This will be spoiler free.
I only just finished watching this series over the course of the weekend. As is evident by my rating, I enjoyed it tremendously.
I did not know the book existed until I saw it mentioned in the credits, so I watched with no preconceived notions apart from what could be gleaned from the synopsis and cover image. In other words, a period piece set in England with magic playing some part. I did not know whether there would be magic performed, or just talked about. Whether it would be a costume drama, or something more.
What a ride it turned out to be. I enjoyed literally every single character, which is unusual for me. For the most part, there tends to be some that just annoy me for one reason or the other. In this case, I even found the character that appeared designed to be annoying to be strangely entertaining. Multiple characters were believably multifaceted and conflicted with regards to their place in the unfolding events. This is something the British seem to be consistently far superior at compared to the Americans' penchant for more caricatured portrayals.
I found the setting and world building to be a breath of fresh air. Granted, it touched on some familiar themes, but rarely in a straight forward fashion.
I so wish television were filled with shows of this caliber. Sadly, reality will likely remain that a show like this comes around once in a while, gets poor ratings in comparison to shows that are so bland they appeal to everybody, and then time passes until someone is brave enough to try something new once again. We can do little but treasure these rare gems.
I only just finished watching this series over the course of the weekend. As is evident by my rating, I enjoyed it tremendously.
I did not know the book existed until I saw it mentioned in the credits, so I watched with no preconceived notions apart from what could be gleaned from the synopsis and cover image. In other words, a period piece set in England with magic playing some part. I did not know whether there would be magic performed, or just talked about. Whether it would be a costume drama, or something more.
What a ride it turned out to be. I enjoyed literally every single character, which is unusual for me. For the most part, there tends to be some that just annoy me for one reason or the other. In this case, I even found the character that appeared designed to be annoying to be strangely entertaining. Multiple characters were believably multifaceted and conflicted with regards to their place in the unfolding events. This is something the British seem to be consistently far superior at compared to the Americans' penchant for more caricatured portrayals.
I found the setting and world building to be a breath of fresh air. Granted, it touched on some familiar themes, but rarely in a straight forward fashion.
I so wish television were filled with shows of this caliber. Sadly, reality will likely remain that a show like this comes around once in a while, gets poor ratings in comparison to shows that are so bland they appeal to everybody, and then time passes until someone is brave enough to try something new once again. We can do little but treasure these rare gems.