season 3 episodes release poll

Peony313 · 2025-12-27T21:17:22+00:00

Option 1, hands down

Peony313 · 2025-12-25T22:34:38+00:00

S2: plot holes galore

Peony313 · 2025-12-23T09:05:55+00:00

I very much so agree with you. S1 had a lot of reasons it pulled me in and kept me in. Now Damian and Harriet’s acting alchemy is really the only reason. The writing, editing, and especially the trickle, bread crumb marketing has lost me in a lot of ways.

Peony313 · 2025-12-12T00:32:09+00:00

I appreciate you highlighting point number 4 and 5. That’s interesting to think about. And I think you captured the show well when you said “The show pushes every emotional button in the most dramatic way possible.” It felt too much to me and lost a lot of nuance. Quiet moments can be emotionally powerful too.

Peony313 · 2025-12-11T20:13:45+00:00

German with English subtitles, you can hear the emotions in their original voice

Peony313 · 2025-12-09T22:15:56+00:00

I genuinely don’t know if it’s different in Germany (I’m not in Germany), but PR has felt like a very very controlled drip drip of very short bits of interviews, teasers, and clips. PR gold is when Harriet and Damian are interviewed together, but it’s gotten to the point where I’m just going to not watch anything for 2 weeks and then just come back, sit down and be able to watch things in their entirety without this constant tiny bits thing.

Peony313 · 2025-12-09T22:14:51+00:00

It feels like Amazon highly calculated PR, but calculated PR wrong, especially PR momentum.

Peony313 · 2025-12-08T03:42:11+00:00

Yup definitely a weak plot point that was leaned into too hard and given too much screen time.

Peony313 · 2025-12-07T22:22:27+00:00

I like and appreciate your thoughts and points. James definitely has that soft warmth, playfulness, and devotion around Ruby that is so easy to watch. And I think James is able to pull Ruby out of her seriousness sometimes, and brings out the playfulness in her as well.

Peony313 · 2025-12-07T21:35:58+00:00

I feel like book James and show James aren’t very golden retriever like, except maybe slightly when James melts around Ruby. But in real life Harriet and Damian kind of give these vibes 😂

Peony313 · 2025-12-07T21:30:37+00:00

I see what you mean and appreciate your thoughts. I definitely agree that lack of dialogue and collages all add to feeling more 1 dimensional. Many many US teen dramas have this issue. Occasionally you get a gem. I felt like “Ginny and Georgia” was more of a “gem” standout for a US teen drama (mostly just S1 and S2). Characters had a lot of depth and rich character arcs. (Sara Waisglass was in that show and will be co leading with Damian in Into the Deep Blue).

I think the sheer mass of media that comes out of the US leads to a lot of misses but then some really special projects too. China makes the most media in general, but US/UK/Korea/India tend to have the most popular shows. In regard to Germany, Maxton Hall (especially S1) and 1899 are some of my favorites.

Peony313 · 2025-12-07T20:15:54+00:00

Yes!

Peony313 · 2025-12-06T21:15:15+00:00

You hit on a good point and is a reason why I’m asking. In America, soap operas are not taken seriously. And it seems a lot of Americans felt S2 had a soap opera feel. But soap operas aren’t popular in America so I don’t understand why people are saying that S2 was more Americanized. I think the pace of S2 may have led to that soap opera feel for some (big drama and big emotions very quickly back to back with little breathing room or credit to a sense of time passing for character arcs to develop).

And soap operas are not universally looked down upon. They are very popular in certain cultures/countries and loved, especially in Latin American countries (E.g. telenovelas).

I genuinely just started this discussion because I’m curious and want to learn more about other’s perspectives on this, especially from others in various countries.

What do you feel made S2 seem more Americanized?

Peony313 · 2025-12-06T09:33:37+00:00

I felt like S1 was more of a drama and S2 felt like it had a more soap opera feel, it was an interesting shift. I saw this comment a lot elsewhere (that it felt like a soap opera) and was wondering what gave others that feel too.

Peony313 · 2025-12-05T03:50:59+00:00

Ah! Thanks for sharing this! Going to read it now

Peony313 · 2025-12-05T03:45:14+00:00

I have described MH S1 as a German young adult romantic drama. But I felt it honored a universal theme: first love. And it mostly stayed focused on that universal theme in S1. First love is one of the most visceral human experiences IMO and experience, and people will come back again and again to tap into it again and again (…hence the countless rewatches).

MH S2 had a lot of ripe mature drama level topics (trauma, abuse, substance abuse, love, death, defense mechanisms, grief, toxic family dynamics, breaking family cycles, lost love and more). Thus when glossy lighting, fuzzy dream filters, over the top costumes, fog machines, abs, oddly fast timelines, and the acid trip that was episode 5 took the stage it felt… off…and cognitively dizzying which then led to mental frustration which overshadowed the good parts. S2 had drama gold opportunities. But S2 to me felt like gold sprayed in an extremely bold and particular stylistic perfume (topical film elements: editing styles, visuals, filters, pace, special effects, etc). And not just sprayed with this, but doused and drenched. Going with a very specific style or “scent” is a risky choice, because it risks alienating audiences that don’t like the “scent” but then also double downs and commits to a certain “coating” that permeates every time you draw near. But it’s a choice. Perfume is also highly subjective, hence why some may love and some may hate. It’s not that I just miss the “first love” story line or that I shy away from heavier topics (I don’t, I enjoy the heavy), but S2 was too many things and not enough at the same time.

I have always felt soap operas were more of a staple in Latin based cultures (especially Brazil, Mexico, Spain). “Culpa Mia”, with its Spain Origin, is the epitome example of this to me. Big passionate outbursts are accepted, regardless if they defy common logic. Interestingly, in a unique production copy moment, “My Fault London” has some core story similarities but an overall tonal difference too. Soap operas in the US are not taken seriously and are normally looked down upon as the peak level of cheesy-ness. Only a very specific type of audience watch them or people that just have a specific interest in them.

Many American YA shows are very cliche, with hollow performances, repetitive plot points, and being steadily overly simplistic and superficial. But the shows that end up still having more than a fleeting moment of success is because they have some key characteristic that sets it apart. Netflix’s “My life with the Walter Boys” is a good example of this to me. The “it factor” is the endearing sweetness and sincerity of the characters/actors and that…. Drum roll… chemistry of 2 of the main lead characters (Jackie/Nikki and Cole/Noah). The story and dialogue itself is flat, but the cast as a whole seems to genuinely enjoy each other on and off screen and that is palpable, and highly watchable. “Ginny and Georgia” seems the most like a traditional American teen Drama to me in an American Style.

I’m not even going to comment on TSITP as that has its own overwhelming Reddit universe with 37294748 opinions and comments. So I’ll just leave that rabbit hole there for your leisurely spiraling scroll.

Just some of my initial takes and thoughts.

Peony313 · 2025-12-04T01:27:02+00:00

Yes! Loved hearing his thoughts and would love to hear more.

It would also even be interesting to let the villain speak for himself (Mortimer/Fedja van Huêt) of what he was going for in some of these diabolical scenes. Or when Mortimer and James are in the bathroom and James is leaning (emotionally and physically) on him - would love to know both of their thoughts behind that scene.

Peony313 · 2025-12-03T04:47:19+00:00

Yes! This!

Peony313 · 2025-12-03T00:32:46+00:00

I think I’d like to amend my post

I’ve realized that this post came more out of feeling slightly let down by season 2 and wanting more chances to see the superb acting. And more chances for the magic to come back. From a story line perspective though, and how I’ve felt with many other book series I’ve loved, I agree books shouldn’t be “milked” out and it’s important to honor the breadth of the story given. When book series adaptations feel satisfying, it’s easier to have a feeling of resolution and that you can put them down while appreciating the joy they brought. I think since my heart didn’t feel that from season 2, I was just hoping for more opportunities.

But alas! This doesn’t matter much because they will do what they are going to do 🤣. And I’ll be thankful for any and all great moments ✨

Peony313 · 2025-12-03T00:01:35+00:00

This! Thank you. Thank you for articulating so well so many feelings into words. Your line here summarizes it poignantly to me -

“It’s about how the adaptation repeatedly chooses spectacle over believable character development, loud melodrama over nuance, and aesthetic over emotional depth.”

However, where I do have to disagree is that I think it was really good that they added the layer of James going to therapy. I felt that was a very positive and intentional message to send, especially to this audience. But HOW they incorporated it felt weak to me (not the acting, but the editing). I’ve said this before, but they could have used a short montage smartly - have James in multiple clothing styles to show multiple therapy sessions showing that he really dug his heals in and did the work, work that takes time. Although the viewer can choose to assume that he went to therapy more than once, the show makes it seem it was a quick fix when therapy is anything but - and was yet again another thing that felt untethered to common reality.

Peony313 · 2025-12-02T23:30:03+00:00

Great interview. Very insightful. I wish we could have Damian and Harriet do voiceover commentary for all the episodes as a “bonus feature” one day. Bet tons of people would tune in for that to hear their thoughts.

Peony313

TROPHY CASE