+5
Glad you liked A Nice Place to Visit, SpelingError. I'm watching these in a much more random order, obviously:
"Walking Distance" CONTAINS SPOILERS
I make no apologies about being a sucker for nostalgic entertainment. As an '80s kid, I fell in love with the synthwave, outrun and vaporwave musical movements when I discovered them a few years ago and I can't wait for the next season of Stranger Things. When I consume such entertainment, however, I get a funny, empty feeling in my stomach akin to how I feel when I look at a closed business or wander around an abandoned building. I also have recurring thoughts of "this already happened" or "you've already done this." This episode does a great job at exploring where this bittersweetness comes from. I like how it never explains what is going on with Martin. Is this all in his head? Did he time travel? By not answering these questions, I got into his shoes since I knew just as little about what was going on as he did. I also appreciate that the episode avoids - or at least keeps to a minimum - the number of times Martin explains who he is, where he comes from, etc. which is a cliché I've grown to hate in stories like this one. In doing so, it leaves more time for moments I love in these stories like Martin's wistful conversation with his childhood soda jerk and the tear-inducing moment on the merry-go-round with his father. As for the ending with Martin's harsh return to reality in the present-day drugstore, I love how it proves that for some things, it's not a crime to say that they were better than they are now. All in all, it's a strong episode about why you can't go home again that would be a good place to start for newcomers to the series. Oh, and look, it's Ron Howard!
Last edited by Torgo; 11-24-21 at 02:49 PM.