Congratulations to Mr. Flanagan on his superb achievement.
To intricately weave multiple timelines is no easy feat. It's not merely linking one particular thread through from the past to the present. It's also unraveling the journey of all its characters and the overall story. Revealing it slowly to the audience. I don't think people grasp how difficult this is. Certainly not the low quality reviewers imdb seems to be getting these days. They sound off as though they can do better yet can't even spell.
The actors are all very good. Children and adult. My only criticism is that too many of the women look similiar. Long black hair with sharply defined features. I appreciate that they are supposed to be related and we do get to know them but even the funeral parlour's assistant looks similar. A slight criticism.
Mr. Flanagan has even directed these first two episodes. First class work. Based on his past achievements you wouldn't pick him for this type of genre but give people the opportunity and they can surprise you.
The show is fresh, though has some old school quality to it with a genuinely eerie vibe and there are some real scares in there. Fear is like art. Not every scare is going to work for everybody but there's plenty to go round.
Great to see Henry Thomas again too. Seems not long since he was Brad Pitt's younger brother in Legends of the Fall. Time flies by for us all.