JURASSIC WORLD: CHAOS THEORY

[SBell]

I just watched the whole show. Here's a brief pretty much spoiler free rundown:
I thought it was alright, some scenes were very good and some were eh..
Some of the new dinosaur models are really good looking. The ending was honestly for me at least kinda to be expected. All in all I'm interested in seeing the next season.

I was on the edge of my seat quite a bit. It was also more thrilling I think than the previous seasons? What age would you say this is for? I think the previous CC was ok for ages 6 and up? This one I just think was a lot higher?

Ending was what I thought but it had me doubting my guesses frequently.

Yeah, expected some elements of the ending.

One surprise was

Spoiler

Matteo surviving, after the survivor guilt and daughter backstory

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[Faelrin]

So watched episode 2 and 3 between yesterday and today. Trying to go 1 a day to spread them out. Thoughts in spoilers.

Episode 2:

Spoiler

Not much to say about this one, other then Ben's paranoia was off the charts. Good thing Darius was there to help him. Also man it was so good to see the Nasutoceratops family from BaBR again, with their baby almost all grown up. Haven't seen these guys in a while.

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Episode 3:

Spoiler

Great to see Sammy again, and man this show has been keeping it real with how grief impacts people in different ways. Honestly this is probably the most grounded Jurassic World content so far. Also so good to see Bumpy again! My heart melted when Ben and her re-uinted, but then he had to leave her behind in the episode. That killed me. Giving me HTTD3 vibes, but faster in how it played out. I really hope they can go back for her later on.
Also I've been trying to take note of all the creatures in the show so far, by episode. In the first (and second) episode we had Atrociraptor Ghost, but like also the green one that's in that one Kenji set, and has a mini, right? I know I regocnized Tiger in ep 3, but was Panthera present too? I think they were all there at the end going into the trailer. Have yet to see Red yet though.

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[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I'm a little confused, the

Spoiler

Suchomimus

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in the show is blue and brown, but in the cards and trailer it's yellow and red...?
And it's not just the lighting, somebody posted pics of the model for it and the model is blue.
Maybe there's a second one for the next part?

Trailer:

Spoiler

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Card:

Spoiler

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3D Model:

Spoiler

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I think what you are seeing is a trick of the lighting used there?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I just watched the whole show. Here's a brief pretty much spoiler free rundown:
I thought it was alright, some scenes were very good and some were eh..
Some of the new dinosaur models are really good looking. The ending was honestly for me at least kinda to be expected. All in all I'm interested in seeing the next season.

I was on the edge of my seat quite a bit. It was also more thrilling I think than the previous seasons? What age would you say this is for? I think the previous CC was ok for ages 6 and up? This one I just think was a lot higher?

Ending was what I thought but it had me doubting my guesses frequently.

Yeah, expected some elements of the ending.

One surprise was

Spoiler

Matteo surviving, after the survivor guilt and daughter backstory

[close]

Spoiler

honestly I didn't see him as major a character as they were trying to make him. He had right place/right time syndrome from plot devices.lol   

[close]

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

So watched episode 2 and 3 between yesterday and today. Trying to go 1 a day to spread them out. Thoughts in spoilers.

Episode 2:

Spoiler

Not much to say about this one, other then Ben's paranoia was off the charts. Good thing Darius was there to help him. Also man it was so good to see the Nasutoceratops family from BaBR again, with their baby almost all grown up. Haven't seen these guys in a while.

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Episode 3:

Spoiler

Great to see Sammy again, and man this show has been keeping it real with how grief impacts people in different ways. Honestly this is probably the most grounded Jurassic World content so far. Also so good to see Bumpy again! My heart melted when Ben and her re-uinted, but then he had to leave her behind in the episode. That killed me. Giving me HTTD3 vibes, but faster in how it played out. I really hope they can go back for her later on.
Also I've been trying to take note of all the creatures in the show so far, by episode. In the first (and second) episode we had Atrociraptor Ghost, but like also the green one that's in that one Kenji set, and has a mini, right? I know I regocnized Tiger in ep 3, but was Panthera present too? I think they were all there at the end going into the trailer. Have yet to see Red yet though.

[close]

Spoiler

Man it was such a shock to clean and tidy ben THIS unclean and tidy..like he just refocused his paranoia. It was cool seeing the nasutos, sorta tells us how long it's been since BaBR, this has to be prior to Dominion?

I know she basically told him to go on but I was like " YOUR LEAVING BUMPERCAR!? " 

Honestly it's hard for me to really distinguish them. I know Ghost and there is supposed to be 4. There was a place on the truck for 4 it looked like?

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[SBell]

I just watched the whole show. Here's a brief pretty much spoiler free rundown:
I thought it was alright, some scenes were very good and some were eh..
Some of the new dinosaur models are really good looking. The ending was honestly for me at least kinda to be expected. All in all I'm interested in seeing the next season.

I was on the edge of my seat quite a bit. It was also more thrilling I think than the previous seasons? What age would you say this is for? I think the previous CC was ok for ages 6 and up? This one I just think was a lot higher?

Ending was what I thought but it had me doubting my guesses frequently.

Yeah, expected some elements of the ending.

One surprise was

Spoiler

Matteo surviving, after the survivor guilt and daughter backstory

[close]

Spoiler

honestly I didn't see him as major a character as they were trying to make him. He had right place/right time syndrome from plot devices.lol   

[close]

Spoiler

protected by the plot armor of having a name perhaps?

[close]

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I just watched the whole show. Here's a brief pretty much spoiler free rundown:
I thought it was alright, some scenes were very good and some were eh..
Some of the new dinosaur models are really good looking. The ending was honestly for me at least kinda to be expected. All in all I'm interested in seeing the next season.

I was on the edge of my seat quite a bit. It was also more thrilling I think than the previous seasons? What age would you say this is for? I think the previous CC was ok for ages 6 and up? This one I just think was a lot higher?

Ending was what I thought but it had me doubting my guesses frequently.

Yeah, expected some elements of the ending.

One surprise was

Spoiler

Matteo surviving, after the survivor guilt and daughter backstory

[close]

Spoiler

honestly I didn't see him as major a character as they were trying to make him. He had right place/right time syndrome from plot devices.lol   

[close]

Spoiler

protected by the plot armor of having a name perhaps?

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lol maybe! Didn't help others though.. 

[Faelrin]

Watched 4 and 5 tonight. Oh man. Getting better as it goes on.

Episode 4:

Spoiler

Kenji's new actor threw me off earlier on, but close enough as it went on. Not much to say here, but shame Kenji broke up with Brooklyn, but understandable of course. That said why was she on her phone so much? Could it be connected to her "death"? Also poor Bumpy. And Ben was worried about her too.

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Episode 5:

Spoiler

Talk about a load of an episode. The whole thing between Sammy and Ben, Darius, Kenji, and his father (who was later killed Udesky styled by the Atrociraptor, absolutely brutal. He said too much I suppose. Speaking of, the whole squad is present, except Red oddly. And the green ones from earlier may have been a mix of Panthera and Tiger. Need to rewatch this after I finish it).

I'm also taking a shot in the dark, but this new chick controlling the Atrociraptor has me wondering if this is actually Brooklyn (maybe mind controlled, considering the Mantah Corp tech)? It clearly isn't Santos which is unexpected (and now I'm wondering what's her connection since she had them in Malta). Blue eyes, similar face shape, just shaved eye brows, and a different hair style entirely that is unlike her. Unnatural movements too. Gotta keep watching to find out.

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[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Watched 4 and 5 tonight. Oh man. Getting better as it goes on.

Episode 4:

Spoiler

Kenji's new actor threw me off earlier on, but close enough as it went on. Not much to say here, but shame Kenji broke up with Brooklyn, but understandable of course. That said why was she on her phone so much? Could it be connected to her "death"? Also poor Bumpy. And Ben was worried about her too.

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Episode 5:

Spoiler

Talk about a load of an episode. The whole thing between Sammy and Ben, Darius, Kenji, and his father (who was later killed Udesky styled by the Atrociraptor, absolutely brutal. He said too much I suppose. Speaking of, the whole squad is present, except Red oddly. And the green ones from earlier may have been a mix of Panthera and Tiger. Need to rewatch this after I finish it).

I'm also taking a shot in the dark, but this new chick controlling the Atrociraptor has me wondering if this is actually Brooklyn (maybe mind controlled, considering the Mantah Corp tech)? It clearly isn't Santos which is unexpected (and now I'm wondering what's her connection since she had them in Malta). Blue eyes, similar face shape, just shaved eye brows, and a different hair style entirely that is unlike her. Unnatural movements too. Gotta keep watching to find out.

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Spoiler

Someone I talked with said they thought the Atrociraptors might be able to camouflage or at least change colors. I think it's more about lighting?   I'm still not 100% sure where this series fits except it's after BaBR. Sort of hope the Giganotosaurus shows up again. 

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[Faelrin]

@Blade-of-the-Moon I would like that too. Didn't have much screen time despite the prominent role it was supposed to have.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

@Blade-of-the-Moon I would like that too. Didn't have much screen time despite the prominent role it was supposed to have.

Right? I feel it was very underutilized. It really looked to have hard a hard time of it before Dominion. In the flashback where it killed the Rex, the Giga looked to have been about peak health just like Rexy. Now it seemed to have turned the other way. She had a lot of health issues, sort of felt like a fight between grandmas.. lol though Rexy was still in better health before their fight.

[Faelrin]

@Blade-of-the-Moon Pyroraptor would be nice to see in this show too. Poorly utilized in the film as well.

[Quiversaurus]

I just finished Chaos Theory and boy, I thought it exceeded my expectations.

On appearing species:

Spoiler

I was so happy to see the Suchomimus appear! It's one of my favourite species and the JWE/JWE2 model I always found so aesthetically pleasing. So glad it's (physically) canon now, especially after Billy mentioned it in JP3.

I'm also really happy to see the Pachyrhinosaurus. I collect Takara Tomy's ceratopsians exclusively, and I hope they make a Pachy version down the line for me to add to my collection.

Also, Bumpy's baby! A surprised to be sure, but a welcome one indeed. Can't wait to see its character model and design.

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On characters (MAJOR spoilers):

Spoiler

Atrociraptor lady struck me as super creepy, pure uncanny valley stuff, full stop. But then at the end it showed the relationship between her and the Atrociraptors and now I'm v interested in seeing what role she plays in season 2.

Was happy too to see Darius and Kenji make up. They were always my favourites.

I was actually 90% convinced that Brooklyn died, but was so happy to see her again in the epilogue. Wondering now why she felt like she needed to fake her death - more undercover stuff in season 2 perhaps. Also, that missing right hand reminds me of the Baryonyx's prosthetic in Dominion. It would be so badass to see her with a swiss army hand which she could use for espionage and sabotage.

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Final thoughts:

Spoiler

All in all I thought Chaos Theory was much better than Camp Cretaceous. It fleshed out the Nublar Five (Six) and how they dealt with grief very well. I also like how much more mature the series felt.

Definitely looking forward to season 2!

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[JPuggy]

My opinions on the season, and one question I had.

Spoilers, obviously

Spoiler

Overall I loved this season, definitely preferred it over CC. It made me emotional at times, I was genuinely worried that Bumpy might die, and we got to see the Atrociraptors again! Curious on why Red was missing, my theory is that he's the youngest and not as well trained as the others. One major question I had is what was up with the majungasaurus toy. It was a named dino, so I assumed it would be a major character in the series. Alas, it never even showed up. If it is for season 2, then I'm confused on why they would release it so early. Overall though, I would give the season a 9/10, and I can't wait for season 2!

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[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Spoiler

Suchomimus was pretty nicely designed for how little it was in the series. I do hope we get a new figure of it.

I guess they need a new baby Bumpy to sell items? lol

I swear the The Handler lady was basically a human that behaved like a raptor..she even had some characteristics.

I really believed Brooklyn died, then I didn't, then I did. Then I thought she's the mastermind, taking Kenji's dad's money, she bought all the dinos on the ship, then I thought nah maybe they really did kill her. Hardcore. Then bam, 30 seconds left and she's alive. lol I think the loss of the hand shows what the Atrociraptors left behind. They don't seem to eat their victims just tear them apart. With this injury she also now appeals to kids/people with similar ones.


I think given how most of us are older is why this season appealed more. The more mature themes were handled well.  This is what we needed Dominion.

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Spoiler

That is possible. I can't keep their names straight to save my life. It did look like the transport truck had one door extra that didn't open on it. So maybe that was her's ?

Yeah that was weird. Major seems like a named character and I don't recall seeing him at all? Maybe he's a spoiler for S2?

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[Shane]

My thoughts, without getting into too spoilery territory, is that while I enjoyed watching the series, it became infuriating at times for how much it seemed steadfastly against the idea of answering ANY questions. It follows the trend of a lot of shows now, where the entire season 1 feels like a buildup for season 2, but when your show is TEN episodes, I expect a few more answers.

Spoiler

We STILL know pretty much nothing about WHO was hunting the Nublar 6, and why. We don't know WHAT Brooklynn was up to or what she was involved in that lead to her "death", we don't know anything about the true bad guys including the handler woman, the "Broker" or anyone beyond Cabrera, who was basically just a red herring. These are FUNDAMENTAL questions that the show poses from the beginning - What was Brooklynn doing that led to her "death" and the targeting of the Nublar Six? And these questions are really no closer to being answered by the end of Episode 10.

Any time a character seems about to relay some answers or information, they get interrupted or eaten by a dinosaur or somebody changes the subject. This extends not just to answering the main questions the show poses, but also when it comes to the characters of the Nublar Six and their interactions and relationships to each other. They all seem to be off doing their own things, but we barely get any insight into exactly WHAT was going on beyond surface level...for example, the Kenji/Darius/Brooklynn triangle was dragged on for SO LONG only for it to end up being basically nothing. Or Ben's crackpot theories that are barely explored, even though they're repeatedly built up and create friction with the rest of his friends. Sammy gets justifiably mad when she sees that Ben was investigating her as a potential traitor, and the show seems to play it at first like it's going to cause a major rift, but then it's just as quickly swept under the rug, and basically serves as a way for the show to kill a few minutes without actually doing anything.

The dinosaur action was fun. There were little character beats that I enjoyed. It was interesting to revisit these characters all grown up. But I just really couldn't get over the fact that over ten episodes, we're really no closer to having any questions answered than we are at the start of the series.

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[Blade-of-the-Moon]

My thoughts, without getting into too spoilery territory, is that while I enjoyed watching the series, it became infuriating at times for how much it seemed steadfastly against the idea of answering ANY questions. It follows the trend of a lot of shows now, where the entire season 1 feels like a buildup for season 2, but when your show is TEN episodes, I expect a few more answers.

Spoiler

We STILL know pretty much nothing about WHO was hunting the Nublar 6, and why. We don't know WHAT Brooklynn was up to or what she was involved in that lead to her "death", we don't know anything about the true bad guys including the handler woman, the "Broker" or anyone beyond Cabrera, who was basically just a red herring. These are FUNDAMENTAL questions that the show poses from the beginning - What was Brooklynn doing that led to her "death" and the targeting of the Nublar Six? And these questions are really no closer to being answered by the end of Episode 10.

Any time a character seems about to relay some answers or information, they get interrupted or eaten by a dinosaur or somebody changes the subject. This extends not just to answering the main questions the show poses, but also when it comes to the characters of the Nublar Six and their interactions and relationships to each other. They all seem to be off doing their own things, but we barely get any insight into exactly WHAT was going on beyond surface level...for example, the Kenji/Darius/Brooklynn triangle was dragged on for SO LONG only for it to end up being basically nothing. Or Ben's crackpot theories that are barely explored, even though they're repeatedly built up and create friction with the rest of his friends. Sammy gets justifiably mad when she sees that Ben was investigating her as a potential traitor, and the show seems to play it at first like it's going to cause a major rift, but then it's just as quickly swept under the rug, and basically serves as a way for the show to kill a few minutes without actually doing anything.

The dinosaur action was fun. There were little character beats that I enjoyed. It was interesting to revisit these characters all grown up. But I just really couldn't get over the fact that over ten episodes, we're really no closer to having any questions answered than we are at the start of the series.

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Spoiler

What they call Season 2 is actually the rest of Season 1 from how I understand Netflix orders shows and how they are made. So building up problems to answer them, partially in the first part does play to the overall plot by the end of the run. The episodes are pretty short too. Not a full 30 min or anything.

I think we did get answers, just not totally complete and full ones which is important in storytelling to keep the reader/viewer engaged. To paraphrase Shrek, " stories are like onions, they have layers" lol

 

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[Shane]

Spoiler

What they call Season 2 is actually the rest of Season 1 from how I understand Netflix orders shows and how they are made. So building up problems to answer them, partially in the first part does play to the overall plot by the end of the run. The episodes are pretty short too. Not a full 30 min or anything.

I think we did get answers, just not totally complete and full ones which is important in storytelling to keep the reader/viewer engaged. To paraphrase Shrek, " stories are like onions, they have layers" lol

 

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Spoiler

I definitely appreciate that they can't give us ALL the answers. But to me they just dragged things out in a way that felt unnatural, and what we DO get is frustratingly incomplete and ultimately just left me unsatisfied.

By the end of Season 1, I want to feel like I've watched a complete season of television. Obviously there will be dangling threads and loose ends that need to be addressed in the following season, but this seemed to really be the pinnacle of the "leave them wanting more", keeping basically all the major questions almost entirely gatekept behind a second season.

The idea that this is basically one long season split into two makes sense, but still leaves me cold when I realize I'm out of show to watch and still don't really have a satisfying conclusion to any of the mysteries.

To use your onion analogy, it felt to me like this season has just barely peeled the skin off the onion, and there's still just about all the layers left even though it's taken about 200 minutes of media just to get the skin off.

This isn't a criticism that's unique to this show either, it's the nature of a lot of shows in the streaming era, where they slowly trickle out details and then almost never end a season on an actual conclusion, instead always ending on a cliffhanger, even if the show is likely to be canceled and a second season never comes. It's just with Chaos Theory, it really feels like they took this to an extreme degree.

I know it's kind of a moot point since you mentioned they basically split the story over two seasons, but imagine if this were a show without the clout of the Jurassic franchise behind it, and the first season was this vague in terms of its major plot threads, and then it just...never got a second season. It would be immensely unsatisfying! Maybe I'm just old, but I feel like your seasons should be self contained to a degree, even if there is an overarching mystery that involves a multi-season arc, you still need to dole out enough answers to keep people from just watching a bunch of people (figuratively and literally) spinning wheels.

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[Gwangi]

I binged the entire show as soon as I could (yesterday) in an attempt to avoid spoilers. I will say this, it was vastly better than I thought it would be and better than any season of CC, which I felt jumped the shark towards the end. I felt myself invested in these characters, the story, and the intrigue far more than I expected. Frankly, the Nublar Six are much more likeably and fleshed out than any Jurassic Park/World characters since the first film. And the show felt more mature and grounded than a lot of Jurassic Park sequels did too. That said, I also felt frustration over the same things that S @Shane outlined.

I don't have much I want to say that would spoil anything but...

Spoiler

I really enjoyed that this show was basically a long road trip. The raptor handler was terrifying and I loved it! The standout main characters for me were probably Sammy and Ben but all the characters were handled exceptionally well and improved upon.

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[Shane]

I binged the entire show as soon as I could (yesterday) in an attempt to avoid spoilers. I will say this, it was vastly better than I thought it would be and better than any season of CC, which I felt jumped the shark towards the end. I felt myself invested in these characters, the story, and the intrigue far more than I expected. Frankly, the Nublar Six are much more likeably and fleshed out than any Jurassic Park/World characters since the first film. And the show felt more mature and grounded than a lot of Jurassic Park sequels did too. That said, I also felt frustration over the same things that S @Shane outlined.

I don't have much I want to say that would spoil anything but...

Spoiler

I really enjoyed that this show was basically a long road trip. The raptor handler was terrifying and I loved it! The standout main characters for me were probably Sammy and Ben but all the characters were handled exceptionally well and improved upon.

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One of things that I did find very interesting is how the show deals with the fact that all of these individuals are extremely affected by the events of the island, to the point where almost all of them exhibit some kind of PTSD or extreme coping mechanism. These kids are NOT okay, because (obviously) they went through some serious trauma of almost being eaten by dinosaurs for several seasons of TV. But while most kids shows would just have them being fine after all that, here we get Darius's isolation, Ben's obsessions, Yaz's withdrawal from society, etc.