Washington Black

The themes of racism, colonisation, tribal traditions, prejudice, greed, childhood trauma, conditioning, envy, love, powerlessness, hope, science and friendship are touched upon, but it remains a fairy tale, simplified for children's eyes. If you have already outgrown the child's perspective, it is difficult to follow this simplified story. You have already realized that life is not that simple, that many things don't make sense, that reality often pulls the rug out from under your feet without any symbolism or mysticism behind it. Many who are exhausted by a system that is still not fair for everyone may be frustrated by this simplification. In this respect, you can be entertained by beautiful images, interesting actors, costumes, interesting hairstyles and backdrops, landscapes and conversations. All kinds of emotions are generated because it's about a child. It's comparable to fast food. Everything is quite nice and looks pretty, but it lacks important nutrients and somehow you don't really get full from it. And as usual with fairy tales, the story ends where life really gets going and becomes difficult, everyday life.

This isn't just another slave series but naturally it takes place in the 1800s so there are moments where slavery comes into play. The series is about George Washington Black and his journey as a young adult learning advanced technology. He's an inspired black inventor. Lola Evan's is the co star. Her acting is excellent and she's very pretty. Sterling browns character is charismatic but he doesn't really have an accent and talks in modern day slang which can ruin the immersion.

Overall this show is kind of boring. The protagonist looks like Ed Sheeran. The plot is slow and predictable. I'd be surprised if this gets renewed for a 2nd season.

I was looking forward to this series. I didn't read the whole novel but informed myself about the plot and it seemed like great material for a series.

Watching the series just feels weird...I can't really pin it down to one thing...it feels slow, often boring, the acting feels strange and although it must have a significant budget if feels kind of cheap most of the time (if you decide to develop the plot in a slow, boring manner you could at least put more details into the atmosphere and aesthetics by showing more of the beautiful places where the series take place; a good example of this could be the new Netflix series Untamed which takes place in Yosemite national park and really integrated this into the whole vibe).

It just doesn't draw me in...maybe it's just not for me but the other negative reviews overlap in some points of criticism, so it's probably not just me.

I am split in my review. The first seven episodes were well done and told a great story, I would give them an 8. However, the last episode felt like "damn, we took too long with the first 7, let's squeeze 3 episodes into 1 and skip all the important pieces, make it like a synopsis". Very disappointing and that episode was a 5 at best .

Washington Black is visually spectacular - Barbados, Victorian London, Moroccan deserts, icy Antarctica - the show looks like a globe-trotting epic with a massive budget. But the writing doesn't rise to the same level. The tone is oddly childish for a story about slavery and identity, and the logic often stretches belief (a child from Barbados tracked across continents in the 1800s?).

Eddie Karanja is fantastic as young Wash, and McGee adds rare complexity. It's also refreshing to see free Black characters portrayed as artists and leaders, not just victims. The love story is simple but sincere. Titch feels like a caricature, and Willard has Chuck Norris plot armor.

Gorgeous to watch. Frustrating to follow.