Falling Water

What if nothing ends up coming together? Although there are some signs of that, Falling Water also can be maddeningly inexplicable and perhaps not worth a long-term investment. So far, my interest has ebbed and flowed.

After the four episodes made available for advance viewing, things were clarifying somewhat and an addictive quality was emerging, but not everyone may get that far.

Falling Water feels ambitious and maybe even a little pretentious, but we’ll see if it ends up earning a full season of viewer attention.

The only thing that’s crystal clear is that this won’t be a short trip, so it’s up to a viewer to decide if the show is languorously absorbing or just painfully slow. Two episodes in, my vote goes to painfully slow, while certain others may be tantalized by Falling Water’s many secrets.

There's something going on here. What it is is completely unclear in the first episode.

The elements for a very good show are all in place but the show keeps getting in its own way.

The mystery along with its intriguing premise might have been enough, but the main problem with the show is the slow pacing. It’s easy to drift.

Dazzlingly shot and intriguingly cast. ... After four episodes, I'm thinking this ponderous, pretentious thriller asks too much of us with too little immediate reward. [10-23 Oct 2016, p.19]

Promising a web of Jungian symbolism, Lynchian surrealism, and Abrams-y subterfuge, but nearly no compelling characters, little narrative cohesion, and blah cinematographic vision, it represents the preposterous pinnacle for the if-you-confuse-them-they-will-come trend.

The problem with Water is that it keeps promising revelations that are constantly withheld, as though we might not keep watching if the show tipped its hand about what all this dream investigation is really about.

Perhaps, if one took copious notes, consulted the show website’s “About” page, and discussed each element thoroughly in a subReddit, the convolutions in Falling Water would yield rewards. As it is, it’s hard to imagine finding the time for this dull, plodding thought experiment.

The blunt truth is that there’s a major difference between complicated and cluttered. Falling Water thinks it’s the former but it’s really the latter, a show that throws so many ideas and references (it recalls “Heroes” as well as the cult classic “Dreamscape,” along with “Inception,” of course) against the wall in hopes to keep you numb to the fact that there’s not much going on.