Having recently finished the second and third episodes of the Inhumans figured it was time to write up the verdict post. I know we are already almost half way through the entire series, but still wanted to get my thoughts out there since the first episode is still available.
In general I have been enjoying some of the political intrigue of the show, and with some background knowledge of the characters I already had some investment going in. At the same time I can understand how if you had little to no knowledge of these characters that the dynamics might run a little flat. The show has not done enough to build up the background of who the Inhumans are and what they are doing on the moon. There does seem to be a level of expectation that you have knowledge of the characters already, which doesn’t really work.
At the same time the performance by Black Bolt, Maximus, and Medusa have been great, although some of the special effects have been lacking that is mostly dealt with by the end of the first episode. We are definitely going to finish watching this limited series, but so far nothing they have shown me makes me want more than just this limited run. (Spoilers for Inhumans after the jump.)
The Good
The part that we have been enjoying in the show is the political drama. Black Bolt is a fascinating king because he cannot speak without destroying everything so Medusa speaks on his behalf. Then you have his brother Maximus who believes that he should be the rightful ruler. The show basically starts out with a coup happening and Maximus trying to take over and capture or kill the royal family. The way that Maximus twists words and thoughts is so scary because he makes sense on one level, but then his actions don’t exactly match what he says. At the same time everyone is hearing him talk about the family running away. It is impressive how he can twist it to make everyone else look like the bad guys.
Then there is seeing Black Bolt be the king that we expect him to be. It is amazing to see a person who could easily get away just bowing down and being allowed to be taken in by authorities because he does not want to hurt someone. It is actually incredible to see the reactions for someone who cannot talk. All of the characters have been pretty good so far, but I agree that some of the sympathy has not entirely been earned by just the show.
The Bad
So let’s start with the big thing from the trailers and that is Medusa’s hair. In the trailers it didn’t look that good and in the show was still not that good. In a weird way this is dealt with early on because Medusa’s power is in her hair and so Maximus being a genius shaves her head. So while there is something disappointing about a Medusa with no hair, it adds a layer of intrigue to the show that is actually nice to see and it solved one of the worst visual offenses of the show in general.
The other piece overall is that we are supposed to have an inherent understanding of who this group is and what they are trying to do without getting much of an explanation.
I think over the additional episodes we are slowly getting more of an explanation, but I do feel like they are trying to get sympathy and understanding that they have not earned. So things are happening, but they give the audience so little to go on that if you do not have some experience in this world it would be difficult to understand what might be going on. There are things that are good, but then other things that feel rushed or fleeting moments that are difficult to understand.
Conclusion
So I want to finish watching Inhumans partly because I have loved seeing the portrayals of the royal family. At the same time I agree that they have not given the audience quite enough to go on for the show just in and of itself. I have been enjoying it, but they are not giving me a world where I feel like there is much more than this limited run to show that I want to see.
Comparative Geeks 