Popular Reviews of Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery

Just listened to the third episode. Interesting show but it’s kinda getting old getting beat over the head with progressive agenda. It distracts from the show. I get it already - native Americans were pushed out of the area 200 years ago. I don’t need to be preached to by self-righteous individuals. Trying to decide if I’m going to keep going. If I do I hope they drop it already. Also it’s kinda confusing with the three main leads sounding so similar. It’s hard to understand who’s doing what at times. It is an interesting show if you don’t mind being beat over the head with themes like that some people prefer to have non-binary gender types and how that straight people can be insensitive to gays and lesbians.

I have never listened to a podcast where the main characters where so insufferable. I really tried to like it but Lilian and Abbie are so rude.

Starts ok but goes nowhere. Poor writing that thinks characters are only interesting when obnoxious and "quirky". Not gothic in the slightest. Skip.

I truly adore this show. This bizarre and mysterious town has wormed its way into my heart and I care so deeply for Lillian and her friends. It's so thoughtful and considerate in its representation and the story being told and it's truly a joy when a new episode appears in my feed.

This podcast was extremely hard to get through. The whole podcast is pushing the progressive agenda. A lot of the story is extremely offensive and racist and definitely one sided. Annoying it’s pushing so much hypocritical views all while violating others. Abby is so horrid. She is sooooo rude and offensive and very disrespectful. Very hypocritical against others and even racist but very pushy of her views. Lilly is mass rude and hard to look over. The story focused more on the progressive agenda and being so racist and disrespectful that it took a very long time to get anywhere. I’m sorry but if people are not allowed to push all views including opinions on lifestyles and religions and races then one sided should not be allowed as well. Note: racism can be against all races and religions!!! It’s getting old!!!! I would not recommend this podcast if your here for the story it really goes no where. If your here from a progressive view or looking for disrespect, hate and racism then this may be what your looking for. I personally don’t need a story to take advantage and try to force others opinions and lifestyles on me. Im pretty sure that’s the same thing that offends those who push (almost force) these views on others. Live your life and I’ll live mine and respect my views and opinions as much as I respect yours.

Really wanted to like this. Production is top notch but where the hell is the story? The Midwestern gothic mystery in your title? I don't want to spend my day getting blasted by woke culture every 5 mins. Maybe as an introduction, sure whatever but every episode hinting at how woke the entire crew is gets tiring and very old fast.

What was this Podcast actually about?I liked the sound realization, not so much the storytelling part...

Dropped it.

Such a wonderful cast of characters in a very odd town. I love the humor and intrigue of the stories.

An adult Gravity Falls...so rad.

really enjoyed this! big slice-of-life vibes, v character focused, with a kind of meandering storyline that sometimes felt a lil lost, but came together in a cool way & worked with the overall character & community focus~ lots of queer vibes, with a really well-developed sense of the relationship between land & people. was happy to see the proper acknowledgement of colonization & the pain, suffering, joy, play, isolation & togetherness that exists in the lands & people where this takes place + was made. it leans into the comedic realm quite often, sum rly funny characters, & gets spooky & delightfully psychedelic/surreal/absurd, but never goes into horror territory. the mystery elements are quite abstract but definitely had me wonderin what was goin on & curious to experience what was next. some cool ideas here that never fell into spooky tropes. I also really appreciated the representation of Alzheimer's/dementia & how that was handled!

Absolutely phenomenal. Frankly the best of the best.

Love everything about this podcast, amazing soundscaping and storyline is amazing. Acknowledging the occupation of indigenous territories is a big big big bonus on top of that.

Slow burn supernatural/mystery plot. Perhaps the most cohesive theme tying the story - the ghosts, the family drama - is memory. Most episodes contain more household comedy/drama than supernatural mystery, with the fourth season explaining the supernatural mystery/lore further. The dysfunctional dynamic between the mom and the daughter is a highlight; the mom has dementia and an abrasive personality, and the daughter loves and has a duty to her mom even while resenting her; their relationship grows from there, though the familial duty theme becomes less prominent later on. Other relationships include a found family dynamic between the residents of the boarding house and a developing F/F romance. Suspense is built well for the more intense episodes, but the buildup to the plot is sometimes a bit too slow; occasionally episodes only follow up loosely from developments in previous episodes, to the point where it feels like some plot beats are straight-up missing (we're mad at this one guy for joining the cult, but now we're having fun hanging out with the cult leader because... he has a cute son?). I enjoy the character interactions, but a few episodes such as some in the fourth season don't provide significant development in terms of plot or character growth. Without the supernatural elements, character tension was there to keep interest, but with the exception of a couple character dynamics (I wish the fourth season had more of Lily's and Dot's dynamic), it's becoming less engaging. The villain can be so cryptic as to be incoherent. The performances overall are good and the characters' voices are distinct. Rating four stars as of now despite my criticisms to counterbalance the people who are rating one star for the existence of queer characters and land acknowledgements (if you're going to lower your rating for content outside the show, at least do it for the painful Dipsea ads). As of now, the parts are looking greater than the whole. Hopefully the final season can bring it all together.

Love, love, love this podcast so much, and it’s for sure a new favorite. Almost every episode is worth 5 stars. It has amazing representation and portrayals of academic conversations. The characters here have some brilliant dialogue. We so need more shows like these in the world.

Have been here since the initial trailer drops and have LOVED taking this journey with Lily and co. :') Particularly fond of Abbie, they are very gender. The acting, soundscaping, character dynamics and arcs - just everything is consistently masterful. Love love LOVE.

It took a while for me to calibrate to this show - it certainly wasn't what I thought I was getting into. If you made a pie chart of the Title, Tagline and Cover Art, it would look like this:95% - spooky spooky5% - Horror Music DronesBut a pie chart of the actual show would look like: 70% - Dysfunctional Family Comedy (set in a boarding house... it's practically "You Can't Take it With You" with ghosts and it's awesome) 25% - Small Town Charm5% - spooky spooky I've only listened to Season One and so far, each episode - every damn episode - 5 stars, 10/10, blue ribbon - the writing is hilarious, the performances spot on with impeccable, immersive sound design. It's kind of a perfect package. But the pace this mystery unfolds... Jesus Take the Wheel. For the first half of the season, the central mystery is: "is there a mystery?" -- "will there be a mystery?" -- "yo, anybody see a mystery lying around?" The show is chock-full of spooky spooky that not a single character is the least bit interested in exploring. It pumps the brakes on the dramatic tension and puts the audience in the rare position of caring more than the characters do about what happens to them. -----SPOILERS-----Ghosts leaving messages on recorders, don't look into it... A storage room whose size seems to defy logic and geometry, don't circle back to that... Wolves that turn into a flock of birds... a man-made hill built over top of an old, still-intact section of the town... the fact that it's likely the same Joey from your childhood only Joey hasn't aged... probably not worth mentioning a second time. Wes obviously being a ghost the whole time... Eh. Remember that diner that was probably run by the undead? What the fuck was up with that? Unwell is brimming with the bizarre and overflowing with lore, but it's so frustrating to be sitting at home, trying to solve a mystery that the protagonists don't seem all that interested in. Like, what even is unwell? The town? The boarding house? The mother-daughter relationship? beats me. This show is so goddam great episode by episode - but after a whole season, I really have no idea what story they're trying to tell.

Listened to five episodes, totaling over an hour and a half of content. Good voice acting and production value, but little to no story to be found so far. I’m all for slow burn, but in the time some films can be finished this podcast has hardly hinted at a plot line. All this and hamfisted politics make this extremely weak and unfortunately meandering. Such a waste of production talent.

Sometimes the scariest things happen in your own home, within your own family history, & nothing captures that as beautifully & magically as Unwell does... it can't be understated how much the MUSIC compliments the acting & atmosphere of everything in the way only true artists could !!! Subscribe ASAP !!

Absolutely great pod. The main character starts out a little rough but a couple episodes in she chills out and it's smooth sailing through a really interesting and cool story. Highly recommend!