Toast the dog is a good dog and survives! There’s quite a bit of drug use, a few jump-scares and some vomiting. If your trigger is childbirth scenes, be wary of the final episode.
The creators of this Netflix series obviously poured their heart and soul into this. Toni Collette (Evelyn) and Sydney Topliffe (Abbie) steal the show in my opinion. I did leave the series with a lot of questions however. In any case I look forward to what they do next. Maybe a season two?
This is the first TV show I recorded timecodes for. It’s a big commitment!
Synopsis
A small-town cop suspects that the local school for troubled teens — and its dangerously charismatic founder — may not be all it seems.
It’s a boy not a girl, but that might change in coming episodes. I will mark it if it does. Read on to learn more.
There’s a thing called ‘hotseat’ which means that the kids sit in a circle and say mean stuff to each other under the pretence of it being constructive. The person being insulted is expected to thank the person that insulted them, for their ‘feedback’ then to insult another person and so on. If anyone breaks the pattern they get put in the centre of the circle and everyone is encouraged to yell hurtful stuff at them until they break down and admit their shortcomings. The centre person is then expected to thank everyone for their feedback and there’s this weird next bit that made me shudder. Bearing in mind that touching is forbidden, the woman in charge says something that allows for a massive group hug type deal. People all pile on the central person and it turns to sort of writhing mass of weird moany noises, with the touching almost verging on groping. Very uncomfortable.
It falls under brutality, even if there’s no physical violence like punching or kicking. It’s - to treat someone with extreme cruelty or violence - degradation - To make someone cruel or insensitive by exposing them to violence or harsh treatment.
Very disturbing stuff, I suggest skipping the scene. All you will miss is that the two main girls learn that this place is messed up beyond what they knew before and they do not want to be in that seat.
Throughout the series, many characters forgive Evelyn or state that Tall Pines helped them, including Alex’s wife, but it’s clear that something else is going on to make them forgive her. It lends to the eerieness of the series.
You didn't say the magic word. You didn't say the magic word.
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-1
LukeDrummond
Alex is stalked generally by the town’s whisper network, who leave gifts at their front door without warning, seem to watch Alex and his wife, that sort of thing.
Spoilers: In E7, Alex learns that his house has been bugged.
You didn't say the magic word. You didn't say the magic word.
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0
ALPAL10A
S1
E6
S1-E6-Min13: Boy carries dead rabbit (killed off-screen) and cooks it over a fire. While it’s mentioned, it’s not the main focal point of this scene and moves on fast.
My wife saw one posted on Instagram in a behind the scenes thing so I watched the whole show scared and don’t feel like I saw it! A lot of toads and water and outdoors scenes.
Yes, Stacey (crazy girl) gets her face shoved down into her plate of food….but trust me, after you meet her character you’ll be cheering for it to happen
There is a scene where underage characters are pressured into a group hug that feels uncomfortable and somewhat sexualized, though it does not involve explicit sexual assault.
I personally found the end of the ‘hotseat’ session to be disturbing and had to look away. It’s like a weird writhing mass of touching.
You didn't say the magic word. You didn't say the magic word.
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0
S1
E6
A character falls and injures her ankle. The injury is shown to be bleeding, so while it's from a distance and there is no bone showing, you can infer it's likely a break.
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3
Arctic500
S1
E8
Unexpected, about 22-23 min in to episode 8. The scene cuts to it right after we see Evelyn choking Rabbit against the wall, and Evelyn starts zoning out
A character is said to have died by suicide. evidence photos of the scene are shown for a few seconds around the 36 minute mark of the episode. the character seems to have asphyxiated by hanging.
Alex feels watched throughout the show because of the town’s whisper network, which is dedicated to keeping the secret of Tall Pines. It could feel a little uncomfortable or trigger feelings about derealization. Alex’s wife goes into a fugue state when sleepwalking at night.
Yes. Two characters get trapped in a supply closet, and they escape through a small door leading to a maintenance shaft (revisited in E4). As a punishment, one of those characters then gets locked in a room (slightly bigger than the closet), and is taunted with a projected image of a closed door. Additionally, that concept of 'a door that cannot be opened' is depicted in multiple episodes, often with fingernail gouges around an unusable doorknob.
You didn't say the magic word. You didn't say the magic word.
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1
raspberrylime4
S1
E2
Very brief but explicit shot in episode 2: one of the characters is shown hitting herself in the upper thigh repeatedly, with old bruises and cuts on the area implying that this is a regular occurrence. She also put on mittens, with the implication that they are to stop her from causing damage with her nails.
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LukeDrummond
This happens in two ways- characters are watched by others from vents is the first one, and Mae Martin’s character feels watched by the entire town and the whisper network that is committed to keeping the secret of Tall Pines. It’s part of the spooky vibe.
The show is written by Mae Martin, a nonbinary person. In the show, they are a trans man and use he/him pronouns. In episode 4, a character makes a joke about him “not having a d**k but Martin is clearly comfortable with the joke since they made the show.