The Good

The stuff I do/did like about it when I first watched it around the time of season 1.

• The complexity of Jackie and Shauna's relationship. They're such teenage girls. Seeing Shauna be allowed to be so resentful and immature and angry about one of the people she does love most that she fucks the girl's boyfriend? That was so exciting.
• The concept about society versus wilderness. The girls could be themselves out there without society forcing them into particular boxes. It was a really interesting thing to see explored, from Tai/Van getting to be themselves to Shauna finally feeling seen in the new hierarchy of the group as butcher.
• I was excited by the supernatural versus rational ideas. I prefer never getting a concrete answer because I want every choice to reasonably be either, but it feels like the show has kind of dropped this a bit. I still don't think it's provably supernatural, but too many coincidences seem to happen.
• It was really cool that Ben was gay. You'd think a grown man in the wilderness would be happy to be surrounded by teen girls, but the show flipped that idea on its head. He hated Misty being his hostage situation nurse.
• In addition to supernatural versus rational, there were so many cool mysteries that seem to have gotten dropped. Who was Javi's friend? What happened with Cabin Guy? I mean, I even wanted more info on Kodi. Not everything needs to be explained, and the girls coming to their own conclusions wrapped in supernatural vibes is crucial to their descent, but I feel less invested in brainstorming now due to feeling like these threads won't ever be explored.
• The soundtrack! Season 1's soundtrack was banger. Season 2's as well. I don't remember much of Season 3's.
• Simone Kessell as adult Lottie! I honestly love her so much from Terra Nova that even knowing she had a similar enough background to Courtney Eaton, I never imagined she would be the one cast. Although I'm not super thrilled with the writing for her, she did amazing and I'm so happy this helped her get the recognition her acting has deserved for years.
• It did get back some of the unhinged feral vibes I was hoping for around the end of season 3. It still doesn't feel like the show I signed up for, but a lot of scenes are kind of fun when removed from the overall show context. I guess I just had more fun imagining how it would turn out than how it actually turned out, but oops I can't admit that or fans who only got into it halfway through Season 2 will say I just got too attached to my Theories 😶
• It was also fun just piecing together the timeline and who else may still be alive. I probably shouldn't complain about unanswered mysteries if I do end up liking the show it isn't more than the show it is, since these things allow me to imagine a better show, lol. I think I forgot this section was supposed to be about things I liked.
• Anyway there are a lot of insane parallels, or at least there were. Lol. Callie wearing similar stuff to Jackie? Insane.

I'm not sure if I'll be treating this site with the level of personalization I do my shrines, but I do want to at least start talking about my own favorite characters, ships, etc. So I'm just wedging this in here.

Favorite Character: Jackie

Favorite Ships: Jackie/Shauna, Callie/Lottie, and really I can be convinced of most toxic yuri the show has to offer

Favorite Songs: No Return, Just a Girl (Florence Cover), Climbing Up the Walls, Down by the Water, Kiss from a Rose, Vienna... just a lot of bangers that captured the 90s vibe.

Favorite Season: Season 1

Favorite Cast Member: Simone Kessell, since I've been really into her work since Terra Nova. I also loved Ella Purnell in Arcane and Fallout.

Favorite Setting: The Wilderness generally. I liked the cabin a lot but got tired of it in season 2, which was probably intentional.

Favorite Episode: Doomcoming maybe?