Elisabeth Moss, Jane Campion's "Top of the Lake 2", BBC2.

[ThaliaLuxurySpa]

No exact UK release date yet, but is airing in July.

I'm a bit disappointed the new series is Sydney-based: the remote NZ setting added so much atmosphere in the original...but Elisabeth Moss can do no wrong in my view!

Featuring Gwendoline Christie and Nicole Kidman, too.

MeanAger,

I'm in a real quandary: such is my belief that any Jane Campion/ Elisabeth Moss vehicle must be worth watching/ characters must surely develop/ the grim or bizarro stuff eventually make sense, that I'm definitely watching tonight's ep2 and will judge from there.

But I haven't dare even venture on other China Girl threads, MN or on other forums, for fear of (unintentional) spoilers...always happens, when an entire series is released in one go: everybody at different stages and, sooner or later, somebody who's watching, say, ep5, drops a clanger that we who are still on ep2 haven't yet reached...Aaaargh.

I'm really missing the communal, episode-by-episode, analysis and madness...always really good fun on MN.

And all RL binge-watching friends will tell me is "it does get a lot better after the opener" (well, couldn't really do otherwise, let's face it!), and "all the exploitative stuff is warranted and not just gratuitous".
Hmm.

Am so sorely tempted to watch ahead myself now, simply in order to be able to chat about it. Bit hypocritical of me, though.
What to do?
I miss the NZ lake!

The first time I saw Gwendolyn Christie was in GOT, and I thought what terrible, wooden acting, how did she get this role. She proved me no better in Star Wars . I hope she is better in this, have not watched it.

I always loved Peggy though.

Ok thalia I will watch episode 2 tonight and we can use this thread as the week by week viewing discussing thread. I will be having words with your friends if it is no better though!

(Me too!).

We can be lone voices in the wilderness of week-by-week viewing together

ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE WANT TO JOIN US?
YOU'RE ALL VERY WELCOME.
GUARANTEED NO SPOILERS ON THIS THREAD!!

Hello, I hrtft but just have a quick question. Should I watch the first series (just spotted it's available on iplayer) before getting stuck into the second? Watched last weeks first episode of series two and found it generally confusing!

igotta
i would suggest yes watch the 1st one.if for no other reason to understand Robin's(moss)character.it is dark and gorgeous all at once.others say no but i just watched 1&2 of china girl and there are references back to one that could be confusing.
enjoy.

Hi Igotta,

Well, it's not vital to have seen Series1 before China Girl : there are a few carry-over bits of backplot, but they've both got a very different feel (based only on the opening episode you and I saw last week!).

Series 1: NZ rural setting, atmospheric, The Lake almost a character itself. (Does deal with difficult subject matter, though, too).

Series 2 - China Girl : obviously Sydney-based, urban, so far seems less distinctive and more like a regular crime drama. 3 yrs on. Bar Robin and a couple of others, mostly all new characters. Totally separate case they're dealing with. (Obviously still difficult subject matter, as you'll have realised last week).

Am tempted to say stick with Series2 first (week-by-week, with us?!), safe in the knowledge that there's a quality series to watch afterwards.
But others would disagree...

Could link you to a "Quick rundown of what happened in Series 1"...or just Google...but then there'll be major spoilers for you.

Sorry, not much help, am I!

But I'm watching ep 2 tonight, believing it will improve, as have been told.
TBH, Elisabeth Moss's acting draws me in, even if it shows up everyone else's by comparison.

TL;DR:
Very different feel to Series 1...I'd save the original for after this.
Anything you want clarification on, skim this article (also week-by-week, so no spoilers):

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/27/top-of-the-lake-china-girl-recap-episode-one-and-were-off
(Their TV reviewer liked ep1 more than I did!).

Hiya - do you all realise you can download the whole series on the red button?

I have watched it all.

I won't spoil other than to say not as good as series 1 but worth a watch but does usual thing of wrapping up too quickly at the end!

wingless,

Sorry, posted without refreshing my screen: my comments weren't referring to yours!
Thanks for your input for our merry (if small) gang

Allthebest,

Yes, we do realise...that's our dilemma! See previous posts.

[PLEASE: NO SPOILERS PAST EPISODE 2!]

China Girl, ep 2

• God, those flashback non-wedding scenes make me miss NZ Lake setting and Series 1 even more

• Tui and son!

• Can't bring myself to call creepy boyfriend "Puss". Pus more like

• Café guys seriously make me seethe too much to appreciate any intended 'comedy'. Twerpy bearded leader instructing them about women/ their pitiful flipping up and down of laptop lids to hide the porn etc...Christ.

• Like avuncular Pathologist Ray.

Think he and Mary's Dad are the only decent blokes in the entire show, so far?

• Found Robin/ Mary meet-up nicely done.

• Miranda and Robin's brother...can only end badly all round.

I quite like her 'odd couple' pairing with Robin; both rub each other up the wrong way, but are potential allies. Some great expressive looks between them.

More to add, but no time now. Will try tomorrow.
What did the rest of you think?

I have found this without having seen the first series & am mesmerised, finding it haunting.

Love the cinematography & the pace...twisty stuff but I am hooked!

Terrified by Alexander's hold on Mary.

Fascinated by other relationships in this.

Elisabeth Moss is brilliant.

legoqueen,

I'm kind of envious you've got Series 1 still to watch!

Robin's backstory in it explains so much about how she views the world this series.

I've binged the first 5 episodes 🙊

I'm not getting the Elisabeth Moss love -- she seems like a bit of a one-note actress, although I enjoyed both series of TOTL and The Handmaid's Tale.
I watched all of series two online in two sittings and I thought EM sounded a bit more Aussie in TOTL2, mostly North American in series 1)
But I liked Gwendolyn Christie as Miranda very much -- I haven't seen her before, as I don't watch GOT.
TOTL Series 2 is harrowing at times and I think not quite as good as series 1 -- there were a few threads left untied IMO.
I echo the PP who said it all ended in a rush. But still worth watching!

Episode 3 tonight, on BBC2
Terrible admission, everyone, as I've been banging on about how it makes it too difficult for a week-by-week discussion thread, if everyone's at different stages, and drops spoilers by mistake: couldn't help myself and have watched eps 3 and 4.

May even be watching eps 5 and 6 tomorrow.

I will come back on here to join in with anybody being more restrained and keeping to schedule, though! And guarantee I will be careful not to let slip anything from future episodes...let's keep it spoiler-free.

Tartyflette

I think it's losing me - that ending tonight was ludicrous.

HouseOfMouse,
(no spoilers in the following, don't worry)

So sorry not to have replied before: have been away from thread and TV all week.

Like you, I was so disappointed with ep 3's ending (cctv everywhere, yet no intervention by anyone in the attack? Righto).

And the over-reliance on too convenient coincidences to move the plot along seems a permanent feature, halfway into the series.

NK must have loved playing the brittle, threatened, up-her-own-arse Julia. But she's hard to like or care about.
Alice Englert/ Mary, too (so damn precocious) a lot of the time, but pretentiousness is a far more understandable trait in a teenager. And she at least occasionally shows real vulnerability, unlike her bloody (adopted) Mother!

Julia's partner Isadore makes me laugh in a good way, though, as light-relief, comedy-level pretentious.
(Well, that's how I've been reading her).

Hate Alexander. He reaches new depths at each appearance.

So, as actors: they're all doing a great job to provoke reactions.
For viewers: it's relentless.

Now only have ep 6 finale left (we're watching tonight)...I just couldn't help but watch ahead to see if the worthwhile points outweighed and made more sense of the less so.
(I'm glad I'm seeing it through, but ep 6 has a lot riding on it).

Mid Ep3 here and nervous about the ending

Alexander is so, so horrible

I can't take Elisabeth Moss seriously since reading she's a scientologist.

That ending was ridiculous and has really made me question whether I should keep watching!? Why did she not leave the room? Why did she let him get so close to her? Why did no one intervene beforehand? What a coicidence Robin heard the other officers talking about the woman on the freeway aaaggghh!!

I don't trust Miranda I can't figure out her story but now I'm torn whether to continue or not....

Anyone still watching this? I'm about to watch the final episode tonight and woukd love to chat it all through with you lot when we're all done. I have to say I've found this series very strange and at times surreal. It gets weirder/more far-fetched with each episode...

I'm watching this series as well (waves). I haven't seen series 1 but seem to be getting on ok, well as much as I can be!

I find the "lads" watching the porn really strange - do we know who they are?

My friend has watched the series and said keep with it, which we are as I think we may have given up on episode 1!

We've just watched episode 3 and now itching to see episode 4, after the end scene although, as somebody pointed out - why didn't she just walk away or leave?

I'm also not quite sure about Miranda - the relationship and is she really pregnant?

It's a very strange series but think we'll stick with it, 3 more episode to go.