Though it was more soap than supernatural I too felt this show was okay to watch.
The ending was clearly hurried in response to the cancellation. They wrapped everything up as quickly as possible, and if you went back and studied all the plot threads closely you'd see inconsistencies that you *could* explain away with some tortuous logic; e.g. why spend all the time and effort manipulating Brian & Louise just to brick them up? You could say Dorna was soul-collecting but it doesn't really stack up.
In answer to the questions, the US is very sensitive when it comes to issues of religion in mainstream media (syndicated TV more than cinema), so it was always going to walk an ambiguous line in terms of God & the Devil. Doran was obviously meant to be a supernatural, evil force. My guess would be a demonic-type rather than Satan himself; his dialogue with Jane at the end suggested that she'd be joining him in the same 'job' - collecting souls.
The staircase is unclear and the writers seemed to use it as multi-purpose portal: a gate to other places and times, maybe to Hell itself. My guess is the writers were flexible about this and used it as a plot tool. Having someone say they came up the stair makes for a powerful sounding idea, but don't forget Jane returned to present day even though she didn't come via the staircase.
Whoopi, you're right. She was a force for good. Whether an actual angel or not is unclear. The show seemed to suggest she was being held in the house beyond her years. So the doves could equally mean that she was a good person and her soul had finally been released to go to heaven.
The sacrifice was explained a couple of episodes back. It gave the guy (whose name I forget) an extended life. He says the Drake was his once. So whatever the source of the power, he was at odds with Doran yet they were both clearly evil and both benefited from the Drake's legacy. I guess the literal answer to this may have been explained more clearly if the writers had had more time. That said...
This show moved at an incredible pace with characters, groups and themes being introduced, then wiped out 1 or 2 episodes later and I often felt that the writers didn't really have a handle on the detail, nor cared so long as the show moved forward. I think that even if the show had a hundred episodes, we'd still be thinking "So what did that mean? Why did that happen?" And I think this was deliberate on the part of the writers. Keep things ambiguous, leave it open to interpretation, don't bog things down with a detailed mythology. The more questions you leave open, the more viewers (in theory) will want to tune in next week.
Oh yeah, the Dragon Mosaic. That was just a form of magic circle. The guy built it, activated it with blood and used it almost like a medieval magician. Same as in the basement.
I actually thought Jane turning bad (giving birth to Damian!) was interesting but ultimately a bit of a slap in the face for viewers.
So no definitive answers, I'm afraid, but these are my thoughts. A good show, not a great show held together by a fine performance from "The Stepfather" himself... shout out to 80's horror fans!
Thank you for taking the time and effort to reply with your thoughts. Just the kind of information I was after
I really loved this show but found the final episode disappointing. Throughout the series it was the first thing I would watch on my planner but I agree that there were so many unanswered questions I just found myself going "eh?" at the end. It was clear they tried to finish the story quickly as it all felt very rushed. A lot of the storylines seemed quite pointless in the end. I wish they could have done a longer episode or 2 part finale episode to wrap it all up....
I enjoyed the series but like everyone else the ending was crap, but no doubt rushed because it was cancelled. Wonder if it would have been better if left as a cliff hanger? Then we could have all made up our own ending.
Wonder if it would have been better if left as a cliff hanger? Then we could have all made up our own ending.
I suppose being pregnant with the Antichrist is a sort of cliffhanger
PS: Just had a quick look at reviews of the novels and it seems the books tell almost a completely different story; similar themes, location and characters but many, many differences.
Yet again I got myself caught up in a US TV show only to find it cancelled before it's actually begun. It's clear the ending was hastily re-shot in an attempt to tie things up but I wonder if it would have been better to end on the planned cliff hanger and let us make up our own ending. The ending the writers went with left more questions unanswered than it answered. How did naive and innocent girl next door, Jane turn into the vamp we saw in the final scene, what does Henry think of the transformation, what happened to the people trapped in the walls, what about the young intern who was helping Jane investigate the building, what's going to happen to her now, what if she starts asking questions about Jane's sudden change of heart, how come Jane showed no emotion when she discovered how her mother was killed, surely she'd be as mad as hell, but instead of getting angry she joins forces with her murderer. I could go on..this is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons why the ending didn't work. Coming as it does, so soon after the submarine thingy that I can't remember the name of, it's made me very wary of getting involved in US dramas. In future, I think I'll wait until I hear they've been renewed before I start watching.
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Thank you for taking the time and effort to reply with your thoughts. Just the kind of information I was after
So no doubt it would have a proper ending.
I enjoyed the series but like everyone else the ending was crap, but no doubt rushed because it was cancelled. Wonder if it would have been better if left as a cliff hanger? Then we could have all made up our own ending.
I suppose being pregnant with the Antichrist is a sort of cliffhanger
PS: Just had a quick look at reviews of the novels and it seems the books tell almost a completely different story; similar themes, location and characters but many, many differences.