This series tries so hard to be as good as Inside n.9 but it is so silly and with poor writing. When the twist begins the episode ends and we don't have any background to theorize (pilot). Then, we got brilliants lines like "dress rhymes with yes *laugh*" (s01e02). And now, 24 minutes of babbling and a sequence of penises supposed to be "out of the box"...? How old are the writers?
9 Reviews
Another Terrible Ending That's 2 out of 3 as Bad as No Country for Old Men
slimharpoon14 August 2017
Episode 3 is just as bad as Episode 1 as the ending was bad, lame, boring and made little sense. Most of this episode like episode 1 was entertaining but the ending was total laziness as it made little sense and negated the rest of the episode. The acting on this episode as well as the series is good but the endings ruin it. Only decent Episode so far is #2 Pizza Boy.
I really had high hops for this series
leefoo-121 August 2017
Ep1 was a little weird and not that great, but it was enough to move me onto ep2.
Ep 2 was good but the twist was totally unrealistic. So, on to the Knockadoo.
Ep 3.....Not only was it 'out there', I had no idea what happened at the end. I went back and watched it 3 times and still couldn't.
Ep 4....This will be the last one. A half hour about a guy who feels guilty over how his friend died?
I read somewhere that Room104 was 'Black Mirror' done by the Duplass Bros. Well, I loved Black Mirror and I hope these brothers come nowhere near that show!
Ep 2 was good but the twist was totally unrealistic. So, on to the Knockadoo.
Ep 3.....Not only was it 'out there', I had no idea what happened at the end. I went back and watched it 3 times and still couldn't.
Ep 4....This will be the last one. A half hour about a guy who feels guilty over how his friend died?
I read somewhere that Room104 was 'Black Mirror' done by the Duplass Bros. Well, I loved Black Mirror and I hope these brothers come nowhere near that show!
Second TIme's a Charm?
hoyayer29 December 2017
The parallel between Freud's use of sinus surgery to cure "female hysteria", and the nasal idiocy proposed by the faith healer was was struck me.
Unless I missed the whole point, the heroin relived her teenage experience with the "Knockadoo" by repelling, once again, a thinly concealed rape attempt that was being offered as what she really, truly, needed and wanted.
The characters were not developed at all, so the plot resolution meant little.
Unless I missed the whole point, the heroin relived her teenage experience with the "Knockadoo" by repelling, once again, a thinly concealed rape attempt that was being offered as what she really, truly, needed and wanted.
The characters were not developed at all, so the plot resolution meant little.
To the best of my ability, I will explain this episode to you
ZeeEnds19 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A lot of the reviews here are bitter, and I understand why. I didn't get it the first time either. Then I watched it again, and realized the key to understanding this episode lies in understanding PTSD, which I just so happen to have. So, without further ado:
A cult leader arrives in a hotel room to swindle a believer out of some money, feeding on her desire to "transcend". The process begins, and the leader makes a point of saying there's no stopping once it starts. This is your first big hint.
He presses her for a memory of spiritual significance, so he knows how to proceed. After several duds, she reveals a disturbing childhood memory in vivid detail. Part of this memory is of getting "her first period" as she ran from the scene. In all likelihood, this was a broken hymen from rape. The lights flash while she's recalling the memory. This is "room 104" entering the narrative, in a way similar to Stephen King bringing Castle Rock into the story.
Once he has this memory, the cult leader produces an intimidating looking makeshift tool. Look closely at the tool. It's a screwdriver rigged to a collapsable baton. She protests this development, and states she doesn't know whether or not she wants to continue. The cult leader aggressively insists, and she reluctantly concedes. She lays down, and he positions himself on her body in a way similar to someone committing a sexual assault. Notice how he's holding this baton. He's holding it this way because it's collapsing as he pretends to push it into her nose.
What she's been told is that a half-formed entity is occupying her. She genuinely believes this. She also just fully recalled a traumatizing memory. She also states that this is a memory that she basically forgot about, until he pressed her. That means it was a repressed memory, suddenly recalled. She describes "the magician" as having the ability to float, but as the cult leader is doing the procedure, she sees herself floating in the air. A lot of times, people with PTSD disassociate to endure something. This experience is often described as "feeling like you're leaving your body" or "floating outside of your body".
This is where PTSD becomes very, very important. Someone with PTSD doesn't know how they're going to respond once they're triggered (this word is overused, so I'm talking a deep, deep trauma kind of trigger). A lot of times they respond with violence (combat vets in particular), outbursts of crying, going catatonic, etc. The memory that arrives gathers detail as the cult leader goes further into the "procedure" designed to extract the entity. Remember: he said they couldn't stop. The element of not having any choice makes the cult leader have a parallel to the rapist. His forceful nature makes him the target of her wrath.
As the memory becomes fully recalled, instead of partially recalled (when she told the story, she called it a period instead of being raped, and seemed to believe this) the force of PTSD hits her. Her response to PTSD? Rage. The way that she responded to the original rage? Hitting the kid's dick with a rock. So she punches the cult leader in the dick. Then she yells, "I'm going to rip it off!" This implies that the way she will "transcend" or feel beyond her PTSD is escalating the initial violence to full Lorena Bobbitt levels.
I went through explaining all of this, because, if I didn't have first-hand knowledge of PTSD, this episode would drive me bonkers. It depends on the audience knowing a lot about the human psyche, which in a lot of ways isn't fair. So in a way, I feel like this episode was exclusively for people like me, who maybe needed to see the complexity of their experience on the screen. It is very hard to get the PTSD experience right. I don't know if I've ever seen it presented accurately. This is accurate, and why I rated it so highly. If I'm wrong about this, then I've got nothing. But I think this is what's intended.
A cult leader arrives in a hotel room to swindle a believer out of some money, feeding on her desire to "transcend". The process begins, and the leader makes a point of saying there's no stopping once it starts. This is your first big hint.
He presses her for a memory of spiritual significance, so he knows how to proceed. After several duds, she reveals a disturbing childhood memory in vivid detail. Part of this memory is of getting "her first period" as she ran from the scene. In all likelihood, this was a broken hymen from rape. The lights flash while she's recalling the memory. This is "room 104" entering the narrative, in a way similar to Stephen King bringing Castle Rock into the story.
Once he has this memory, the cult leader produces an intimidating looking makeshift tool. Look closely at the tool. It's a screwdriver rigged to a collapsable baton. She protests this development, and states she doesn't know whether or not she wants to continue. The cult leader aggressively insists, and she reluctantly concedes. She lays down, and he positions himself on her body in a way similar to someone committing a sexual assault. Notice how he's holding this baton. He's holding it this way because it's collapsing as he pretends to push it into her nose.
What she's been told is that a half-formed entity is occupying her. She genuinely believes this. She also just fully recalled a traumatizing memory. She also states that this is a memory that she basically forgot about, until he pressed her. That means it was a repressed memory, suddenly recalled. She describes "the magician" as having the ability to float, but as the cult leader is doing the procedure, she sees herself floating in the air. A lot of times, people with PTSD disassociate to endure something. This experience is often described as "feeling like you're leaving your body" or "floating outside of your body".
This is where PTSD becomes very, very important. Someone with PTSD doesn't know how they're going to respond once they're triggered (this word is overused, so I'm talking a deep, deep trauma kind of trigger). A lot of times they respond with violence (combat vets in particular), outbursts of crying, going catatonic, etc. The memory that arrives gathers detail as the cult leader goes further into the "procedure" designed to extract the entity. Remember: he said they couldn't stop. The element of not having any choice makes the cult leader have a parallel to the rapist. His forceful nature makes him the target of her wrath.
As the memory becomes fully recalled, instead of partially recalled (when she told the story, she called it a period instead of being raped, and seemed to believe this) the force of PTSD hits her. Her response to PTSD? Rage. The way that she responded to the original rage? Hitting the kid's dick with a rock. So she punches the cult leader in the dick. Then she yells, "I'm going to rip it off!" This implies that the way she will "transcend" or feel beyond her PTSD is escalating the initial violence to full Lorena Bobbitt levels.
I went through explaining all of this, because, if I didn't have first-hand knowledge of PTSD, this episode would drive me bonkers. It depends on the audience knowing a lot about the human psyche, which in a lot of ways isn't fair. So in a way, I feel like this episode was exclusively for people like me, who maybe needed to see the complexity of their experience on the screen. It is very hard to get the PTSD experience right. I don't know if I've ever seen it presented accurately. This is accurate, and why I rated it so highly. If I'm wrong about this, then I've got nothing. But I think this is what's intended.
Hard for some to understand
norwegian-girl3 October 2019
I think many people will misunderstand this episode. You really have to read between the lines and not take everything so literarly. If you don't understand it, it might be because it's some symbols/references which you don't catch. To me, at least, it made perfect sense, and not everything needs to be wrapped up to a closed ending.
Won me over
jpfordnc15 March 2020
A session that brings back painful memories!
blanbrn12 August 2017
Episode three from "Room 104" called "The Knockadoo" is a crazy one that's full of religion, guilt, and a haunted past of demons. The story is simple A woman checks into Room 104 to meet a cult priest who's suppose to bring her into another world of salvation and redemption however the session leads her down a path and world of past memories. And it turns out it brings back a very painful and haunting memory for this woman. And in an odd and strange way and somewhat graphic detail it's a haunting and painful memory. Overall good episode that's revealing proving that life is strange and that our past and memories can also bring hurt and pain.
Spoof/spoiler alert (wardrobe)
anmldoc-1183525 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The white gown worn by the main female character when she opens the door for the DVD player has no buttons along the back "neckline". It does in a later scene when her back is to the audience/camera when she considers leaving the room.
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