What is up with TV lately? there have been some damned impressive shows coming out recently! I started off the evening with Southland, a surprisingly powerful drama. Then there's Kings, NBC's new show. It was certainly hyped up enough prior to its premiere, and I decided I was going to give it a try. I'm sure glad I did, as this is my new weekly must-see show.
Kudos first of all to the folks who headed up the casting for this show. The acting in this show is brilliant; the characters are endearing (some are more hate-inducing, but that's because of good acting as well), and the story - even in the first episode - is full of twists.
If you haven't seen it yet, go, and go now. The remainder of this post is spoiler-riffic.
The country, Gilboa, is ruled by a king, King Silas, as played by the stellar Ian McShane. The king is immensely popular amongst the people he leads, and why not? We have full 1984 in effect here, from censorship of the media to the the king knowing everything about anybody. The king is an interesting character because of his dual nature. On one hand, he cares very much about his country and his people... on the other, he demands strict obedience and won't hesitate to use lethal force to get it. One member of his "cabinet" reminds the king that he won't negotiate with terrorists not 30 seconds after the king said it himself and is subsequently killed (though that happens later in the episode).
The king is married, has two kids, a son and a daughter, and thus is his public image. Yet there is a another woman, one that he sees in secret, and he has a child with this woman. Under ordinary circumstances, this would serve to villify a person, yet this is the king's soft side, he is happy and tender when he is with this woman, so this piece serves to humanize him.
Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, we see that the king is shadowed by a biographer, who notes every action in a way that makes the king shine in a golden light.
One of the king's favorite stories seems to be one about butterflies and how god told him it was time to build one strong nation under one king when he sent butterflies to form a living crown on Silas' head. It's a powerful image, and one that is key later on.
Gilboa is at war with Gath, and the king's son, Jack, is a soldier in that war. As we learn later on, Jack is in the war only to become a war hero (Silas was also a war hero in teh briefly mentioned unification war, which brought Gilboa together under one king), which will give him the respect of the people for when he takes the throne. In any case, Jack's unit is captured. Enter our main protagonist, David Shepard, played smartly by newcomer David Egan. Shepard is... I think the best description for him is good. He's good at fixing things, and he's a good person with his head on straight and a strong moral compass. He ends up saving the king's son and becoming a war hero, which lands him a promotion and new job: call the new job glorified press secratary.
Thus is David thrust into the cruel and corrupt world of the political goings-on inside Gilboa's capital. The first episode of this show is filled with some astonishing plot twists. How many people were shocked when we found out that Silas orchestrated the Jack's unit getting captured so he could rally public support for an offensive strike against Gath? How many people had to scoop their jaws up when they went back to war after the king's string were pulled by his corporate puppetmaster?
Did I meatnion the love interest between David and Silas' daughter. WOW!
I knew I wsa going to like this show from about 15 minutes into it, but what really hooked me was the part about an hour into the first episode where David is standing int he middle of the battlefield, crying, screaming about how senseless the war is, how the blood that has already been spilled should be enough... and I was almost moved to tears. My vision was getting blurry, and I knew in that moment that I was going to be watching this show for a good long time. Nevermind the part at the end where the butterfly story comes true but it's David who is wearing the living crown... What a way to end an episode.
Anyway, if youre still reading, I assume you've seen the premiere episode already. I'm going to go back and watch episode 2 now. Writeup of that coming soon.
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