doomplayer

I'm a fan of the supernova, because not only does the expansion of our sun wipe out the human race, but all life on Earth with it, and there's more to it. With the Earth absorbed into the enlarged and unstable sun, it explodes, leaving a glorious nebula of our "ashes", among most of the molecules originally comprising the sun (and Mercury & Venus too). A solar graveyard. That my friends is a well deserved ending for life on Earth.

I just hope afterlife contains a brand-spanking-new copy of Half Life 3. All I need. Plus maybe some pizza.

I'll try and edit any errors I find. I may also change somethings, as my sentence syntax my not be worded correctly

So, we've all had enough time to watch and rewatch "The Tunnel" a couple times, so its time we express what we liked/disliked, and discuss what exactly went down. I thouroughly enjoyed this episode. It provides a good ammount of comedy while still maintaining a creepy atmosphere. Is it the best? Not sure, but it's pretty damn near best! The lighting was good, the acting was great, the scripting was awesome (loose ends and all); the episode was just fantastic and well executed. If I had to criticize it, I'd have to agree with Ross and say the pacing was a bit slow. I kept thinking "When's something gonna happen?", but it was all worth it if you stuck through. I also would've liked to have seen the loose ends tied up, but there can always be a sequel. My rating: 9/10 But more importantly, what can we infer from the episode? There are many questions left unanswered, so lets try and answer them by making inferences. Here are what I think are the key components: What was in the tunnel? How did the tunnel get there? What was with the crazy journal man? Keep in mind: The car The journal scene The lack of power when Dave and Mike arrive The flashing lights that appear in the sub tunnels The body Mike stumbles into The crazy man The final scene with Dave and Mike The final stare scene The car Early in the episode, Dave is nailed by a white car. This happens before they go investigating the tunnel. Its kind of a random plot scne to include, wether it has any revelence to the tunnel at all, I don't know. It could have been a bit of comedic relief, or it could have been a message, trying to ward the duo away from the tunnel. You decide what you want. Journal Scene This, in my opinion, is the most important scene. We learn a lot about the tunnel in this time. We know that it was once powered, it did have some sort of "civil" inhabitants (the food and antechamber), and there is something in the tunnel. In the journal, he's depicted as an ordinary man who strikes gold when he finds a tunnel. When evicted, he moves into the tunnel, livin life as a happy mole. But, he is soon awakened in the middle of the night by scratching sbehind a giant metal door, which leads to what I call the sub-tunnels. He eventually gives in and investigates, but his next entry a blotch of blood. I do believe that the tunnel drove this man to insanity, which I will go more in-depth into later. What I would have liked to have seen was maybe he does return, sane, and makes another journal entry about what he finds. Mabe he discovers the same light, and he decides to investigate further. But with each passing entry, he becomes more and more insane. That would've amped the creepy factor a bit. The lack of power If you notice, when the journal man is telling his story, the tunnel has power, but when Dave and Mike arive, the tunnel appears to have been abandoned and deserted with no power. Could the journal man have disabled all power? Did the tunnel simply run OUT of power? Are there other paranormal forces at work? Maybe.. The lights At various times in the episode, a light flashes in the distance and is confirmed by one of the characters. They resemble a vortigaunts lightning attack, but that may be Ross just using what resources are available. However, I have reason enough evidence to think that its a ghost or some sort of paranormal spirit. When you think about it, what else flashes on occasion and disappears from view when you chase it down. Sure, a firefly could do those, but it can't omit enough light to make it that noticable. That doesn't mean it is surely a ghost, but it's a definate possibilty that the tunel is haunted. The body The boy serves two purposes: to distract Mike when Dave gets whisked away, and to scare the living shit out of you. A well placed horror effect, and it could also be the body for the spirit that could quite possibly be haunting the tunnel. Perhaps.. The crazy man Mike decides to head top side and call in backup, but is stopped by an insane man. It's pretty obvious its the journal man, and he's snapped. What cause him to go insane? Whatever was in the tunnel obviously, but what was the exact cause? Was it an arcane insanity (by that I mean whatever is in the utnnel did something and it made him insane), or a result of the tunnel itself. Also note his ares are red around the edges, from lack of sleep. He's also got blood (or some kind of foreign substance) on his clothes. Whatever has happened it's kept him from sleeping and he's been doing nasty things. he also traps Mike in thetunnel, so he must be serving some dark purpose, or is at the point of insanity that he believes that anything is his enemy. But hat would not explain why he was smiling like a maniac. Normally an insane person would treat a hostile by ignoring it or seeking shelter. But I could be wrong. Final DAve and Mike scene In the penultimate scene, our two protaganists are dangling from the cieling, encased by what seems to be giant barnacles. Dave has gone insane and is spewing random jibbrish. Some people believe he's speaking Bulgarian since it was hinted in the first part that he knew some Bulgarian. I don't believe it actually is Bulgarian, but if we could get some confirmation, that would be nice. I'm pretty sure that Dave has just gone of the deep end and is just saying whatever he can say. Something cacooned those two though, and I'm pretty sure the crawlers in the end are the culprits. But that doesn't explain why they swarm in suddenly and decide to attack Mike long after he's been cocooned. I do believe this is that spirit at work again. The spirit is controlling those of weaker and feble minds, dictating wether they attak or remain docile. It also explains why the creatures didn't atack Dave or the journal man. The spirit gained control of their minds, driving them to insanity. Seeing as how he had them under his control, he didn't want to dispose of them. Thestalkers purpose is questionable. It may be there to help conduit the flow of the scenery, or it may serve a deeper purpose. Post what you feel. The final stare The final stare, in my opinion, serves only one purpose. It's a warning: you're next. So where does that leave us? My hypothesis: the tunnel used to be a mining shaft, beinmg used frequently to gather resourcs. During the excavation, there was a death (the body) and a collapse. The workers couldn't do anything about the body, thus abandoned it. from this body cae a spirit, cast into turmoilas it cannot escape the tunnel. Its trapped state is unbearable, so it breaks an easy to acces entrance that someone would spot and be lured in. With its first victim captured (the journal man), it decides to lead more in there. Queue Dave and Mike, who are lured into there with a curious disposition. The power outage was a result of the spirit, adding more mystery to the tunnel. They find a journal, retelling the story of the journal man. It says his last known where-abouts were in the subtunels. So, Dave and Mike go t investigate. It leads them to the body, where when Mike is distracted, it steals Dave. When Mike decides to head topside, the spirit manifests itself as the journal man and traps him in the subtunnels. The spirit then capture mike, and has the creatures that it enthralled deep in the subtunnels cacoon him along with Dave. Mike, being too tough of a nut to crack, is useles to the spirit, who's only goal has been to torment the lving, and thus disposes of him. In the ned we see the spirit, manifested yet again as the journal man. He looks at us, giving us one clearcut warning. We're next. There you have it. My thoughts on the Tunnel. You'll have to forgive any spelling errors. This forum software is terribly glitchy and jumpy, so I can't truely watch my spelling. Please, feel free to add to, combat, or support my thoughts on the Tunnel, and also telel us what you liked and dsliked about the episode. Until the spirit gets you, doomplayer