This is one of those shows that I have planned to watch for ages since generally the praise for this show is high. I was surprised by what I found then, because this first season seems to be pretty weak in some key areas.
The production values are not one of them; whether it be the locations, the cast, or so on – it is a good-looking show no doubt. The issue for me was that from the very start it seemed to rush to a place of darkness and despair for its world and characters. This is not to say that I needed it to take me on a longer journey to get there, but rather that it very much lays this on thick in every regard. So the specifics of events, the heavy hearts of the characters, the obvious use of music, and so on – all of it seems to be trying to create something rather than letting it come through organically. I have not seen the original series, so maybe this is how that is, and this version wanted to reproduce that out of the gate?
The impact though is a season that didn't engage me. Branagh looks convincingly broken and tired, but it is very much a 'performance' and I didn't really get the character at a deeper level. Support is roundly good although mostly it is police-procedural 101. On this level, the actual crimes are not particularly strong; they are quite interesting but mostly the 'disconnected crimes' are clearly going to come together, and a few times the solutions are also quite clear and the viewer is a little ahead. Some specifics don't ring true in the writing whether it be the crime or the characters. It is hard to describe, but it did feel like it knew what it wanted to be, but didn't do the base foundation work to try to get there.
I am probably wrong, since the vast majority of viewers seem to love the show, so I'll give season 2 a stab and see if it is different; however the first season was certainly a case of it being a polished disappointment.
The production values are not one of them; whether it be the locations, the cast, or so on – it is a good-looking show no doubt. The issue for me was that from the very start it seemed to rush to a place of darkness and despair for its world and characters. This is not to say that I needed it to take me on a longer journey to get there, but rather that it very much lays this on thick in every regard. So the specifics of events, the heavy hearts of the characters, the obvious use of music, and so on – all of it seems to be trying to create something rather than letting it come through organically. I have not seen the original series, so maybe this is how that is, and this version wanted to reproduce that out of the gate?
The impact though is a season that didn't engage me. Branagh looks convincingly broken and tired, but it is very much a 'performance' and I didn't really get the character at a deeper level. Support is roundly good although mostly it is police-procedural 101. On this level, the actual crimes are not particularly strong; they are quite interesting but mostly the 'disconnected crimes' are clearly going to come together, and a few times the solutions are also quite clear and the viewer is a little ahead. Some specifics don't ring true in the writing whether it be the crime or the characters. It is hard to describe, but it did feel like it knew what it wanted to be, but didn't do the base foundation work to try to get there.
I am probably wrong, since the vast majority of viewers seem to love the show, so I'll give season 2 a stab and see if it is different; however the first season was certainly a case of it being a polished disappointment.
