I knew that this psychological theater show was a masterpiece of his haunting opening scene

The opening scene of any television show is undoubtedly the most important tool to attract the attention of a spectator. And in today’s world, where the duration of attention is shorter than ever, these first five minutes must be more than entertained. The best opening scenes to awaken, tease a mystery, or even break your heart before the story really begins.

One of the most underestimated television shows has accomplished something rarer: The remains Tells you everything you need to know. In less than three minutes, the show establishes its tone, its emotional issues and all its reason to exist.

And when this baby disappears in the air, it becomes obvious: It is not a mystery box drama. It’s a story about sorrow.

The opening scene sets the perfect tone for the HBO series

Sound design and perspective build a unique type of dread

The remains Open with a crying baby and a frantic mother in the laundromat. Always on the phone, she ties her child moaning in the car, turns the key, then, silence. She looks back to find the baby left.

Then, chaos: a child shouts for his dad, a dialing slams in a car and another vehicle crashes nearby. The mother screams for her baby – Sam – constantly, amazed, like The haunting partition of Max Richter, “departure”, Inflect in the background. And just like that, everything is cut in black.

These and a half minutes are designed by a fusion of sound design, musical score and perspective. In just ten seconds, the crying baby and the submerged mother immediately evoke anxiety in the spectator. Whether consciously or not, we sympathize; We know the feeling of too much tasks and not enough time.

The camera strengthens this tension, cutting between the mother and her child, building a rhythm that puts us in her frantic head space. So when the tears suddenly stop, We feel it instantly: something is very fake. The open window adds another layer of panic-was the baby kidnapped?

Just as this terror sets in, Max Richter’s score, and one of the best sound show soundtracks, begins to play, its simple stronger piano keys at every increasing moment of chaos, deepening emotion. These three elements – Design, score and perspective of the camera Leave the spectator in an amazed disbelief of what has just happened.

The first 3 minutes reveal everything you need to know about the leftovers

This is the whole show in miniature

Review this opening now, what strikes the most harshly is how deliberately it is constructed. The remains Use sound, silence and disorientation to transmit more than emotion. The fear of loss, the random character of sorrow, the chaos crushing of agitation; Everything has been there from the start.

This is what separates him from mysteries and Lostwho leads with questions. The remains leads with feeling. Instead of offering theories or mysteries to unpack, or promise future cathartic gains, The remains Force the spectator to sit with the trauma of each character, to accept an inexplicable tragedy.

The show tells you, immediately, that it is not there to comfort you, nor The remains Here to explain the rules. It’s the opposite. It is Here to make you feel something honest. And most shows need time to save this kind of emotional weight, but The remains won it in three minutes.

The remains

10/ 10

Release date

2014-2017-00-00

Showrunner

Damon Lindelof

Writers

Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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