fraser-simons

What a gorgeous project this is. The first half being especially strong, it does feel protracted for little gain. We don't learn yet more about Ripley and the main plot beats are the same, it's just really, really fleshed out B plot beats. On the other hand, the added runtime gives more footage in an immaculate historical setting, so it's not that much of a chore to consume, either.

I think plot wise, the book still does it the best, and is more rich in character development and philosophy, and as a possible queer reading, too. Something this flirts with, but then does nothing with. With such a long runtime it's unfortunate those aspects weren't fleshed out/streamlined, because otherwise it really could have been a masterpiece.

Honestly way better than it has any right to be. Some of it depends on if you want plot and characters, because if you only want one or the other it will feel overlong. I like both, so it ended up being wonderfully enjoyable. I got to solve who was the murderer (correctly), which I enjoy, watching tons and tons of murder mysteries-but also got some surprises and connect with way more of the characters than I expected.

Really, the only flaw is that it coaches people who forget things, replaying key details a little too often, and a slight overproduction, for which I have no idea. They had a healthy budget a loved the idea of some shots that added little save their own spectacle.

Probably my favourite (new) show of the year, and will be very difficult to dethrone.

These kinds of shows always demand suspension of disbelief for their twists to work. In the vein of Tom Clancy and other political action thrillers, the fun is to be had in the (sometimes immense) moments of incredulity. The more wild so much the better. In the end, it's a power fantasy, and this time it centres women, which, for me, breathed a bit of fresh air in an otherwise fairly trite subgenre.

It's not amazing, but it's certainly far from terrible. Good production, decent acting, and good pacing help it along as well. 5 episodes is perfect. I hope more shows take notice. The 8+ episode length for stuff like this always feels like filler.