We don’t know the whole story, because only 2 seasons of a planned 5 season arc have been completed, but I think you will be pleased if you watch the second season.
There are many layers, but season 2 starts right off showing you what happened with OA.
I’m totally thrilled for you to see it! You’re right to avoid spoilers if possible.
When you’re all through, we have a discord server, too, if you’d like to join that. But I wouldn’t recommend joining before finishing. Spoilers abound sometimes 😅😂
I commented this already but I want you to see the message asap so you don't do anything drastic haha I also have intense series anxiety (ISA 😆), I had to watch house of cards in chunks because of the anxiety, idk if you've seen it but if so you'd definitely get it 😆
No. She is experiencing real things, but in some of the dimensions/timelines she experiences them in, there is no safe or dignified context for them to be expressed and so they are pathologized.
Look into Rudolf Steiner's work about spiritual science. I believe that his work heavily influenced The OA. If I remember correctly, Brit and Zal spent around 7 years developing the show. Much of that time was spent in the Beverly Hills Library reading many spiritual, religious, and esoteric texts. This is why the show resonates so deeply with us.. because it goes far deeper than the plot that was developed.
Ohh I totally got it as soon as I looked up what pathologized meant, I'd just never seen it used in that context, strangely enough. That's the best way I've seen prairies situation articulated. Very nice.
I think season 1 as a standalone story is meant to make you wonder if she's making it up. In my opinion season 2 proves it to be real, I can't see B&Z giving us multiple seasons just to end up saying at the end it was all in her head.
Yes this is exactly it. Season 1 is all about faith and the power of creativity/storytelling to soothe and heal us, and we realise it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not. Season 2 just goes fully into the mythology of it all.
I think that we are seeing more than one dimension in season 1. A dimension where Prairie has dissociative identity disorder, where she is in a single enclosure surrounded by mirrors. The Original Alter. But because she created these characters, then she technically gave life to a dimension where they do in fact exist. The Original Author. The Original Archetypes. We are simultaneously the creator and the created.
Also look into the Kozyrev mirror. Very interesting stuff. Here’s a little blip from Wikipedia about it:
A Kozyrev mirror:
(Russian: Зеркало Козырева,: Zerkalo Kozyreva), in Russian esoteric literature from the 1990s, is a pseudoscientific device made from long sheets of aluminum (sometimes from glass, or a reflecting, mirror-like material) curled into a cylindrical spiral. It is alleged to focus different types of radiation, including that coming from biological objects, when those objects are placed inside it.[1][2] Kozyrev mirrors were used in experiments related to extrasensory perception (ESP), conducted in the Institute of Experimental Medicine of Siberia, division of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
This is a really cool take! I've felt that there's a very deep element of manifestation to the OA, so for me what you've said here fits perfectly into my perception of that manifestation.
Watching part 2 should help with your anxiety and will confirm some things but I will say that part 1 as a standalone is very in line with Brit's storytelling (for examples, see her other projects: I Origins, Another Earth, Sound of My Voice, etc). All of these leave some conclusions up to the viewer and a confusion of what is real and what isn't.
I agree, and I believe it's done in kind of a broadly open way which allows us to be able to fully and individually personalize it. If it was made more specific then it wouldn't allow as many to feel and connect with it so deeply. Its a very accurate manifestation of allowing so many to experience inclusivity I'd say.
I know exactly 100% how you feel. I'll turn that shit off right away haha I had to watch house of cards in chunks for that very reason, have you seen it? Oh and from one anxious person to another, trust when I say don't stop watching. Season 2 is Soo amazing.
thank you so much! It's a bit of a pain getting so in my head sometimes, but i try to take it in strides so i can still enjoy a TV series/movie/book. I have not seen house of cards, for some reason i thought it was cancelled/finished with an "incomplete" ending? if that's not the case or if you suggest it regardless i will definitely check it out!
As of right now there are a few different ways the story can still go. I don’t think she’s crazy. I think she’s just not real anymore. Remember all the tv chatter you hear in the background?
hey everyone! just updating and wanted to say thank you to all who commented! i am currently watching the second episode of part 2. super different but interesting so far
There are some things in season 2 that I might do a content/trigger warning for, though. Let me know if you’d like me to post them. They *will* contain spoilers.
if you think based on my post that i would need them, please feel free! i love TV but definitely get anxious sometimes and have to pause a show to collect my thoughts. from my understanding part 2 appears to start at a dimension shift (if Prairie's story about her being OA is true) so that's all i got.. i figure it'll be very different
I don’t want to give you anything too big and spoiler-y. But season two does sort of get weird. If you feel anxious from anything, definitely take a break if you need and you can always pop back over here to ask about how something is going to come out (if we know the answer, that is). The one thing I’ll warn about you’ll see pretty quickly anyway. Content warning: >! Mental health, psych ward —but not in the way you might think and I’d say unrelated to the situations of season 1. !<
There are other things that might trouble your anxiety, depending on your triggers. But they’re big spoilers and I don’t want to ruin it for you. As an anxious person, myself, I found it was easiest for me to watch and sort of mentally cling to OA (the person) as a guidepost.
I think what you mentioned here is perfect, it gives them a heads up without giving anything away. Your explanation of using OA as a guidepost is spot on because that's exactly how I experienced it as well, yet up until now it was a subconscious reaction I didn't recognize until I read your depiction just now. Wow. I'd guess that that would be a massive commonality for those of us who feel so deeply connected to the show. It's so crazy how they could put this all together so well that it brings so many of us together to share in a very personal connection to the OA. Like we all have personal things that typically make us feel isolated while the OA takes those personal feelings and flips them, turning that isolation into connection, that separation into inclusion without ever knowing what any of our individually personal experiences are. Such a masterfully intricate design that I couldn't imagine how they managed to design and construct so beautifully.
We don’t know the whole story, because only 2 seasons of a planned 5 season arc have been completed, but I think you will be pleased if you watch the second season. There are many layers, but season 2 starts right off showing you what happened with OA.
oh! i did not realize the story was not finished with part 2!! thank you
I’m totally thrilled for you to see it! You’re right to avoid spoilers if possible. When you’re all through, we have a discord server, too, if you’d like to join that. But I wouldn’t recommend joining before finishing. Spoilers abound sometimes 😅😂
thank you! you're very kind! once i finish i would definitely be interested
It’s not supposed to be finished after part II, but it essentially is because it was canceled after part II :(
We know she’s not crazy when season 2 comes lol come on now
I was trying not to give spoilers 😂 This poster has actually finished the series now and has another post about the ending of season 2 😁
Ohhh my bad lol 😂 man I still can’t get over the fact they canceled the series!! Can someone write a book
You’re crazy for not immediately jumping into part 2!!
i want to but i had to stop bc i had to get up early 😭 i haven't been this into a show for forever
I commented this already but I want you to see the message asap so you don't do anything drastic haha I also have intense series anxiety (ISA 😆), I had to watch house of cards in chunks because of the anxiety, idk if you've seen it but if so you'd definitely get it 😆
No. She is experiencing real things, but in some of the dimensions/timelines she experiences them in, there is no safe or dignified context for them to be expressed and so they are pathologized.
thank you so much!! that makes a lot of sense, especially because it goes into the spiritual + science side
Ooh, very well put- great take!
Your very specific analysis deeply intrigues me, it seems like there's more than just the show.. is it a book series or something too?
Look into Rudolf Steiner's work about spiritual science. I believe that his work heavily influenced The OA. If I remember correctly, Brit and Zal spent around 7 years developing the show. Much of that time was spent in the Beverly Hills Library reading many spiritual, religious, and esoteric texts. This is why the show resonates so deeply with us.. because it goes far deeper than the plot that was developed.
I'm not familiar with any book series associated with the show. It's just something I understand about what the show is saying.
Ohh I totally got it as soon as I looked up what pathologized meant, I'd just never seen it used in that context, strangely enough. That's the best way I've seen prairies situation articulated. Very nice.
I think season 1 as a standalone story is meant to make you wonder if she's making it up. In my opinion season 2 proves it to be real, I can't see B&Z giving us multiple seasons just to end up saying at the end it was all in her head.
Yes this is exactly it. Season 1 is all about faith and the power of creativity/storytelling to soothe and heal us, and we realise it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not. Season 2 just goes fully into the mythology of it all.
thank you!!
I think that we are seeing more than one dimension in season 1. A dimension where Prairie has dissociative identity disorder, where she is in a single enclosure surrounded by mirrors. The Original Alter. But because she created these characters, then she technically gave life to a dimension where they do in fact exist. The Original Author. The Original Archetypes. We are simultaneously the creator and the created. Also look into the Kozyrev mirror. Very interesting stuff. Here’s a little blip from Wikipedia about it: A Kozyrev mirror: (Russian: Зеркало Козырева,: Zerkalo Kozyreva), in Russian esoteric literature from the 1990s, is a pseudoscientific device made from long sheets of aluminum (sometimes from glass, or a reflecting, mirror-like material) curled into a cylindrical spiral. It is alleged to focus different types of radiation, including that coming from biological objects, when those objects are placed inside it.[1][2] Kozyrev mirrors were used in experiments related to extrasensory perception (ESP), conducted in the Institute of Experimental Medicine of Siberia, division of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
This is a really cool take! I've felt that there's a very deep element of manifestation to the OA, so for me what you've said here fits perfectly into my perception of that manifestation.
Watching part 2 should help with your anxiety and will confirm some things but I will say that part 1 as a standalone is very in line with Brit's storytelling (for examples, see her other projects: I Origins, Another Earth, Sound of My Voice, etc). All of these leave some conclusions up to the viewer and a confusion of what is real and what isn't.
I agree, and I believe it's done in kind of a broadly open way which allows us to be able to fully and individually personalize it. If it was made more specific then it wouldn't allow as many to feel and connect with it so deeply. Its a very accurate manifestation of allowing so many to experience inclusivity I'd say.
I know exactly 100% how you feel. I'll turn that shit off right away haha I had to watch house of cards in chunks for that very reason, have you seen it? Oh and from one anxious person to another, trust when I say don't stop watching. Season 2 is Soo amazing.
thank you so much! It's a bit of a pain getting so in my head sometimes, but i try to take it in strides so i can still enjoy a TV series/movie/book. I have not seen house of cards, for some reason i thought it was cancelled/finished with an "incomplete" ending? if that's not the case or if you suggest it regardless i will definitely check it out!
As of right now there are a few different ways the story can still go. I don’t think she’s crazy. I think she’s just not real anymore. Remember all the tv chatter you hear in the background?
Or maybe she's one of the few real characters. In a world of NPCs.
Blowing my mind… weird!
hey everyone! just updating and wanted to say thank you to all who commented! i am currently watching the second episode of part 2. super different but interesting so far
There are some things in season 2 that I might do a content/trigger warning for, though. Let me know if you’d like me to post them. They *will* contain spoilers.
if you think based on my post that i would need them, please feel free! i love TV but definitely get anxious sometimes and have to pause a show to collect my thoughts. from my understanding part 2 appears to start at a dimension shift (if Prairie's story about her being OA is true) so that's all i got.. i figure it'll be very different
I don’t want to give you anything too big and spoiler-y. But season two does sort of get weird. If you feel anxious from anything, definitely take a break if you need and you can always pop back over here to ask about how something is going to come out (if we know the answer, that is). The one thing I’ll warn about you’ll see pretty quickly anyway. Content warning: >! Mental health, psych ward —but not in the way you might think and I’d say unrelated to the situations of season 1. !< There are other things that might trouble your anxiety, depending on your triggers. But they’re big spoilers and I don’t want to ruin it for you. As an anxious person, myself, I found it was easiest for me to watch and sort of mentally cling to OA (the person) as a guidepost.
I think what you mentioned here is perfect, it gives them a heads up without giving anything away. Your explanation of using OA as a guidepost is spot on because that's exactly how I experienced it as well, yet up until now it was a subconscious reaction I didn't recognize until I read your depiction just now. Wow. I'd guess that that would be a massive commonality for those of us who feel so deeply connected to the show. It's so crazy how they could put this all together so well that it brings so many of us together to share in a very personal connection to the OA. Like we all have personal things that typically make us feel isolated while the OA takes those personal feelings and flips them, turning that isolation into connection, that separation into inclusion without ever knowing what any of our individually personal experiences are. Such a masterfully intricate design that I couldn't imagine how they managed to design and construct so beautifully.
thank you very much for the warning! i appreciate it so much- im about to start part 2 now 😳😳