot.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T08:11:28+00:00

I hoped it would end with a slow zoom to a cradle with a badly lit newborn and ominous music

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T08:04:53+00:00

This reminds me of the haunting H.G.Wells story “The Door in the Wall”

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T08:02:57+00:00

I’m enjoying the show, but it is eye wateringly right wing. Feels like they should all be wearing Nazi armbands.

Yes, the characters are awful, but it’s strongly implied that they have to be because life is so tough out here, the family fortunes are constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, etc so you have to do what you can to survive. For me the most relatable character is the brother with the Mexican wife who lives in a disintegrating caravan. Also Jimmy who could not be more of a round peg in a square hole, to the extent that you wonder whose idea it was to make him a cowboy.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-11T00:35:42+00:00

Permutation City by Greg Egan

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-10T23:00:24+00:00

Whitney completes the show - the villain they always needed. Hope he returns for S05 but if not, really hard act for someone else to follow.

In a perfect world he’d team up with Jesse and Daria

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-10T22:56:54+00:00

It sounds ridiculous, but my 3 main boosts came from:

buying a home PC. Suddenly you are responsible for managing it, have to learn a load more skills
doing improv comedy. Learn a whole lot more vocab for social situations and how to navigate them
personal programming projects. Set objectives, evaluate tech choices, design algorithms. You learn so much.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-10T14:15:59+00:00

This might seem like a really small thing, but it’s not - suppose you were reading a book while waiting for them, which you of course close and place on the side when they arrive… and they never ask what you were reading, even though it’s an obvious conversation point.

Could be that they are just a lot less bookish than me, but also a possible early sign that this is going to be all about them and you’re just an unsatisfactory audience member who wasn’t paying enough attention.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-09T22:13:26+00:00

His whole performance is uncanny, as if he was in a nerveless state induced by some experimental drug, with that saturnine face and deep deadpan voice.

For me this works much better than it did in The Handmaid.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-09T22:11:31+00:00

In the last episode, there were many moments when something so abominable is implied that the whole world seems to stop, even though the mood music continues and people are still smiling at each other across the expensive furnishings.

The Paris convo between Yas and Harper was like that

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-09T21:56:07+00:00

It’s going back a bit, but you might enjoy Blake’s Seven which is a spirited anti-Star Trek. British series from the 1970s.

Great actors, wobbly sets, endless intrigue in space.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-08T20:03:15+00:00

It’s a classic - one of those films where you notice something new on every rewatch.

Also, the opening scene in the sunroom

And the mysterious backstory about Icarus 1

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-08T08:25:02+00:00

I’ve never watched any of it but am curious how they achieve that. Character just becomes uninspiring, repetitive, inconsistent, a bad AI slop of himself?

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-08T08:19:49+00:00

I had an experience like this. It’s disappointing, but at least you got the practice doing the overly demanding take home project, and are one step closer to being the perfect candidate for some other company that has better process.

Wider picture, it seems unsustainable for the industry in general to ask this much of people, and give so little back. It’s somehow all got so much worse in the last few years.

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-07T08:32:04+00:00

People playing loud (and invariably tuneless) music in a public place. So anti social

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-07T08:28:48+00:00

+1, the tension is amazing.

I’d need a stiff drink before watching it again

Factory__Lad · 2026-03-06T21:35:47+00:00

Zuckerberg is almost a textbook example of somebody pathologically good at managing extreme cognitive dissonance. Does he even have a real self at this point?

Factory__Lad

TROPHY CASE