There's not a lot I want to say (or so I thought; ended up being more than I intended), but I would like to second what Juli said above about us not really being all that concerned with the "action-packed" videos (at least not in the casual sense; car chases, shootouts, etc.). I think most concerns at this point actually stem from 1) the notion that seemingly pivotal plot elements were dropped without ever being looked at again, even by the characters, 2) Bree's latest round of being a bitch (Jess, I'm referring to your character, not you; you I like) with the whole "Tell me what you find out - while I ignore you for a couple of weeks!" thing, and 3) the general sense of aimlessness that's been at work for a while.
To clarify more of what I mean about the aimlessness, though it seemed to have started in January, in retrospect, those plot lines actually did a lot for Daniel's character (and Bree's too). I still think what could have been done in a week or two was unnecessarily spaced out over the course of a month there, but that's not too important right now.
After the rescue of Daniel, there just seemed to be no clear sense of direction. Their behavior was - I'm going to be honest - stupid, as they continued filming their locations, seemingly in an attempt to trick the Order (easily identifying where they'd gone, Jonas using the cell phone, Bree making that fake "Gosh!" face and acting in an over exaggerated manner over Jonas making the phone call that she somehow didn't notice he was making until it was already over), only for us to find out that, yes, they really were that stupid.
Anyway, going to the cabin arguably made some kind of sense. Everything they did around that scenario didn't, but okay, that was alright. The revelation that Jonas' parents had a tie to the Order, though, was a time that I think really necessitated some explanations, because it's still hard to believe that he didn't know about any of this before inviting Bree to his place.
It came off looking rather contrived at the time, and seems to be more so now that none of the characters have ever actually made the comment "How freakin' convenient." We know it's fictional, but the characters don't.
Anyway, due to revelations made since then (Jonas having that gun all that time, the trio knowing about that bunker all this time, etc.) a lot of things don't make much sense, such as Jonas not keeping the gun with him even after they were chased, or the fact that the characters went to Alex's place after the cabin, or the fact that they went to Vegas at all. That one in particular seems contrived, as it pretty much just seems like they did it so they could get captured.
At the time of the Vegas videos, it really seemed like they didn't know what they were doing and they were just doing something to be doing it. Knowing what we do now cements that.
The issues with pacing and relevance that have come since then really only made an already aimless matter look more aimless. I mean, what was the point of Jonas and Daniel trying to remember their kidnapper's face? Why would that even help them? Why'd they spend all that time trying to get to no actual end (would it be safe to assume that production issues are what resulted in the avalanche of go-nowhere hypnosis vids and Bree's New Girl monologues?), even when - if they had gotten somewhere - it wouldn't have provided any obvious assistance?
Heck, it's not like they don't know where they were held captive, so what would getting their memories back help them do? They got their vehicle back, and it obviously must have been taken to wherever they had been taken, so they'd know where to go (and all this assuming they didn't check the place out before taking to the road once more).
Moving on, to be honest, even as cool as some aspects of the Mexico scenario were (it was good to see Alex again, yes), I have to question what it accomplished. Why would the trio go after Alex first instead of to the bunker? They'd just been held captive and had no idea if someone else was going to be coming after them. It would have also been a good time to go see if the resistance had left anything useful behind, either in the form of information or something else (which is why they should have gone there before ever even going to Alex's; supposedly they went to her place under the pretense of finding out information that may lead to info on the resistance - but if they already knew where the bunker was, thennn ...).
There's really just been a massive string of aimlessness and glossed over plot elements for a long time. I'm taking you guys at your word that you've got a direction in mind now. I just think - what with comments that seem to assume what people are looking for is explosions and fights - that it needed to be thoroughly explained what the issues actually are.
Also, to briefly return to the matter of Bree and her behavior, it rather seems to do the opposite of promote talking to her when she doesn't seem to care about what's said. This has been a major problem of late. I understand that not everything can be addressed by her (particularly where non-canon matters are concerned), but when it takes her several days to "find" something that was given to her a week earlier by people on the forum, it just makes the mind go "Wtf."
Anyway, all that done, I wanted to respond to some of rupa's comments.
rupaZer0 wrote:Reasons why your last post has left many of us still unsatisfied:
1) You have not addressed our concerns about Jules. This is one of our biggest beefs and you have ignored it.
(This part addressed to rupa)
I actually think that this has been addressed in that she's still part of the story. I mean, they can't - or shouldn't - rework the entire thing they have planned to remove her. There's such a thing as giving too much power to the viewers, I think. At least give them the chance to do well with this plotline (or to bungle it, depending on your perspective).
When an actor (who is probably going to feel like shit anyway) hasn't been given a fair chance (we'd have torn Jessica/Bree apart if we'd known she was an actor; her intro was better than Jules', yeah, but compare her then to how she is now), and when the character might be absolutely pivotal to what's to come, I think it's too much for people to assume that the character and actor should just be removed (obviously they couldn't bring in a different actor to play the same character or there'd be complaints then about how unconvincing it was).
rupaZer0 wrote:3) We don't really care that much about puzzles. We'd rather have an engaging storyline. If you're finding it that consuming to make puzzles then get someone else in to help you.
(This part addressed to the Creators)
I agree with this. Puzzles never made LG15 what it is, and despite what you guys thought at one point (because of how they tracked info down on Greg and his family), you didn't attract an audience of primarily ARGers. Many of those people who tried finding out about you guys were just interested in knowing if this was a production because they'd become hooked on it.
In any case, having a solid story is infinitely more important than puzzles. Puzzles are a luxury that I think should only be considered after everything else (cast, crew, story) are in order, and if you guys personally find it too taxing to try doing it, but you're absolutely set on including them, definitely get someone else in to handle that.
rupaZer0 wrote:Lord knows you need someone else anyway, to check your scripts for plot errors.
Not to be harsh, but I can't say it's wrong. There's really been some mind bogglers. I know some of that's because of the fallout over OpAPHID, but most of it actually isn't.
