The Power

First I'll start by saying I didn't know this was a book. Didn't even know it was a thought until this show. For everyone saying it's boring... this is happening to women all over the world, all walks of life and from wealthy to poor to homeless. That being said fleshing out the characters, and giving backstory is very much needed! I for one was very happy to have origin stories, had it just happened with no what, when, why and how I'd have been confused. By the end of episode 4, I was thoroughly hooked! The imagery coming out of Saudi Arabia was extremely powerful, literally and figuratively. I have no doubt there will be some terrible paths taken and terrible things to happen to some of these women, and the people in their path. And I'll be here for it! I'm happy to see something new, completely original! This is not superhero stuff, this is evolution and maybe even survival for some. I'm excited to see where it goes and will update my review at the end if needed.

I am only about 1/2 way through but so far this is an excellent show. One of the best aspects I think is that it has several main characters and shows, somewhat believably, what would happen if they all developed new powers. I enjoyed the world building of each very different character and the "what would happen if" of it all. We see the story mostly via the mayor of Seattle who is dealing with overwelmed first responders and EMTs only to be told my the governor to "not get her panties in a wad" in response to this major change in the world. She is told by authorities to keep it quiet but she decides instead to blow the whistle and tell everyone what is happening.

My review is based on the first two episodes.

The show is beautifully shot.

Despite the many characters, the story is easy to understand and the actors portraying them are delivering strong performances. All around the production is delivering everything I can ask from a show.

But unfortunately its fails to ask any interesting questions in regards to the shows premise, at least so far.

The obvious question being, does might make right?

Instead it seems to have already settled on an answer that "Yes, might makes right" meaning that a societies moral standards are defined by those in power. It portrays a world in which the powerful are categorically unempathetic to the plight of the powerless and cannot be persuaded by logical arguments, and therefore should the roles be reversed, they wont deserve any empathy either.

Frankly it is awfully black and white, with good people and bad people and nothing in-between. The universe seems like a oversimplified representation of the world we live in, juvenile, boring and unimaginative.

I look forward to the day shows are written by people who are smart enough to come up with creative solutions to problems - but with American productions it's always the same; Violence is the answer. Every genius in a superhero movies seem intent on creating easier ways to kill things. Doesn't matter if the hero of the story is a man or a woman, black or white, old or young - and in a story specifically about oppression and for one named The Power, it seems to spend awfully little time questioning how such power should be wielded. I get it might not be the first question, but at this point it should have come up. Its not believe able that so many characters would just roll with it.

I wonder if this show will end up looking like a CW production after a season or two.

A super-powered series that doesn't use a superhero storytelling approach. It's not an action fight with special powers. It is a guideline for good and bad consequences, catastrophes, revolutions, the end and the beginning of human history. That creates the new normal like the outbreak of COVID-19 by using the big story scale Emphasis on multi-level political governance with many different characters around the world. That have their own separate stories that are different But the story will have a big problem, namely the first 2 episodes focusing on the beginning story that almost does not see much electricity until it does not look fun. To the point of boring and telling a lot of characters at the same time Together from the beginning, it made me confused with the direction of the story, but at the end of the second episode, the story will turn the story into a big mask that makes the story come back to be fun and interesting with the impact of the power that occurs in different stories. Which if the series can maintain this level It's likely to be another good Prime series as it's been a beseller and award-winning novel before.

I did not know anything about the show prior to watching and was instantly impressed. This show was able to bring so many worldwide social issues to mainstream awareness. The cross cultural storylines of women's oppression and the complex relationships they have in their lives was tied together seamlessly. The performace of the cast was a high quality, Toni Collette is always great and her interactions with Auli'i Cravalho who plays her daughter came across as genuine. It was good to see John Leguizamo playing a more serious, non villainous role.

Overall, I recommend this show. I know it isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea but I am glad I gave it a go and more importantly I'm glad it was made and released mainstream.