The Rook

The Rook is an interesting series with some fresh ideas, beautifully filmed, but a bit slow for its concept and not showing enough characters' powers in action. The main female character's play is mostly bad and cringe-worthy with awful psychological state of mind.

Most of all, the series lacks fluidity and logic from time to time, very often showing sub-plots and 'random' pictures and acts, leaving it to viewers to link them all together in relation to the whole story.

If they aim for a second season, they need to lube all parts of the story and script up, show more in-depth action and tangible use of characters' powers. The characters interactions together need to be more polished and realistic. In its current state, they are more like pieces of a puzzle, shuffled together and piled up.

All in all, a fresh series, still raw, having the potential to receive a nice polish and shine to brighten up like a diamond.

This series reminds me a bit of Blindspot, a TV series I saw a couple of episodes of when it started. Amnesiac girl trying to figure out her life. They don't have a lot in common, really, and The Rook's dialogue is decent, unlike Blindspot, but I just had a feeling after the pilot that this was going to leave me disappointed.

There's a frosty stylishness to the way it's filmed, but hand in hand with that is a distance that makes it difficult to care about the protagonist or much of anything else. There's a mystery there that I didn't feel much invested in, perhaps just because I have gone through so many TV series with so many mysteries that I need more than I was given.

I wouldn't say it was bad. I wouldn't say don't watch it. I'd just say it didn't grab me.

It's not easy to create a supernatural setting that feels fresh. The Rook is the most successful approach since Sense 8. Most importantly, Gestalt is the most original and hypnotizing character idea since I cannot even remember (I guess you can argue "ever"). I am disappointed that they are not the main character, and this is my main complaint: I find Myfanwy one of the least interesting characters in the story. I still really enjoy the show, but it's tailored for a specific audience that enjoy alternative supernatural stories. If you enjoyed Mysfits, The Umbrella Academy, or Sense 8 - I cannot recommend it enough. The story unfolds slowly, but it is way more subtle than I expected from something based on the book classified by many as YA. Gestalt alone make me want to know what happened next.

I am on Episode 6 now. The book is much, MUCH better, however, the show has a life of its own. Don't try to see the book in this show, just watch it. The show is not bad, but it's an average one. The book (both if them, The Rook and Stiletto) are really original. The author ("That Aussi Guy") has a wild imagination, it's a pity that the show is not based on the book in any coherent way.

I've just realized how difficult it would be to bring the book as a whole to the small screen. You can make an endangered show for the fans or craft a semblance of the material for public interest. I think they've done a good job of the latter. I just miss the culled characters and storylines. Can see the direction they're on and, hopefully, the constant exposition and 5 minutes spent wandering the apartment were the foundation for the increasing exciting pace of a great story.