2. 5. Under the Banner of Heaven - I watched the first episode and practically fell asleep. It's sooooo slow and boring. How do you make a show about a grizzly murder that fucking mind-numbing??? But I persisted, and am now on the 4th or 5th one, and it's gotten slightly better. I really like the cast a lot - Andrew Garfield can be really great sometimes (not always), and I love that he's had a resurgence this year. I also like that he's taking a break for himself. I always get nervous for people when they have a tragic event happen (his mom died recently) and then they overwork themselves as a way to "forget" instead of heal. Dude needs a break. Plus, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Rory Culkin, Gil Birmingham, AND Sam Worthington (someone I used to really like but has been in so much garbage that I thought my original opinion was wrong and he's actually a terrible actor, but GUESS WHAT?! I was right! He can act. He just needs smaller, more dramatic roles like this! Casting the right person for the right role is important, people!). Anyway, this is also created by Dustin Lance Black, someone I am a big fan of, so I guess I just had expectations that were too high. It's not a bad show, but there's nothing of note about it, and with so much content overwhelming us, a show like this just gets lost nowadays. I enjoy the scenes with Daisy the most because I like her rebellious character - she's brave in questioning things, but also tries to be respectful. She comes off as really endearing, honest, and sweet - which is the goal, I think. I do struggle with her accent, though - first, I actually thought Daisy was Irish because of Normal People so I thought her Irish accent was peaking out a bit, causing this weird American/Irish hybrid accent. But then I looked it up and SHE'S NOT IRISH. So, what the fuck accent is this? There is another actress on the series that has an Irish accent so maybe she let it bleed into her own attempt at a Utah/Idaho/Iowa accent (sorry I can't remember where she's supposed to be from, but to a New Yorker - those are all the same state...). I like that it shows the sinister nature behind the LDS church and Mormonism (and...um...all religions, really), while also showing that there are good people within this...uh...cult. And Garfield does a great job at being the moral compass while displaying this conflicting idea about this...uh...cult. I'm definitely interested to see how it all ends, but it's been a big chore to get there.
3. Roar - This series is really kind of out there, and I think that I love it? Some episodes are miles better than others, but overall I dig what it's doing. It's an anthology series telling different stories of womanhood, mostly taking a literal take of a cliché or idea (like "the trophy wife" episode is about a woman literally sitting on a shelf like a trophy so that her husband can adore her all day long, obviously that doesn't go so well), featuring a spectacular group of actresses - Issa Rae, Nicole Kidman, Betty Gilpin, Cynthia Erivo, and MY FAVORITE, Merritt Wever! Also, they are only 30 minute long episodes, which is a dream, and so much easier to binge. There's no filler, the pace is quick and concise, etc. I just prefer it overall than something so stretched out that I find myself questioning the importance of every second (*cough* Stranger Things *cough*). Out of the 5 episodes that I've watched so far, my favorites are the one mentioned above, which stars Gilpin, and the Meritt Wever one, so I'm going to talk about those two for a quick second. I think I like the "trophy wife" episode so much because it didn't end with any sort of certainty, which I feel like is true to life - feminist thought is kind of messy and it means different things to people (an example is that once I had this woman flat-out tell me that I'm not a feminist because I watched Game of Thrones - because of the mostly female nudity. And when I told her that I didn't have a problem with nudity in films and tv, she got even more upset with me). I think a lot of women look down on other women who choose a more domestic lifestyle, and even more so if they are wealthy. But honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with not having or wanting a career if your partner makes enough money to support you both? Who the fuck chooses to...work? Why are we built like this? So when he tells her "you never have to worry about anything ever again" and "all you have to do is sit here and be loved", that sounds like a fucking dream to me. It all goes south, of course, and turns into a story about inserting your independence. But the episode gets really interesting once she throws herself off of the shelf - Gilpin's performance is extraordinary as she relearns the world with this physical rag doll walk that is clumsy and perfectly choreographed. Then it all comes full circle with an interesting feminist precaution about beauty standards, being objectified, and this internal struggle that so many women have about their looks. I sort of love the obviousness that it showcases while also offering absolutely zero answers. The 5th episode is really unexpected - because it starts off really cute about a talking duck, but then it quickly goes full-crazytown with Wever's character falling in love with said duck. I couldn't really figure out where it was going, but when it got there, I almost cried at how perfect it is - as it's a story of how incredibly easy it is to suddenly find yourself in an abusive situation - whether it's emotional or physical, I guarantee you that most women don't catch the early signs (and the early sign in this is that he's overly supportive and convinces her that her relationship with her sister is hurting her mental health), until it's too late. While I think these two episodes are superb, two others are strong - with the first being about a successful black woman who still remains invisible among her peers, and the other about the struggle to juggle both motherhood and a successful career (and also about doctors ignoring the concerns of women...). The only episode that is not good is the one featuring Nicole Kidman - completely boring and forgettable. I think the series, overall, is super cool and I hope they keep doing more seasons (similar to how Black Mirror just keeps going).
4. Pachinko - I've watched the first two episodes so far, and overall I think it's a bit confusing. The timelines aren't very clear and there are too many stories being told - and I'm not very well-versed in Asian history, so I don't feel like I'm getting the intricacies of the plot that I should be getting. BUT...it's absolutely beautifully made and just gorgeous to look at. The opening credits with them dancing among the Pachinko machines are just so joyful and fun. I could watch that on repeat for hours. I love that it is in both Korean and Japanese - and it distinguishes between the two languages with different color subtitles. I don't have much to say about it, yet, but I'm still certainly invested, and am hopeful that the different plots will become more clear with each episode.
5. Anatomy of a Scandal - I had this at the top of my list, but then my mom texted me about how much she loved it and how great the acting is, and I moved it down a few notches (my mom has terrible taste in television - the only show she's ever loved that was actually good is Mad Men). Honestly, it's basically a copy of the UK series A Very British Scandal (or A Very English Scandal - I'm confused at the title because it's listed as both on Amazon Prime). Except each season of that is based on a real scandal, and I think this one is fictional (although a scandal is a scandal - and they are usually about political people cheating so fiction and reality blur with these types of shows). So far, I think it's...okay. It's certainly not terrible and is definitely elevated by the performances. I'm a big, big fan of Sienna Miller, but also of Michelle Dockery. I don't believe that anyone would cheat on Sienna Miller but it happened in real life (Jude Law is beautiful, but also a dummy), so I guess I will go with this plot even though my brain tells me it makes no sense. The first episode is pretty underwhelming because it's already so cliched that cheating doesn't even feel scandalous anymore - as one of his supporters says "that doesn't even qualify as a storm". So it is satisfying that it ends more disturbingly with the rape accusation. I don't like the way it shows him lifted in the air as if being literally punched in the gut (such an odd choice for such a serious show - and each episode ends this weirdly for...no reason at all). I'm definitely more interested in the scandal now, and in the moral questioning of the "believe all women" mantra that has seemed to overwrite "innocent until proven guilty". It also questions the subtleties of consent, as in, is it rape if there was never an explicit "no"? I'm interested to see how deep it goes.
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