SERIAL - Season 2! (SPOILERS)

[Anonymous]

Not as engaging as the first season so far, but at the very least, I'm more curious about the story than I was before I started listening. It seems crazy to me that he'd set off like that without a better plan and a more solid purpose. Why be so vague about the "poor leadership"? He got the DUSTWUN and attention he wanted, yet there are no more details about why he wanted it?

The new question in my mind (after reading the blog linked above) is what if the U.S. wanted to create a DUSTWUN and put him up to it. The cost of getting him back was pretty steep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new one is out, but I haven't listened yet and just finished the first one. I agree it seems initially like it's not as captivating as the first one (not as juicy without the sex and romance stuff; too much in the news) but I'll give it a shot.

Like others, BB seems like a dumb kid to me and I'm confused as to why this is such a big scandal (other than the issue of whether we were stupid to exchange Taliban prisoners for him). So the whole question is - why did he leave? Why do we even really care? Even if there WAS something he was very concerned about (I assume we will find out what that was), he obviously went about it in the wrong way. Even the first ep made him seem like a bumbling idiot - "oops, I forgot to look at the compass!" - and even if he WAS with the Taliban, which I doubt he is savvy enough to pull off, is there any evidence that he gave them any info?

Why is it such a big scandal and why do we even really care? Soldiers died searching for Bowe Bergdahl. An incredible amount of resources, both human and intelligence, were used in an attempt to find this man. That's why people care.

[Anonymous]

I find this just as engaging as the last one.

It was fascinating and disturbing to hear today all the things that Bergdahl's fellow soldiers went through while they were looking for him. I was so angry with Bergdahl - especially the part where the soldiers are entering people's houses and looking closely at the women (based on a theory that Bergdahl could be dressed in women's clothes) - so BB thinks he's going to fix what's wrong at his outpost but then the US soldiers are forced to act like repressive, invasive colonizing forces just to try to find his sorry ass. There's also a larger question as to whether US forces were suitably trained and knowledgeable about Afghanistan in order to handle a search like this appropriately.

It's also fascinating to hear the notes from the Afghan reporter who interviewed the people who caught BB and to see the discrepancies between their story and BB's (eg, "we did a dance to cheer him up" vs. "What dance?"). It also sounds like they were completely amazed at having caught this guy and that's kind of amusing.

I understand why people found the first season more compelling - because there's a murder mystery and we want to know who really did it. But the mystery in this story is what really happened and who's telling the truth. So far Koenig is keeping up with her trademark style of investigating all the angles and sharing with us as much information as possible from different perspectives in order to try to understand what really happened.

I'm hooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new one is out, but I haven't listened yet and just finished the first one. I agree it seems initially like it's not as captivating as the first one (not as juicy without the sex and romance stuff; too much in the news) but I'll give it a shot.

Like others, BB seems like a dumb kid to me and I'm confused as to why this is such a big scandal (other than the issue of whether we were stupid to exchange Taliban prisoners for him). So the whole question is - why did he leave? Why do we even really care? Even if there WAS something he was very concerned about (I assume we will find out what that was), he obviously went about it in the wrong way. Even the first ep made him seem like a bumbling idiot - "oops, I forgot to look at the compass!" - and even if he WAS with the Taliban, which I doubt he is savvy enough to pull off, is there any evidence that he gave them any info?

Why is it such a big scandal and why do we even really care? Soldiers died searching for Bowe Bergdahl. An incredible amount of resources, both human and intelligence, were used in an attempt to find this man. That's why people care.

That's fair. I think the question is more like - unlike season 1, which is an actual did he kill her or didn't he question - this is all going to depend on BB's honesty, because the bottom line is no one knows his mental state but him. I just feel like it'll be hard to make it as compelling - obviously there isn't going to be some "confession" as to why he left. Other's may disagree.

[Anonymous]

I just listened to the second episode. I really enjoy the interviews with the fellow soldiers talking about how pissed they were they had to drop everything and go look for this guy would he by all accounts left voluntarily. At this point I still find his character irritating. He's freaking out about being captured by the Taliban – but what an earth did he think he would happen when he set out alone? And why didn't he take his gun?

[Anonymous]

Just listened to episode 3 about the first part of Bergdahl's captivity. He tried to escape right away and paid dearly for the effort. His captors kept him chained spread eagled to a bed for three months, only getting up to go to the bathroom twice a day. Despite the punishment for his first effort, he tried to escape later and is recaptured after 9 days - which is where the episode ends.

Interesting discussion of the code of conduct and what the army expects soldiers to do if they are captured. Apparently the last time a soldier escaped captivity successfully was during the Vietnam War so the military doesn't really penalize people for not trying to escape.

Also, Bergdahl tried to memorize a lot of details about his captors which he shared with his debriefers upon his return.

Anyway, I think what the guy initially tried to do was stupid and self-centered - I resent the burden it put upon his fellow soldiers - but people should listen to what happened while he was in captivity and how he managed it. He's not a traitor by any means.

[Anonymous]

I'm listening to Season 2. I went into it with an open mind thinking perhaps I didn't really know the whole story. Thus far, I'm not sympathetic to Bergdahl at all. He deserted his post and walked into enemy territory. While I agree that spending 5 years in captivity must have been horrific, I'm not sure what exactly he expected to happen when he deserted the military. I won't go as far as saying he deserved what he got, but I do think it's complete bullshit that other soldiers had to risk their lives looking for a man who willfully deserted them.

[Anonymous]

The major problem I have with this is it is basically taking at face value a guy who lied about things big and small. I don't get how the host feels like she can trust Hi., especially since she never even interviews him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The major problem I have with this is it is basically taking at face value a guy who lied about things big and small. I don't get how the host feels like she can trust Hi., especially since she never even interviews him.

But knowing Koenig, she's not going to take it at face value. She has been sharing parts of interviews with Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and I expect her to continue doing that. Koenig was relentless in sifting through the various different accounts in Season 1. I would expect the same of her in Season 2.

[Anonymous]

just listened to ep 3 and still not feeling it. very disappointed since i LOVED season 1. all i can think when i hear about his treatment while captured is "you're a freaking idiot and did this to yourself!" anyone else still listening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The major problem I have with this is it is basically taking at face value a guy who lied about things big and small. I don't get how the host feels like she can trust Hi., especially since she never even interviews him.

But knowing Koenig, she's not going to take it at face value. She has been sharing parts of interviews with Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and I expect her to continue doing that. Koenig was relentless in sifting through the various different accounts in Season 1. I would expect the same of her in Season 2.

In episode three, she flat out says that there is no way he was a Taliban sympathizer.

He just seems incredibly stupid. Not an appealing character like Adnan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The major problem I have with this is it is basically taking at face value a guy who lied about things big and small. I don't get how the host feels like she can trust Hi., especially since she never even interviews him.

But knowing Koenig, she's not going to take it at face value. She has been sharing parts of interviews with Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and I expect her to continue doing that. Koenig was relentless in sifting through the various different accounts in Season 1. I would expect the same of her in Season 2.

In episode three, she flat out says that there is no way he was a Taliban sympathizer.

He just seems incredibly stupid. Not an appealing character like Adnan.

I agree. I guess the point of "Serial" is that it doesn't have to be a mystery, but just a story that can engage listeners for 12 hours. Problem is, there is little to keep my interest here. I think they would've been much better off keeping more to the spirit and content of the first season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The major problem I have with this is it is basically taking at face value a guy who lied about things big and small. I don't get how the host feels like she can trust Hi., especially since she never even interviews him.

But knowing Koenig, she's not going to take it at face value. She has been sharing parts of interviews with Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and I expect her to continue doing that. Koenig was relentless in sifting through the various different accounts in Season 1. I would expect the same of her in Season 2.

In episode three, she flat out says that there is no way he was a Taliban sympathizer.

He just seems incredibly stupid. Not an appealing character like Adnan.

I agree. I guess the point of "Serial" is that it doesn't have to be a mystery, but just a story that can engage listeners for 12 hours. Problem is, there is little to keep my interest here. I think they would've been much better off keeping more to the spirit and content of the first season.

I agree. So disappointing because I was really looking forward to the season. I will keep listening for now, but it is nothing like my interest in the first season. I think she both overestimated how interesting he is a character and how much people care about his story.

[Anonymous]

It almost just seems like he is mentally ill.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty bummed that I'm just not that into this season. I actually am interested in the Bergdahl story, but this season is so different from the first and I'm just not feeling it. I keep hoping each week I'll get more into it, but it hasn't happened and I don't think it will. It feels more like she's just telling a story this season versus last season where I felt more engaged and like I was trying to put all the pieces together as she was presenting the evidence.