Hello everyone!! I want to start a monthly series on what TV shows I'm watching. If you don't know me, I am in love with TV. I love a good story. I love characters and themes and all the complexities that each of them brings. I love stories that make me think, that make me question and further ponder things about reality and the human experience. Yet, I also like shows that don't make me think at all- I just like to enjoy, laugh and escape.
So without further to do, here is what I've been watching this past month (April)
*Warning: Spoilers below*
Ozark (Season 3)
Wow! I'm so happy a lot of my friends told me to watch this show!The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple who are forced to to relocate their family to the Ozarks, following a money laundering scheme gone wrong. In many ways, the show really reminds me of Breaking Bad (which was a really great show) I see a lot of parallels between Walter White and Wendy Byrde- the deeper you go, the harder it is to get out.
Ruth is one of my favorite characters of the show. Ruth telling off Wendy, was my favorite moment of this season. I was fearful that Ruth would look the other way again, kind of like when her Father was killed. That perhaps the benefits of money, working at the Casino etc. was too hard to give up. So it felt good to see her stand up to Wendy when Ben died.
Do we have to mention Wyatt and Darlene?! Wow! Hahahaha I did not see that coming! I thought it was supposed to be Charlotte and Wyatt? But I suppose Wyatt was aiming higher- in age I mean hahahaha!
Wow what a performance by Tom Pelphrey, portraying Ben Davis, the brother of Wendy Byrde. Ben is bi-polar and was really struggling without his meds. In Episode 9, you felt legit tension towards Ben. On one hand you feel a great sense of empathy and really feel bad for him and then literally the next moment you feel off the charts frustration with him. It was such a see saw type experience. Hats off to Tom Pelphrey, what a great and moving performance.
As much as I like the show, I'm hoping Season 4 will be it's last. Often times it felt like the story was really dragging along. So I'm hoping they tie all the loose ends and it gets a good and proper conclusion.
Kingdom (Season 2)
I love zombies and this Korean Zombie/Political drama is really good! Great action! I love the jump scares and the horror- I screamed practically the whole time. The revelation and the death of Mu-yeong was really sad. I was hoping he wouldn't be the spy, but eventually they revealed that he indeed was the spy. Yet even then, I still felt he was loyal to Lee Chang, the Crown Prince, he was just put in a really bad situation.
They also revealed how the flower caused people to turn into zombies. I'm torn by explanations such as these- on one hand I'm curious but then on the other hand explanations often feel underwhelming. I felt a bit underwhelmed by this particular explanation. But then I wonder if they should offer no explanation at all ala Walking Dead?
The end of season 2 was interesting, who was that girl? Did she resurrect the zombies again? Or maybe she's a warrior from China preparing to fight this new breed of zombies?
Broadchurch (Season 1-3)
Broadchurch is a murder mystery show set in the small town of Broadchurch. The story is about the murder of an 11 year old boy, Danny Latimer, and follows Detectives Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller as they solve the murder. Season 1 was so good- it had a lot of twists and turns, making it hard to figure out who the killer was. David Tennant who plays Alec Hardy, is such a great actor. His performance as a crass and overly blunt detective was so well done, making him such a likable character.
Season 2, however, was awful! It was infuriating to watch the story unfold in the courtroom. The defense lawyers were heartless and so annoying. There was just way too many unrealistic moments and for me it ruined what was a great Season 1. Not sure why the writers elected to take the story down such an unusual direction. However, it did a really good job at asking the question about the human need for justice. If you don't get justice here and no justice is possible in this life, then what happens? Maybe that's one reason why some believe and have hope in divine justice?
But ultimately I found Season 2 unsatisfying. Nonetheless, I love the characters and it was hard to say goodbye to them in such a short time. Season 3 would be it's last.
Honorable mentions
The Stranger (Season 1)
The Stranger is another British murder mystery show on Netflix. The story is based from Harlan Coben's novel of the same title. It has the same feel as other murder mystery shows like The Killing and the Sinner. There is so many twists and turns in this show making it an enjoyable ride.
Van Helsing (Season 1-4)
It's not the best show, but pretty entertaining. It follows a woman named Vanessa, who is both human and vampire, and she leads a rebellion against the Vampires that have taken over the world. It has a zombie apocalypse feel but with vampires!
My pet peeve with the show is when Vanessa, who is the main character would disappear for like half the season. They said it's because she got pregnant in real life, which is understandable. But shouldn't they plan ahead and film her scenes in later eps before she goes on maternity leave? It just feels weird to be in the show and then just disappear with no explanation for the rest of the season.
Well that's it for April, let me know what shows you are watching? I'm always in need of a new show, however, I am watching Money Heist right now and it's really good too!
David
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