jayeless@dreamwidth

Last night Viv and I finally finished all the episodes out so far of Killing Eve (yes, we were sleeping on it for a while). Overall I have to say, what a brilliant show, from the raging chemistry of the leads to the other stellar performances to the cinematography to Jodie Comer's ridiculous talent with accents to the 10/10 banger of a soundtrack (the bulk of which is by a single band called Unloved and all available on Spotify, for what it's worth).

I do think that seasons 1 and 2 were superior to season 3. This is far from the only show that I feel like this has happened with – from Veronica Mars to The Good Place, I think a lot of my favourite shows have suffered a little step-down in quality after their second season. In the case of Killing Eve, I just felt like the plot was less coherent, even though the characters' lines were as witty and enjoyable as before. ( Read more... )

Originally posted on micro.jayeless.net.

Last night, my partner and I watched the first two episodes of Years and Years, as they were aired on SBS. Apparently this show aired months ago in the US and UK, but seeing as we'd never even heard of it before SBS's advertising campaign in the lead-up to starting to air it, I guess I can't be too bitter.

The show was pretty interesting, although the unrelenting doom and gloom definitely made it feel a bit like "Twitter: the TV Show". It's set in the near future, focusing on the members of one extended family (primarily based in Manchester) as they live through the tumultuous events predicted for the next few years. This includes things like right-wing populist leaders achieving government, the threat of nuclear war, the refugee crisis worsening, climate change continuing, economic collapse and crisis… alongside more science fiction/technological developments, like robots, real-life face filters (projecting holograms in front of your face) and the idea that people might want to ditch their flesh-and-bone bodies and upload their brains into the cloud. It might sound like a bit of a chaotic mess, but I think the show's well-grounded in the family that lie at the show's core. They're mostly a strong group of characters (every ensemble show's got to have a couple of exceptions…) and give a real human side to what could otherwise be an overwhelming jumble of terrifying what-ifs.

In true Russell T. Davies style I would say the show has its clumsier moments in amidst all the good. It's also, you know, a really pessimistic show (at least so far – maybe the next four episodes will turn it around, but I have my doubts). Still, as an appreciator of dystopian fiction generally, I found it a thought-provoking show that serves as a warning of the kind of future we might be sleep-walking towards.

Any dystopian fiction (in whatever form) you've been enjoying lately? Let me know in the comments ☺️