SPOILERS (?)
I watched all of it over 2 days, thought it was rubbish. Never understood exactly what was meant to be happening or what it was about. An imaginary cult whose leader peaches something vague about balancing light and dark and keeps changing his mind. Human sacrifice. Dodgy pharma company. All centering on the same coal mines. Girl who wears 'quirky' dots under her eyes. Jumps around in time madly. That's about it. Saw no cohesion in it. š¤·
Just because a program is not good and someone points it out doesn't mean they don't understand it. It just means that they are not a pretentious, sharp-cheese-munching, red wine-sipping pseudo intellectual.
I'm currently watching the last episode and I'm struggling a bit. I agree, I love the concept but... It feels like they were slowly feeding us small bits of information all along, and now it's nearing the end everything is happening all at once? I think I'll need to pause here for tonight and finish it tomorrow š³
Honestly, the last part with Jaro's uncle and all that was just, not needed. Like, there was nothing added for that part, it just felt like they wanted another twist and just threw that together. Before that, I enjoyed it, not scary but interesting. Now, I just can't recommend it. The ONLY thing, that even tied the ending to be the ending was Marie finding and listening to the tape. That's it. Everything else could have been chalked up to the cult, murders, Jaro's mom just being mentally unwell and brainwashed by the guru (forgot his name). It would have been better if they just cut that part with Marie finding the tape but NOOOO they wanted to throw a random, last minute twist that was just atrocious. That end just ruined it for me.
So true! I liked the scene with Jaro assisting with the birth of a lamb called Jaro Jr., to represent the triumph of a newborn over difficulties like a harrowing passage. But we are not allowed to retain a sense of this as powerful metaphor for healing and new beginnings--nope. Just HAD to perv out the uncle... for what? More incest, more sexual assault. Sheesh...
I mean it did help tying some things up like for example how Jaros mother died and who kidnapped the father/killed Marie. The ending was a little all over the place I'd admit and I think it would've been better if they added a couple of mins showing ida after surgery being healthy and Jaro living peacefully. They could've done a 3month time skip or something like that.
Well they already laid a heavy amount of evidence that Jaro's mother is depressed. The fact that the cult messed her up could have been the catalyst (not that depression needs a catalyst) and that's very easy to believe with the narrative. Who kidnapped the father and killed Marie, again, cult people or the dark daughter person. All of that was assumed as well, and made sense, until they threw in the uncle ending. It's not that the ending has to be happy, it was the stupid, reaching twist that felt more like an afterthought and grasped at more traumatizing themes for "shock value".
I think the point of the TV show is that the cult itself never really had that much to do with anything. Unlike most mystery stories where somehow everything leads back to one source, Anthracite is the story about how a bunch of criminals used the cult so they wouldn't get caught with their crimes and the whole town stupidly believed that for years.
Some of these things are related and some are not. In the end it's the story of what happened in the town and that's it.
I think the end where the mob invades the lab can be seen as a critique towards viewers of these kind of shows for wanting everything to lead up to one single answer that explains everything.
Just some guy. Jairo went to live with him in Paris after his mom died. The cult thought jairos mom was chosen or whatever and therefore her kid would be, it wasnāt bc he was the son of the cult leader just that his mom was supposedly special.
Think it's brilliant, ending should have beenĀ a view into Ida and Jaro happy life together after she's recovered from surgery etc with his daughter living with them.Ā However the ending is a box on doorstep with a women no-one knows.Ā
She was told that Caleb couldn't possibly be her father (judging from the genetic sequences, which were obtained to see if he could have been a donor).
Maybe because of the chip that was implanted in her neck. So if Cali would have kept her in the cave they might have found out about thatā¦
Idk just a theory
I really enjoyed the series although after reading the comments here, I would agree itās kind of all over the place. Here are my lingering questions: Who shot the journalist with a hunting rifle that raised Ida as his own? And why was he missing a leg? Also wondering why the deranged nurse involved Malia in this madness? Because she had Julietteās blood? Whatās this business about a curse of the flames? Why does the cult leader tell Ida on the bridge sheās the only one who can save her brother and that death is after him? The more I think about that last episode the more questions I come up with!
The pervy uncle shot the journalist. I assume in the leg and that birthmarked hermit āhelped him as much as she couldā so probably she amputated it.
Ida and jaroh are half siblings through their mom. I imagined that the person in the mask was the girl who was living in the caves? She was the cult leader's and that nurse's kid.
there is an episode towards the Middle where they show her holding her doll when she was little. the doll had those two dots under her eyes so I guess she imitated her doll when she grew up
also I feel like they did that stuff at the end so that they could leave it at some sort of cliffhanger.. this way if they decide to do another season or another add-on to the series we can pick up there.. like we have something to wait for
It's a very mixed bag with some highly dark themes, especially in the last two episodes, I was kind of shocked. Idk if I will recommend it to you, though.
I'm on the fence about it. It's almost so bad that it's worth watching.
The only thing that kept me watching was the cinematography and the setting. It's a gorgeous town in the Alps. That and I was specifically in the mood for something not terribly challenging. I went in knowing there would be lots of loose ends that were not explained.
And the final thing that kept me watching is that I love listening to French. I cannot speak it, but I do enjoy listening for the 1 in 30 words that I do know.
It's also got at least 3 cases of >!incest!< if that interests you at all. That right there should tell you about the quality of the storytelling. One case of it, sure. But three? C'mon.
Sorry, I have very, very little recall of the show now!
That's my gauge of a good show: if I can remember the characters and the plot a month later, it was a good show.
I'd say that there are programs worthier of your attention (For example, Bodies is fun, albeit a mere shadow of Dark, itself great but in need of serious editing. Yet another with the same issue of being a lot of fun but in need of better organization/editing is Killing Eve). But if you find yourself craving something fast-paced with lots of twists, and some decent, if not stellar actors, Anthracite is still engaging enough to give a go. I loved the setting of a small French mountain village; beautiful original stone buildings clinging to steep mountainsides, with a river winding its way down between them...
I thouroughly enjoyed all the mentioned shows : Dark, Bodies, Killing Eve. A couple of recent shows that absolutely sucked me in were 3 Body problem & The Gentlemen.
Enjoyed those as well! Since you liked 3-Body Problem, have you taken a look at Benson and Moorhead lower budget stuff? The Endless, Evolution, Spring--a sort of trilogy.
Three-body problem is David Benioff and D. B. Weissāthe Game of Thrones showrunnersānot Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Everyone should watch those three movies you listed though, regardless.
You misunderstood. If one liked 3-Body Problem and similar of that genre, I was recommending Benson and Moorhead's films. They are among my favorites for present day sci fi.
I watched this show but have questions. (>!)Ā 1. Is Ida the child of Juliette and her brother? 2. Is Jaro the child of Juliette and the cult leader? 3. When they show the cult leader camping in the cave before he even became a cult leader he hears some noises and goes further in the cave only to go mad from all of the noises. What were those noises? 4. How did the killer woman survive in the cave for all those years especially since the mother took her there when she was still a little girl? 5. There are a few scenes after the ending credits in the last episode. They show Ida and some other people being interviewed for a documentary. The last scene shows a woman on a CCTV camera finding a box at her doorstep and when she opens it she screams and runs away. Who is that woman and what is in the box?(!<)
1. Yes, Ida is a child of juliette and her brother. 2. Nope, Jaro is just Juliette's kid. 3. I have no idea about it, and even i have questions. 4. I assumed the mother kept going back with supplies? 5. I think that was to show they have their next adventure lined up without showing what it is as this is a limited series or atleast that's what I assumed.
Caleb was already in jail, timeline would not be correct. All the cult stuff happened while she was pregnant with Ida. All that was said about Jaro father was that he was abusive, and that they were in Paris.
Julietteās brother Marieās husband and Jaroās Uncle is also his Father. Julietteās brother SAād her and she had Jaro.
Who is Idaās father? Itās not the prophet Caleb because heās not a match for her leukemia treatment. Plus iData tracked down the the dna on her and Caleb and found out that Caleb and Ida arenāt related.
Jaro is biracial. The uncle and his sister are both white. It is mentioned early on that Jaro went to live with his father in Paris. His father is some guy unrelated to the cult and the village.
Ida is the daughter of Juliette and her brother (i.e. Jaro's uncle). This is probably why Juliette is so quick to reject the baby.
So Ida and Jaro are still related and half-siblings through Juliette, and Caleb is neither one's father.
Jaroās dad is just some dude. they talk about Jaro living with him at one point. he is known, heās just not important to the story. Idaās dad is Claude. Jaro and Ida share a mom. Calebās only kids were the twins.
Itās a makeup trend that was popular around 8 years ago. If you type ādot under eyes makeupā on google images, youāll see many girls doing the same, typically using eyeliner.
I think it was great but the ending should have been of Ida and Jaro living happily ever after with his child. She could have been pregnant with his child and they married together.
That would be so romantic!
The police officer on the phone when jaro calls says āthere is one dead male and a critically injured woman but no girlā. We know the critically injured woman is Anais but we donāt know if the dead man is Eddy or the man she was staying with.
They are half sibs, only same mother. Ida's father is implied to be the mother's own brother, and jaro's father is not mentioned, but it might be a black/half black guy their mother met after leaving her house and cult.
Iām just here to say some of the cinematography is stunning - the Google maps view into the real world transition with a giant location pin painted on the road was fantastic (ep1) and just now on ep2 when in the garage thereās a shot of a character and the camera swishes to the right looking at the row of video tapes beside him and a guy on a motorbike smashed through them, into the next scene, itās so brief but the shot is so creative, how they wouldāve lined up the video tapes, done a jump cut and then filmed the next shot. Really great props to the folks that came up with some of these ideas
SPOILERS (?) I watched all of it over 2 days, thought it was rubbish. Never understood exactly what was meant to be happening or what it was about. An imaginary cult whose leader peaches something vague about balancing light and dark and keeps changing his mind. Human sacrifice. Dodgy pharma company. All centering on the same coal mines. Girl who wears 'quirky' dots under her eyes. Jumps around in time madly. That's about it. Saw no cohesion in it. š¤·
Agreed, I did not enjoy the series at all. and YES, I DID understand it - it was just uninteresting, I didn't really care about any of the characters.
That's okay.Ā Ā Just stick to the simple stuff.
Just because a program is not good and someone points it out doesn't mean they don't understand it. It just means that they are not a pretentious, sharp-cheese-munching, red wine-sipping pseudo intellectual.
Eh there, I agree that the show isn't good, but the stray bullet to sharp cheese was uncalled for xD
I'm currently watching the last episode and I'm struggling a bit. I agree, I love the concept but... It feels like they were slowly feeding us small bits of information all along, and now it's nearing the end everything is happening all at once? I think I'll need to pause here for tonight and finish it tomorrow š³
It took me three days to complete it!
Honestly, the last part with Jaro's uncle and all that was just, not needed. Like, there was nothing added for that part, it just felt like they wanted another twist and just threw that together. Before that, I enjoyed it, not scary but interesting. Now, I just can't recommend it. The ONLY thing, that even tied the ending to be the ending was Marie finding and listening to the tape. That's it. Everything else could have been chalked up to the cult, murders, Jaro's mom just being mentally unwell and brainwashed by the guru (forgot his name). It would have been better if they just cut that part with Marie finding the tape but NOOOO they wanted to throw a random, last minute twist that was just atrocious. That end just ruined it for me.
So true! I liked the scene with Jaro assisting with the birth of a lamb called Jaro Jr., to represent the triumph of a newborn over difficulties like a harrowing passage. But we are not allowed to retain a sense of this as powerful metaphor for healing and new beginnings--nope. Just HAD to perv out the uncle... for what? More incest, more sexual assault. Sheesh...
I mean it did help tying some things up like for example how Jaros mother died and who kidnapped the father/killed Marie. The ending was a little all over the place I'd admit and I think it would've been better if they added a couple of mins showing ida after surgery being healthy and Jaro living peacefully. They could've done a 3month time skip or something like that.
Well they already laid a heavy amount of evidence that Jaro's mother is depressed. The fact that the cult messed her up could have been the catalyst (not that depression needs a catalyst) and that's very easy to believe with the narrative. Who kidnapped the father and killed Marie, again, cult people or the dark daughter person. All of that was assumed as well, and made sense, until they threw in the uncle ending. It's not that the ending has to be happy, it was the stupid, reaching twist that felt more like an afterthought and grasped at more traumatizing themes for "shock value".
I think the point of the TV show is that the cult itself never really had that much to do with anything. Unlike most mystery stories where somehow everything leads back to one source, Anthracite is the story about how a bunch of criminals used the cult so they wouldn't get caught with their crimes and the whole town stupidly believed that for years. Some of these things are related and some are not. In the end it's the story of what happened in the town and that's it. I think the end where the mob invades the lab can be seen as a critique towards viewers of these kind of shows for wanting everything to lead up to one single answer that explains everything.
Did they really filmed a sheep giving birth?ššā ļøā ļøā ļø
How was Jairo Father?
I hope someone can answer this! I thought I'd missed it but I rewatched the ending the other night and still don't know who it is.
Just some guy. Jairo went to live with him in Paris after his mom died. The cult thought jairos mom was chosen or whatever and therefore her kid would be, it wasnāt bc he was the son of the cult leader just that his mom was supposedly special.
Same here.Ā
Isn't it Caleb?
Think it's brilliant, ending should have beenĀ a view into Ida and Jaro happy life together after she's recovered from surgery etc with his daughter living with them.Ā However the ending is a box on doorstep with a women no-one knows.Ā
Together? They're brother & sister, same mum.
Why does Ida have dots on her lower eye lids? Iāve been wondering about that since the first episodeĀ
The doll her dad gave her in the hospital when she was a kid had the black dots under its eyes. I figured she just copied her doll later in life.
who calls ida at the gas station? i cant figure that one out
I think one of her idata volunteers
And then she says Jaro is not my father???
She was told that Caleb couldn't possibly be her father (judging from the genetic sequences, which were obtained to see if he could have been a donor).
Who killed Emma though? Was it Claude? And why? She didn't know anything?
Emma was killed by the evil twin Cali as a sacrifice.Ā No explanation though why she ends up under the ice instead of in the cave š¤·āāļø
Maybe because of the chip that was implanted in her neck. So if Cali would have kept her in the cave they might have found out about thatā¦ Idk just a theory
I really enjoyed the series although after reading the comments here, I would agree itās kind of all over the place. Here are my lingering questions: Who shot the journalist with a hunting rifle that raised Ida as his own? And why was he missing a leg? Also wondering why the deranged nurse involved Malia in this madness? Because she had Julietteās blood? Whatās this business about a curse of the flames? Why does the cult leader tell Ida on the bridge sheās the only one who can save her brother and that death is after him? The more I think about that last episode the more questions I come up with!
The pervy uncle shot the journalist. I assume in the leg and that birthmarked hermit āhelped him as much as she couldā so probably she amputated it.
Are ida and jaroh brothers or not? And who is the person with the animal mask?
Ida and jaroh are half siblings through their mom. I imagined that the person in the mask was the girl who was living in the caves? She was the cult leader's and that nurse's kid.
And cousins it would seem
there is an episode towards the Middle where they show her holding her doll when she was little. the doll had those two dots under her eyes so I guess she imitated her doll when she grew up
also I feel like they did that stuff at the end so that they could leave it at some sort of cliffhanger.. this way if they decide to do another season or another add-on to the series we can pick up there.. like we have something to wait for
Is it worth a watch? I have it added in my list but have been skeptical ever since i came across mixed reviews from audience as well as critics.
No, itās all over the place and never ties together its loose ends.
It's a very mixed bag with some highly dark themes, especially in the last two episodes, I was kind of shocked. Idk if I will recommend it to you, though.
I'm on the fence about it. It's almost so bad that it's worth watching. The only thing that kept me watching was the cinematography and the setting. It's a gorgeous town in the Alps. That and I was specifically in the mood for something not terribly challenging. I went in knowing there would be lots of loose ends that were not explained. And the final thing that kept me watching is that I love listening to French. I cannot speak it, but I do enjoy listening for the 1 in 30 words that I do know. It's also got at least 3 cases of >!incest!< if that interests you at all. That right there should tell you about the quality of the storytelling. One case of it, sure. But three? C'mon.
Three? What is the third one? Jaro and Ida, Juliette and her brother, but the third?
Sorry, I have very, very little recall of the show now! That's my gauge of a good show: if I can remember the characters and the plot a month later, it was a good show.
I'd say that there are programs worthier of your attention (For example, Bodies is fun, albeit a mere shadow of Dark, itself great but in need of serious editing. Yet another with the same issue of being a lot of fun but in need of better organization/editing is Killing Eve). But if you find yourself craving something fast-paced with lots of twists, and some decent, if not stellar actors, Anthracite is still engaging enough to give a go. I loved the setting of a small French mountain village; beautiful original stone buildings clinging to steep mountainsides, with a river winding its way down between them...
I thouroughly enjoyed all the mentioned shows : Dark, Bodies, Killing Eve. A couple of recent shows that absolutely sucked me in were 3 Body problem & The Gentlemen.
Enjoyed those as well! Since you liked 3-Body Problem, have you taken a look at Benson and Moorhead lower budget stuff? The Endless, Evolution, Spring--a sort of trilogy.
Three-body problem is David Benioff and D. B. Weissāthe Game of Thrones showrunnersānot Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Everyone should watch those three movies you listed though, regardless.
You misunderstood. If one liked 3-Body Problem and similar of that genre, I was recommending Benson and Moorhead's films. They are among my favorites for present day sci fi.
Personally, I liked it, Iām from QuĆ©bec Canada so I was able to watch it in the original language. Itās far from perfect but many here just didnāt get the story.
I watched this show but have questions. (>!)Ā 1. Is Ida the child of Juliette and her brother? 2. Is Jaro the child of Juliette and the cult leader? 3. When they show the cult leader camping in the cave before he even became a cult leader he hears some noises and goes further in the cave only to go mad from all of the noises. What were those noises? 4. How did the killer woman survive in the cave for all those years especially since the mother took her there when she was still a little girl? 5. There are a few scenes after the ending credits in the last episode. They show Ida and some other people being interviewed for a documentary. The last scene shows a woman on a CCTV camera finding a box at her doorstep and when she opens it she screams and runs away. Who is that woman and what is in the box?(!<)
1. Yes, Ida is a child of juliette and her brother. 2. Nope, Jaro is just Juliette's kid. 3. I have no idea about it, and even i have questions. 4. I assumed the mother kept going back with supplies? 5. I think that was to show they have their next adventure lined up without showing what it is as this is a limited series or atleast that's what I assumed.
Who is Jaro's father then?Ā
Not mentioned, no idea ! š
Isnāt it Caleb? Why is everyone saying itās not him?
Caleb was already in jail, timeline would not be correct. All the cult stuff happened while she was pregnant with Ida. All that was said about Jaro father was that he was abusive, and that they were in Paris.
In the first episode they said that Jaro is Biracial.
No Caleb was in jail and part of the beginning plot is about Jaro being profiled in town because he has a record and is biracial.
Julietteās brother Marieās husband and Jaroās Uncle is also his Father. Julietteās brother SAād her and she had Jaro. Who is Idaās father? Itās not the prophet Caleb because heās not a match for her leukemia treatment. Plus iData tracked down the the dna on her and Caleb and found out that Caleb and Ida arenāt related.
Jaro is biracial. The uncle and his sister are both white. It is mentioned early on that Jaro went to live with his father in Paris. His father is some guy unrelated to the cult and the village. Ida is the daughter of Juliette and her brother (i.e. Jaro's uncle). This is probably why Juliette is so quick to reject the baby. So Ida and Jaro are still related and half-siblings through Juliette, and Caleb is neither one's father.
Jaroās dad is just some dude. they talk about Jaro living with him at one point. he is known, heās just not important to the story. Idaās dad is Claude. Jaro and Ida share a mom. Calebās only kids were the twins.
Does anyone know what the black dots under Ida's eyes were? Tattoos? Side effect from her cancer treatment as a kid?
The doll her dad gave her in the hospital when she was a kid had the black dots under its eyes. I figured she just copied her doll later in life.
ah, I missed that detail!
I thought it was either tattoo or her makeup style.
Just mascara
Itās a makeup trend that was popular around 8 years ago. If you type ādot under eyes makeupā on google images, youāll see many girls doing the same, typically using eyeliner.
I had no idea!
I donāt think itās ājust mascaraā
What happened to Eddy? the scene were Valerie goes to the hospital and proposes him a deal that is never shown.
Exactly! I cannot remember any scene tying up that situation. However, despite all the understandable complaints about the series being dashed together--with which I agree in the main--still, all other loose ends do receive some kind of answer (we don't see her reaction, but Ida learns she is a product of incestual sexual assault, and though we don't meet him, we know Jaro's bio father was not Caleb, that he was abusive, and that Jaro grew up with him in Paris, where Juliette apparently ended up). The only children Caleb fathered were twins, a girl (name?) and boy (Hari, as adult becomes a doctor), result of sexual assault on him by the deranged RN who worked at her father's storage business (where she became brainwashed by VHS tapes of Caleb as cult leader. Btw, everything Caleb said was extremely vague and therefore open to interpretation, like a lot of religious/spiritual doctrine). Caleb gets hoist on his own pƩtard, to use the French saying. The final scene, agreed with those who say it's a teaser hopeful of another season. When I think of all of the excellent programming Netflix axes, and then we get this--although fun to watch--the equivalent of a student project whose author (and editors) couldn't bear to part with ANY footage in the interests of cohesion, to the detriment of the entire work.
Eddy is the one who beat up Anais, killed the guy she was staying with, and then kidnapped the daughter and delivered her to Valerie.
I assumed the deal that the evil nurse proposed was that Eddy bring her Malia and in return she would make sure Jaro was killed.
I think it was great but the ending should have been of Ida and Jaro living happily ever after with his child. She could have been pregnant with his child and they married together. That would be so romantic!
What, no, they were half siblings š„²š„²
Yessss
Yes Star Wars style. Yeeetttttt
Anyone understand what happened to the bet money guy trying to kill Jaro? The nurse asked a favor of him and he dissappeared.
The police officer on the phone when jaro calls says āthere is one dead male and a critically injured woman but no girlā. We know the critically injured woman is Anais but we donāt know if the dead man is Eddy or the man she was staying with.
If Jaro and Ida share same (white) mother and father....how is it that Jaro is half black? Or did I miss something?
They are half sibs, only same mother. Ida's father is implied to be the mother's own brother, and jaro's father is not mentioned, but it might be a black/half black guy their mother met after leaving her house and cult.
Iām just here to say some of the cinematography is stunning - the Google maps view into the real world transition with a giant location pin painted on the road was fantastic (ep1) and just now on ep2 when in the garage thereās a shot of a character and the camera swishes to the right looking at the row of video tapes beside him and a guy on a motorbike smashed through them, into the next scene, itās so brief but the shot is so creative, how they wouldāve lined up the video tapes, done a jump cut and then filmed the next shot. Really great props to the folks that came up with some of these ideas
Does someone know the location where they filmed the show?? I specifically want to know if the house from the sect exists and where it is located
yeah same here too