eunicemacapaz

Natalie Portman's performance would be brilliant, if it wasn't inconsistent and she didn't use the same raspy, smoker voice, nor pick and choose when to use the accent. In Episode 6, strangely the accent was thick like it was in Episode 1, yet not in those in between.

The show is, at best, attempting to disguise itself as something brilliant and deep through artful and enigmatic direction, however only showing that it is, as stated, a 'disguise' for something atrocious and hardly thought out.

My one redeeming point is the performance of Moses Ingram and the character of Cleo Sherwood/Johnson. However the injustice done by the focus on the unlikeable Maddie Schwarz (sorry, Morgenstern*) takes away from the only thoughtful and intriguing storyline pertaining to whatever the hell happened to Cleo. Essentially, Maddie's white savior complex is the main point of this story, but it is portrayed in such a thoughtless manner. Yes, we regard that she is indeed unequipped to understand the misconceptions and the hardship faced by Black people in 60s Baltimore. Yes, we regard that Maddie is selfishly trying to spark her own career through exploiting the narratives. However, it does not make the plot anymore compelling nor intelligent. Rather, it succeeds in showing that ignorance goes beyond what is displayed on screen and into the direction and what is written.

Nicely done. Recommended, for some laugh out loud moments and a constant side-wind to the formulaic tropes the enterprise was working with.

I keep smiling thinking about "The Union". Halle and Mark earned some respect from me on this one.

Stick around for the end credits. ;-)

J. K. Simmons is always great, and here he complements an all star roster that makes this whole effort a lot bigger, and better, than it should have been....

What would seem at the outset a filler vehicle for an action rom-com (something that never works) that would earn streams over time turns out to be a fun thriller with some decided heat between the leads, and confident staging of characters and an execution of story line that impressed.

Mabel Mora is not only the most intriguing piece on the show, she really is the lifeblood of the show. Not only because she's connected to the case, but because her personality is so interesting, mysterious and, above all, relentless. Nothing escapes her gaze, she always has an easy answer for everything, making a meticulous and extremely surprising analysis seem obvious and inherent to her person, maybe because of the personal curiosity she carries about Tim. I dare say that in a line that is very similar to Sherlock Holmes.

Charles is lonely, down-to-earth, methodical, and clearly having trouble relating and bonding with others, probably because of his anxiety preventing him from being open to new things or clinging to other people and then losing them. It's what makes your forays into getting close to Mabel so interesting.