Expats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didnt love the ending.

The only character I felt was happy at the end was Hilary. Got rid of her cheating husband? Check. Got rid of her abusive cheating dad and got her feelings off her chest? Check.

She started wearing colors and got a colorful new rug. I was wondering if her love of beige colors was in some way a rejection of her indian heritage/persona/identity. The first time we see her in colored clothing is at the indian prayer thing. Now that her dad is dead she feels free to re-embrace that part of her identity.

Mercy, ugh. Idk what I feel about her. She is a crappy person who constantly makes bad choices and blames it on the curse (I was so glad when her HK gf called this out). I dont see any growth.
David was a garbage person throughout and I hated him and hated seeing him on the screen. Dude must be a good actor to elicit this sort of rage lol.

Margaret abandoning her two living children was so wrong to me. I cannot - cannot- imagine the pain of losing a child. But you can't just give up on the ones that are still alive. Her husband wasnt even surprised or sad. Just "Ok fine, bye". He was tired of her sh!t. And where is she gonna live? Her crapshoot apartment?

I'm a bit conflicted at Esse going with the fam, because I really wanted her to be able to go be with her own family. But considering what Margaret did, it's good that Esse is there. And I wonder if that's why she wanted to convince her to go so bad? She doesn't feel as bad abandoning her children knowing that Esse is there to look after them?

Oh, please. Margaret wasn't abandoning anyone. In fact, she felt she would be abandoning Gus if she left HK, which I can *completely* understand. Obviously, her husband knows she'll meet up with them in the States. She just needed a little more time before she felt ready to "leave" Gus. I honestly don't know if I could ever have left.

Agree she’ll just take a couple more weeks or months to process things.
The husband had to stay strong and get everyone on the damn flight, so of course he shook it off fast and agreed. No time to “debate,” they’d all miss the flight.

[Anonymous]

I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

[Anonymous]

^ sorry for typos but I think you get my point!

[Anonymous]

Margaret really needs Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

We see her talking to the police on the phone a lot, trying to get them to look into more angles (like the neighbor who was found to have a photo of Gus on his phone). My guess is that it's more of this -- trying to keep the police from sticking the case in a file cabinet and moving on, drumming up new leads if possible, talking to people who were at the market, etc. That's what families in missing persons cases often do -- try to light a fire under the police, and look for ways to generate leads for them to investigate.

Not saying this is a productive use of time or likely to bring Gus back, but I don't understand you saying that all Margaret was doing was wandering the streets looking for him (though she understandably does seem to be looking for him everywhere, I think any parent would find themselves doing that). We see her engaging authorities and doing things clearly in an effort to try and find him. So it's reasonable to assume she just plans to do more of that.

Also while joining an anti-trafficking NGO would be a nice thing for her to do, it is unlikely to help her find Gus. It's not even clear he was trafficked, though it's a reasonable supposition.

I don't think Margaret has any interest in just running a foundation in Gus's name and creating such a foundation would basically be an admission that they have accepted he is dead. Margaret clearly has not accepted that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

We see her talking to the police on the phone a lot, trying to get them to look into more angles (like the neighbor who was found to have a photo of Gus on his phone). My guess is that it's more of this -- trying to keep the police from sticking the case in a file cabinet and moving on, drumming up new leads if possible, talking to people who were at the market, etc. That's what families in missing persons cases often do -- try to light a fire under the police, and look for ways to generate leads for them to investigate.

Not saying this is a productive use of time or likely to bring Gus back, but I don't understand you saying that all Margaret was doing was wandering the streets looking for him (though she understandably does seem to be looking for him everywhere, I think any parent would find themselves doing that). We see her engaging authorities and doing things clearly in an effort to try and find him. So it's reasonable to assume she just plans to do more of that.

Also while joining an anti-trafficking NGO would be a nice thing for her to do, it is unlikely to help her find Gus. It's not even clear he was trafficked, though it's a reasonable supposition.

I don't think Margaret has any interest in just running a foundation in Gus's name and creating such a foundation would basically be an admission that they have accepted he is dead. Margaret clearly has not accepted that.

I hear you that she was doing some things. But it seems like they’ve long ago exhausted the low-handing fruit (her own neighbors, people at the market). Also a missing children foundation would not necessarily acknowledge his death. If he was trafficked he could still be alive. I guess staying behind to personally hound the police is something!

[Anonymous]

The husband alluded to what a mark Gus was due to young age, looks half asian, can smuggle him out easier/faster than a white boy, etc.

State Dept has the data on this.

Young children are abducted and whisked away to beach markets in SE Asia. Pedophiles are the frequent buyers of boys or girls. Same on Ivory coast beach markets for the sick European pedophiles.

[Anonymous]

I know everyone likes to harp on racial reparations and colonialism and slave boats.

But there are still 1000s of child and women abductions a year in emerging market countries and child sx slaves, women sx slaves RIGHT NOW.

Wish DEI and BLM would focus their NGO money there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didnt love the ending.

The only character I felt was happy at the end was Hilary. Got rid of her cheating husband? Check. Got rid of her abusive cheating dad and got her feelings off her chest? Check.

She started wearing colors and got a colorful new rug. I was wondering if her love of beige colors was in some way a rejection of her indian heritage/persona/identity. The first time we see her in colored clothing is at the indian prayer thing. Now that her dad is dead she feels free to re-embrace that part of her identity.

Mercy, ugh. Idk what I feel about her. She is a crappy person who constantly makes bad choices and blames it on the curse (I was so glad when her HK gf called this out). I dont see any growth.
David was a garbage person throughout and I hated him and hated seeing him on the screen. Dude must be a good actor to elicit this sort of rage lol.

Margaret abandoning her two living children was so wrong to me. I cannot - cannot- imagine the pain of losing a child. But you can't just give up on the ones that are still alive. Her husband wasnt even surprised or sad. Just "Ok fine, bye". He was tired of her sh!t. And where is she gonna live? Her crapshoot apartment?

I'm a bit conflicted at Esse going with the fam, because I really wanted her to be able to go be with her own family. But considering what Margaret did, it's good that Esse is there. And I wonder if that's why she wanted to convince her to go so bad? She doesn't feel as bad abandoning her children knowing that Esse is there to look after them?

Oh, please. Margaret wasn't abandoning anyone. In fact, she felt she would be abandoning Gus if she left HK, which I can *completely* understand. Obviously, her husband knows she'll meet up with them in the States. She just needed a little more time before she felt ready to "leave" Gus. I honestly don't know if I could ever have left.

I definitely think she is abandoning her two kids. Her husband was praying Gus died so they could all finally move on. He is trying to move on, the two elder children are trying to move on. Margaret is stuck. She can't. She is choosing a ghost over her two living breathing children.

She isn't planning on staying in HK. She just wasn't quite ready to head back to the States. Are you one of the posters who insisted Margaret and Hilary were "cruel" and horrible people? Good grief.

And how long are her other children going to be without a mother while she stays in HK? It doesnt say how long she's planning to stay or if she is ever planning to come back. Maybe the book says something different, but the show leaves it ambiguous for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

Agreed. She's not doing anything to actually find Gus. She's just leaving her other children without a mother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Margaret really needs Jesus.

I think she’ll get there, but the pastor was pretty unhelpful. He seemed lost about how to reach her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

We see her talking to the police on the phone a lot, trying to get them to look into more angles (like the neighbor who was found to have a photo of Gus on his phone)..

Seems like it was the neighbor btw. It’s someone Gus might have known and would have gone with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wish the show had explored what all Margaret was actually *doing* to try to find Gus. And what is she exactly is she doing now that she’s stayed behind? It seems like she’s just wandering in the hope she’s spot him on the street some day - wut?

If he was killed by a crazy serial killer, there is nothing to be done except maybe investigate similar disappearance and try to track it back to the same culprit? Is she doing that? How when she doesn’t speak any local language? If he was kidnapped to trafficked, likely he would have been taken out and probably far from Hong Kong, right?

Point being, I think I would feel *worse* staying in Hong Kong and basically having no skills to actually make any progress on finding Gus or improving prospects for lost kids period. From what we see, Margaret is not even involved in any local anti-trafficking NGO or something like that.

Given the family is rich with rich friends, the best you can do in this situation is create a foundation in Gus’s name and give Margaret the job of running it so she remains connected to Gus’s memory.

We see her talking to the police on the phone a lot, trying to get them to look into more angles (like the neighbor who was found to have a photo of Gus on his phone)..

Seems like it was the neighbor btw. It’s someone Gus might have known and would have gone with.

The neighbor just happened to be in the market at the exact time they were and managed to grab him in that brief interlude? Gus was a bolter - he did it on the boat and in his apartment. Definitely something a brand new potential caretaker should have been warned about.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t love it. All the characters were pretty unsympathetic, and the show was pretty po-faced and humorless. Nicole Kidman doesn’t need to be in everything, her acting was never fantastic. The other actors were good at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think one factor for Margaret that I think is not really explored well in the show but is a subtext, is that losing Gus results in a total identity crisis for her that was already sort of happening but crashes down on her with his abduction.

She talks about being sort of a reluctant SAHM because she can't really do her job in Hong Kong. So she kind of leans into this kind of crunchy, maternal role. But then she feels threatened by Essie when Gus and the other kids love her so much. So it's like her professional identity is taken from her by the move to HK, and then she feels like her maternal identity is taken away by Essie.

And then Gus goes missing on her watch (yes, I guess on Mercy's watch, but Mercy barely knew any of them at that point). So now she kind of takes on this mantle of "bad mom" and can't escape it because if she keeps looking for Gus and stays in HK, she's neglecting her other kids. But if she leaves HK to care for her other kids, she's abandoning Gus.

I don't know. I really felt for her in the final episode. I don't necessarily approve of all her choices but I feel like that's beside the point. I truly have no idea what I'd do in her shoes. It's an impossible situation.

This is stated so perfectly.