Station Eleven (TV Mini Series) A Hawk from a Handsaw (2021) User Reviews

The shift in tone is jarring.

[slak96u · 7/10 · 19 December 2021]

I understand there were issues in production from Covid. Not sure if that is the reason for the incredible difference between the first two episodes, or that was the intention by the showrunners. Either way... going from Chicago, 80 days later, to the 20 year later Traveling Symphony is an uncomfortable transition. Still good TV, definitely the most unique thing I've seen on TV in a good while, worth a watch if for only that reason.

*Speculation* I feel like the pilot was shot, super dark and realistic. Covid hit during production, forced them them to pause, the first episode hit to close to home so they backed off a bit. The two episodes are so different, epi.1 feels completely different from the rest of the series. But what do I know....maybe it was intended...

the travelling symphony is a great idea

[sirendendeago · 8/10 · 22 December 2021]

E02: A Hawk from a Handsaw It is 20 years after the Flu but doesn't worry, we got the flashback exactly in the right place.

It was a little weird what they do to Kirsten character but I might forgive that for the Hamlet sequence is spectacular.

An irregular frowning way

[djyleo · 6/10 · 14 January 2022]

If this series turn out to be a bad one, this episode will serve as the turning point. The structure they made is not appreciated by me and it is not friendly to someone that know very little about Shakespeare.

A high frequency

[tvonline-69236 · 9/10 · 24 December 2021]

The series isn't special because of the story. It's a matter of execution. The direction and writing take creative risks that show what could be cliched or painful scenes in fresh and empathetic ways (ex: Kirsten finding out about her parents). The interconnectedness of the timelines does more than juxtapose before and after. It is an example of taking what could be a story gimmick and instead using the device to illuminate the humanity within the characters.

I have no idea where the story is going, but I'm not sure it matters. With such skilled creators operating at such a high frequency, I feel confident that whatever happens will be human and beautiful.

details

[Kirpianuscus · 6 May 2022]

The time line in the case of Station Eleven is only a convention, in novel and in series. The significant thing, in the last case, remains the good craft of adaptation and the fair nuances to story, ignoring, in good measure, loyalty to book but exploring in profound manner, things only imagined by reader.

The basic expectation was, for me, to imagine the Travelling Simphony. And it real works, like the Hamlet performance.

Sure, too early the shadow of prophet but not so unexpected.

An episode beautiful , especially, for details, from Station Eleven to the dialogues.

I don't like older Kirsten

[davidmoschitz · 6/10 · 3 February 2022]

I like shows where I can emphasize with the main character more. This is not one of them. She seems to be the kind of character who is in a deep conflict with herself about morals and so on, but not in a good way.

Story seems to be awesome, though, so I will keep watching.

9.5

[v-34814 · 9/10 · 15 January 2022]

Yes the first episode was stunning and ep2 is different from ep1 because it has a different purpose/task, but the consistency was there, the story of ki unfolding beautifully.

Maybe some people watched it for its potential to be a series about Covid-19? If so, it's reasonable that they are disappointed that ep2 is no longer in a "modern" setting.

If you have a little bit of knowledge of theatre, you will love this episode.(like, Shakespeare wrote plays and the wheels was a thing)

I have not read the original book, but so far, I can see this show is going to let me have some deeper realizations of civilization and art, and the characters seem nice and very human, the overall production-and-storytelling is both gentle and determined.

Episode 2 was based in an alternate reality!?

[brandoman47 · 7/10 · 5 January 2022]

I really liked episode 1. I was actually extremely surprised! I didn't expect it to be anything above a low end - average sci-fi, just as all of us true, lifelong, sci-fi fans expect from any show.. sci-fi in general, is extremely difficult to perfect.. on top of this, the very 1st episode can often be the true "make or break" of any show.. If it's too boring or slow, too choppy or uneven, if everyone & everything isn't completely on point right from the get-go, chemistry of the cast & crew, if the script or characters are weak or unrelatable, if the cast or crew can't click just right, problems with scheduling or sicknesses (especially during the intentional chinese virus crisis!!), or having problems or any other things happen that are completely out of your control... Basically, EVERYTHING has to be perfect and right away from the jump.. Well, this show basically did everything. All of it right! This started on a very high note!

I really liked the 1st episode because it was so relatable! It was so similar to the start of this real virus.. Every single living person now knows 100%, that what is happening now is possible & something worse in the future is extremely likely if not completely certain! Basically it was like watching a repeat, just way more severe and extreme than the world's current state! Going up a level.

This new 1 is really a completely different show.. an absolute jarring difference between.. too different!

HUH????

[Carriexoc · 5/10 · 26 December 2021]

What the hell did I just watch? Not even the same show as episode 1! I kept rewinding to see the same seen over and over again because I couldn't understand what the hell was going on! The first episode was AMAZING!!! I was so excited!!!!! This episode just confused and frustrated me.

Way to take something that started out beautifully and turn it into garbage

[kyttness · 5/10 · 17 December 2021]

This second episode is nothing like the first. I feel zero emotional connection to Kirstin as an adult. Very little even happens in this episode and it feels weird without a real point to the weirdness, just for the sake of feeling weird. First episode should have trigger warning: "Warning all the characters they made you like die or turn into carnies"

Strange shift in tone

[rmmil · 5/10 · 23 December 2021]

Time jumps galore!

I can tell episode 2+ must have had a break in production because it feels like a completely different series.

With episode 1 I thought I was getting a survival series, but no...it's The Leftovers! Something bad as happened so now it's cults and such. Sigh. I have a bad feeling about this direction.

The Kristen character is "fine", I guess? A bit too much random staring off into the distance, though.

Can any post apocalyptic series not go with the "people are the REAL enemy" troupe? Is this possible?

Pilot episode is misleading

[talhacarrim · 5/10 · 23 September 2022]

I'm trying out this series coz it got some limelight at the 2022 Emmy's. Watched the pilot and enjoyed it immensely. Loved the tone & the tension. Loved the characters and their introductory storylines. But now, watching episode 2, I'm shocked & irritated. The difference between the 1st 2 episode is chalk and cheese. It's almost like episode 2 is a pilot for a completely different show. The sparse scenes in this episode that continue from episode 1 is dragged out in tiny segments and the effect of the actual tension is lost. The newer, future storyline is uninteresting & bereft of any detail to make it make sense. Reluctant to continue.

Too much, too soon

[revenant83 · 5/10 · 16 February 2022]

The timeline jumps ahead (and, finally, back), but more or less everything we learned in E1 became secondary very quickly. Don't jump time until you have either resolved the current timeline, or else left the unknowns clearly defined, and set expectations for future exposition.

Not a fan of the one dimensional Mackenzie Williams as an actress, personally, so that was another jolt for me, but it could have been less so with clear purpose for the time jumps.

Also I don't really want to watch Shakespeare (or any other story) in the middle of a different story. We get it, they're a Shakespeare company (for some cliched reason, but just gloss over the stage acting. It lends little or nothing to the plot given that nearly everyone is familiar with the subject matter.

It does get interesting a bit in the end, but the setup and pacing could have been better.

Also please stop using Mackenzie Davis for every quirky millennial. She's one dimensional and it's like watching the same mercurial character in every outing.

Episode 1 great. Then this mess

[ddio-26092 · 3/10 · 17 August 2022]

Note to aspiring show creators. Don't jump ahead 20 years in your second episode. It gets confusing. You haven't even got to know the characters. And what happens when I really was interested in what was happening in the first episode and then all you hand me is muddled snippets. This episode was a mess. Now I don't even know if I want to watch any further.

Pointless episode, different actors

[Axel0ma · 4/10 · 25 January 2022]

This is what this episode is. Different actors that apparently play actors in the movie and are really bad at it.

At this moment if a meteorite would hit the whole camp I couldn't care less. I have no idea what happened with the second episode but it seems like it was made by, not only with different actors, but it seems like the whole production company, directors, and so on, are different.

I hope in the next episode they come back somehow.

Good luck with that!

Ughhh....

[shoppingcelina · 3/10 · 23 August 2022]

Even in a show about the apocalypse we can't get a realistic approach to childbirth. A wheelchair in the middle of nowhere and a magical tent birth center with midwives to save the day. It's ridiculous how far people will go to depict childbirth as something negative.

??????????????????

[shefchenko · 1/10 · 29 January 2022]

Sooooooo.... this episode happened. Nothing happens, but their phones somehow work. I guess their writers took a day off writing this one. Hope the next one will be better, or...