The Box Set: "Collateral."

I will tell you a very short story about rewatching the second episode (of four total) of “Collateral.” First, I caught myself being more critical than maybe I wanted to be while also trying to keep in mind something very important — if you go in for these quick hit series (and four episodes is really nothing), then you have to be ready for some cut corners. That said, the person I watched with has never seen the series and was dying to watch this second episode and came out of it…thrilled. Especially by what is arguably the best feature of “Collateral,” which is the pacing.

So, I am very, very curious about what people thought about this episode (and maybe equally curious about whether you will keep the big picture in mind when responding). It is, I suppose, a kind of test. Or, more exactly, an observation. I have guesses about how this might go, but I also have experience teaching a Visual Studies class for 14 years and knowing that surprising reactions always are lurking in the seats.

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Quick reminder if you went ahead and binged this — please focus on the 2nd episode only. Other than that, I’m going to add the same spread the word phrasing I used with the “Station Eleven” post:

I will be checking out the comments and diving in with my own responses and (warmed up) hot takes! So, have at it through next Friday. If you know anyone else who might be interested in The Box Set viewing club — or who might need a prod to come over to Substack, by all means tell them we’ve got room. A big audience is a good audience if everyone loves TV.