User Reviews

Well, as I said in the title, we finally got the hunt that was teased in the trailer, and the show runners gave us a great YJ-type bait-and-switch as to what actually happens. However, before we discuss this episode, I want to talk about some of these reviewers who leave these harsh reviews.

As I said in my review of ep 8, some of these reviewers simply do not like this show and enjoy leaving bad reviews. This is a unique, slow-burn show with some bizarre themes and plotlines and is not for everybody. It is obviously not an action show, has very little comedy and does not feature snappy, fast-paced back-and-forth dialogue like Succession. However, I think something else is going on here. Personally, I believe - and this is coming from someone whose politics are slightly right of center - there are many people - let's face it - who do not like this show simply because it features some same-sex relationships. Some of these harsh reviewers are definitely in that camp, but do not mention this in their reviews, so as to not expose their homophobic bias, and to help decrease the show's popularity. Okay, I've made my point on that. I am certain I will get many downvotes for these comments but I don't care. Let's move on...

No one can tell me they weren't on the edge of their seat when the girls were drawing cards. That was unbelievably intense, especially with the reveal that Natalie - who we know survives - drew the queen card. I'm not sure where I stand on the power of the "Wilderness," but if there is some sort of supernatural force out there, here is what I think happened with the hunt:

Natalie was selected by the Wilderness as the sacrifice for two reasons: She is the sanest of the group and thus more difficult to control. Plus, she is the most skeptical of the wilderness' power. When Travis interfered, it switched its choice to Javi as a way to punish Travis for interfering, since the only death that would hurt him more than Natalie would be Javi.

I will admit that I wasn't that crazy about Javi being the sacrifice. It seems kind of awkward for him to initially be missing and presumed dead, then coming back and now dying for real. Also, - as I said earlier - Natalie was the sanest of the group and Javi's death will push her more into crazy territory. Obviously, we know that present-day Nat has serious issues. I also believe we will have one more death in the wilderness timeline in the finale.

Now for the ladies. I thought their little meeting where they spilled (almost) all their secrets was well-done and unexpected. One thing that has been bugging me though is the (seemingly) forgotten scene where Nat saw the cult members sacrificing one of their own by burying him alive. Will she tell the others about that? As far as Lottie's proposal for them all to drink the potion which would kill one of them - is one of the drinks actually poisoned, or maybe Lottie is just testing them? If one of them dies, who will it be? The obvious answer would be Van since she - maybe - is dying of cancer, but that is too easy and definitely not YJ style. I can't wait for the answers to those questions.

One last thing I want to discuss is Walter. I believe it will be revealed that he has some sort of connection to one of the YJ's who did not survive the wilderness (my guess is Misty's nemesis Mari). Also, I think when he emailed the police, he is not going to expose Misty and the others. Rather, I believe he will give the cops some sort of red herring to take the heat off the YJ's, so that he can continue his own investigation into what happened out there. Okay, one more aspect to Walter that I want to mention - anyone else notice that, when he's going through his closet, he appears to have a purple garment similar to Lottie's cult members? One last thing - I promise - who is the dead body that Walter needs help with in the finale? Hopefully, it's that d-bag cop.

Starvation is setting in. Some of the girls are starting to hallucinate. They are desperate for food.

Lottie is on the edge of dying. The group decides they need to get "food", for her. They decide on a pick a card game to decide fate. Fate does intercede. The group won't go hungry for long.

Meanwhile the cops have found the body of Shauna's lover. The group is still at Lotties cult grounds when Shauna gets a the phone call about the body. She decides to go home.

Shauna's house is searched and Jeff is consoling his daughter that she isn't like Shauna. Will they turn on Shauna to save themselves???

Wow, I am amazed that the rating is high for this episode. The storyline is becoming more unrealistic by each new episode.

After months of being in a cabin, why is no one hunting for food or ice fishing. Rather pick a card to be sacrificed being with no story to it.

Why is everyone still friendly with Shauna after she almost bear someone to death. No discussion about it or consequences. Just normal apparently to let your anger out by almost killing someone no questions asked.

The weird chasing with the screams, everyone was weak and starving but capable of chasing someone to kill.

To just let someone drown, I can't even deal with the story anymore. Especially now, all sitting in a circle while they are all murderers and think it is okay because the wilderness chose 'someone' just wow.

I am done with this show. Don't see how it can go on.

This episode was the best episode in this show. Javi's death was sad but hey, at least they have food! I thought the hunt scene was a very well done and action packed scene. Plus now we know where Javi was hiding. He was hiding in those underground mines that Ben found. Speaking of Ben, is he done being depressed cause last episode he was about to kill himself but this episode he's exploring caves. I think Ben has some kind of mental illness cause it's kind of hard to switch between those things. Anyways, this episode was insanly good and one of the best episodes I've ever seen in a show in my life!

Finally, we got a little bit of danger and got the kind of violence and raw animal rage we had been waiting for. While the scene of the girls running around while high last season was a little goofy, it felt a little more real here when they picked Nattie and trying to attack her. It did seem like a bit of an unnatural jump to get to the point of cannibalism though when the concept was really not on the table prior to it.

I think they missed the mark by not having Ben in the room when they reached that decision. His reaction definitely would have made that moment that much more impactful for sure.

Season 2 is almost done, thankfully, because this season is nowhere near it's freshman season's greatness! This penultimate Season 2 episode entitled "It Chooses" is a microcosm of everything wrong with the season: random storytelling, vague supernatural plot, poorly written police subplot, exposition and over-explaining from characters, cringe dialogue and humor, obnoxious music, and terrible editing. Did this second season have a bunch of new writers? Also, the acting is starting to decline along with the weak writing and the show has degenerated into having a very self-aware, unserious vibe in the present-day and a lot of the seriousness of the past timeline dialogue is coming across as unintentionally laughable.

First, ALL the scenes involving the present adult timeline in this episode were bad. It was literally the 6 main characters Shauna, Tai, Nat, Misty, Van, and Lottie sitting in a circle, either willingly or unwillingly, revealing all of their dirty secrets from the past 2 seasons. These scenes came across as 100% comedy with all the characters wincing in embarrassment and making weird faces throughout, and were the most exposition-heavy scenes of the show. In particular, Melanie Lynskey's annoying acting style with her goofy facial expressions and choppy sentences has become very grating and comes across as silly compared to the rest of the adult cast, whose characters feel more serious. I feel like I'm watching a different show whenever Adult Shauna talks. In fact, what human beings would even talk like the 6 did in these scenes? Did Tai tell Van about the 18-wheeler and even so, how does Van even remember details like that? Who would admit that they kidnapped and killed someone in an open forum? I've literally heard dialogue like this on soap operas and networks like the CW. It's like the writers are having the characters just deliver plot synopsis dialogue, not natural dialogue that would happen with normal adult conversations. And the slimy, smarmy, smirking Mustache Cop is easily the worst character of the series and dumb as a rock. Did the writers really think this guy comes across as smart? Also, I find the actor's line delivery very annoying. Speaking of cops and line delivery, why does Kevyn talk in such a drawling whisper all the time?

Second, the past timeline is just as bad as the present, again with all the characters gathering in a circle pontificating about "the wilderness" making the rules and telling them how to survive and sounding more and more like modern teens and not 90s ones. Gone is the pragmatic survival story of the first season in favor of this supernatural nonsense in the second. The storytelling for these characters' hallucinations has been poorly written. Mari was having hallucinations way back early in the season when they were still eating fairly well and hasn't had any in like 4 or 5 episodes while the group was supposedly starving. Akilah also first saw the "mouse" early on when there was enough food. Why wasn't anyone else having hallucinations due to starving? In fact, none of these characters feel like they've been starving all season. They've just been sitting in that cabin arguing with each other and going about daily routines as if everything is normal. The writing tells the viewer that they are starving, but doing a bad job showing it. Why did they just skip over the decision to draw cards to decide who gets sacrificed? Are we supposed to believe that after all these months, the only food has been the meat from the bear that Lottie slaughtered and Jackie's burned corpse, which they stupidly ate all in one night instead of rationing it out over time? Why aren't they ice fishing?

Third, the dialogue is atrocious. Again, there's the incessant use of the F word for dramatic effect and it's gotten to the point of being obnoxious. And the acting is worse mostly because the writing is so bad. And the winter snow set looks completely fake like they are on a sound stage. You can tell they're not actually in the woods anymore like they were in the first season. The editing transitions are obnoxious where they shift from the older to the younger characters. Why do this now when they didn't do it previously? What was all that stuff with Ben figuring out Javi's drawing and the location of that tree? He's just now figuring it out? Javi told him episodes ago about the mystery woman and he saw his drawing back then. Why did he wait until this episode to go looking? It reeks of the writers just deciding to give Ben something to do, similar to giving Van something to do earlier this season with "figuring out" Tai's sleepwalking pattern. Also, why did no one just keep trying to ask Javi where he was? He actually knows about the place and just kept it secret for episodes. If he was afraid to tell anyone, why did he keep staying with these girls who he knew were going cannibal?

Finally, the whole last act made no sense. Again, these characters don't look like they are at a point of desperation and even if so, why not just have Nat and Travis go hunting? They've just been sitting in the cabin doing nothing for episodes. The cannibalism subplot just happened in the second episode, was ignored all season, then popped up again in this one. No signs of the characters' struggling or starving. No showing of characters' ever reaching points of desperation. Just a random drawing of cards for manufactured and unearned suspense. How did all the girls go from being mortified that Nat, their friend and teammate who's been doing all the hunting, was about to die by Shauna's knife to chasing after her like bloodthirsty animals? You'd think they hated her but nothing this season has earned that scene. And what was all of that cringe howling chasing after Nat? LOL Don't they realize that all of that noise would make it easier for Nat to hear them and tip her off to their proximity? Why would Nat just give up and let Javi drown, especially since both he and Travis just tried to save her life? Why do all these girls look so happy that Javi died? Where's the shock, the regret, the sadness over this innocent boy losing his life right before their eyes? How are they all just one hive-minded group of cannibals at the snap of a finger?

And the music has gotten really over the top to the point that scenes are starting to feel like mini music videos to showcase popular 90s songs instead of music actually complementing the plot. This writing is terrible. But what's really scary is that this episode so far has the highest rating (over 9 so far on this site) for the series so far. Not only is this one of the worst episodes of Season 2, like easily bottom 2 or 3, but also there hasn't been a single episode in the entirety of Season 2 that's as good as any episode from Season 1. And I highly doubt the finale will break that pattern.

This episode is what the entire show has been building up to but due to some poor pacing and the now mixed tone it failed to hit hard.

Characters don't seem to be the same episode to episode anymore as their motivations now openly vary depending on what the plot needs. It makes the actions feel cheap and the characters feel paper thin. The supernatural side of it also, personally, devalues their actions - although I understand some people enjoy that side of things.

Another issue is with the number of visions and fake outs. It feels like we're watching a series of consequence free dream sequences. We can't trust what is on screen, and it basically doesn't matter most of the time, so why should we care?

Writers need to sit down and consider why this didn't work for the audience if they want session 3 to be successful.

Such a disappointing second season. This particular episode is meant to lead up to a climatic finale. Unfortunately that isn't the case. In the present day timeline, it's absolutely nuts for the women to consider that one of them would commit suicide. Especially since Lottie said so! As far as the past, how on earth are these starving people able to summon up the energy to run amok through the woods and onto the ice chase down Natalie? They're willing to draw cards to determine who they are going to eat next, but can sprint like crazy even though they are starving? Season 2 is pathetic compared to Season one.

Let's immediately discuss the elephant in the room - Shauna with her hands in the form of electric knives. Like, who came up with this, ffs? I almost died laughing))

Okay, now to something more important point that they decided to cover, it was something that I was interested in from the very beginning: how those who we see after the crash became those who we see at the beginning of the first episode of the first season. And I wish I hadn't seen it. Like, I can understand sacrifice thing, struggle, unwillingness to commit such a cruel act, but this instant transition into a crowd of hunters happily hooting in pursuit of the victim 10 seconds later - it was so idiotic, just pure cringe.

In general, the second season turned out to be exactly what I feared it would become. It's a pity.

P. S. Still can't get over those electric knife hands lol...

So as of right now Vann is the only ok adult, the others are either murderers or accessories to murder. I guess Vann is too now since she knows, along with Lottie. But we all know Lottie has a screw loose. Speaking of Lottie, yeah I am bit tired of her new age stuff and don't buy that's it's what is keeping them all alive, her understanding of whatever "it" is. So now adult Lottie wants one of them off themselves, right on the heels of getting Natalie to open up and not wanting to kill herself now. Yeah, that makes sense, pfft, and why should Vann kill herself, cause Lottie says she's not happy? Hello, she has cancer. Puh-lease, there are two murderers in Shauna and Misty, let them spin the wheel and drink the Kool-Aid. However, I was not good with the Lottie beat down last episode, given her condition in this episode, why don't they finish the job instead of playing Cannibalism Cards, oh right, Lottie is protecting them. Speaking of her condition, adult Lottie seems to have no scars or lasting effects, including the scar on her forehead that she got last season, gone as an adult. By the way, I hope no one bought into the fake tension they tried to build with Natalie getting sacrificed, we knew it couldn't happen.

I am glad Ben got off the bed and is doing stuff now and found Javi's hiding spot. I think his role is just getting started here, he is the only one with a foot in both worlds with his visions pulling him back and forth, is there a possible parallel story line that can occur or has occurred?

Also, not mentioned in this episode, but we have been getting a lot of "this is not where we are supposed to be" types of statements. We hear it from Sleep Walking Tai and in one of Ben's visions and I think there have been others. You all know that means right? The adults will be going back to the wilderness at some point.