September in Review:

A review of all the TV I watched this month...

Invasion

Series 1 & 2 - Apple TV +

Invasion follows several characters across the world as an alien invasion hits Earth. Including a young American family in New York, a reiterating police Sherif in Ohio, a class of English high schoolers, an American Army veteran in Afghanistan and a Japanese communication specialist working for JASA (Japan's Space station).

The first series gets off to a rocky start. It was halfway through the series that it started getting interesting. The first five episodes focused on each of the characters and their situations. I understand that these episodes are for character development, and by doing so, the audience will root for them to win against the invasion. However, the plotting could have been better-paced and exciting, and nothing any of the characters did was partially insightful. I had more questions than answers, and I found the characters more annoying than anything. Before I was about to give up on the show, it finally got a little more interesting once we began getting more information about the aliens. To avoid spoilers, I won't get into too much detail, but the aliens start attacking, we learn how to defeat them, a young boy has a neurological link to the aliens, and we make first contact with the mother ship. Even with a surge of plotting in the second half of the series, it was still padded out with clunky character backstory and motivation. The show would have been much better as a six-episode run.

The most curious thing about the first series is Sam Neil. He was the star power to pull audiences in, but he is in the first half of the first episode and disappears. Maybe I was a little distracted watching as I kept hoping his character would be in the next scene, which may have contributed to my earlier remarks. That is not to say that the rest of the ensemble cast performed poorly. However, performances are patchy at times, but surprisingly, many of the child actors outshone their adult co-stars, although their very adult dialogue was slightly jarring. The main issue is that we didn't spend time with the characters before the invasion; we couldn't gauge how devastating the invasion has been to their lives because we never witnessed how they existed beforehand. The only time we get a glimpse into the past is through clunky expositional dialogue—however, the work in the first series set up the second series nicely. Series two jumps straight into the action. It is still awkwardly paced in places, but after seeing the first three episodes of series two, it has gotten off to a better start this time.

The Power

Series 1 - Prime Video

The Power is about a world in which young women aged 14 to 16 develop the ability to generate electricity from their hands; a power termed Electricity Organ Discharge or EOD for short. EOD is a biological response to gender inequality in modern-day society, and the series follows several women from across the globe as they learn to harness this newfound power and its effect on the patriarchy as it begins to lose control.

The Power is a nine-part series which weaves an international and beautiful story of the power of womanhood and all the shit that comes with it. The breadth and scope of the show is its biggest strength. Showing the range of femininity and the societal impact of the patriarchy is done so well that nothing feels clunky or awkwardly soap boxy. The show feels authentic and has a great sense of realism, which is hard to achieve when a story deals with the supernatural. Its ensemble cast is brilliant, the central pull of the show is Toni Collette, who is terrific in everything; and The Power is no different, but the standout performance for me was Ria Zmitrowicz as Roxy Monke. She is a complex character who wants to prove herself to her father, the head of a crime family, but her gender has meant that she has been sidelined her whole life. Until she gets EOD, her father sees her as a weapon to help him do his bidding. This dichotomy of gaining freedom through EOD while still being ruled by the heavy hand of the patriarchy is highly nuanced and complex. Roxy's naturally rambunctious nature has had her screaming her whole life to be treated like the rest of her brothers, but the gift of EOD has allowed Roxy to understand her femininity rather than being moulded into another perfect soldier for the patriarchy. And Zmitrowicz beautifully plays all of this with a performance which sticks with you. The Power is a great show. However, it doesn't hit the zeitgeist as you would have hoped, but if you have the time, I urge you to watch.

You & Me

Series 1 - BBC

You & Me depicts the love story of Ben, Jess and Emma. First-time writer Jamie Davies writes the three-part drama, which follows Ben as he navigates his grief from the death of his partner Jess and finds new love with Emma.

The series is beautifully heartwarming and affecting as it deals with the emotional turmoil of losing the love of your life and feeling a sense of betrayal when a new love interest enters your life unexpectedly. Although some of the plotting seems rather cliched and often seen in cheesy B-movie romcoms, its interwoven narrative spanning across different timelines is surprising and keeps you on your toes. All of the central performances are outstanding; each character is expertly written, which makes us extremely jealous and in awe at Davies's ability to do so on his first try. Over its short run time, you become extremely invested in the character's lives and long to spend more time with them when the final credits roll. This short, sweet, heartwrenching love story deals with several gut punches, so if you need a good cry, this is one to watch.

Painkiller

Series 1 - Netflix

The six-part drama depicts the story of the Schaller family, the creation of Oxycontin, and the birth of the opioid crisis. The show is seen through the lens of Edie Flowers, an investigator who uncovers the devastation Oxycontin is causing and tries to prosecute PurduePharma and the Schaller family.

This is the second major fictional TV series about Oxycontin, and compared to Dopsick, Painkiller missed the mark. Oxycontin destroyed thousands and thousands of people's lives. That story needs to be told with a gentle hand, which Painkiller failed to do as soon as they had Mathew Broderick having lengthy conversations with his dead grandfather, which seemed to get more and more manic as the series goes on. All of this seems to be justified by the inclusion of victim testimony at the beginning of each episode, giving the assumption that the series is victim-orientated, an allure which disappears as soon as Matthew Broderick is strutting about his extravagant mission trying to unhook fire alarms by throwing fruit at them. Despite its eccentricities, Painkiller is an interesting look into the Oxycontin epidemic; it does include insights into a couple of victims' lives. One which was especially poignant was Taylor Kitsch's character Glen Kryger, who, along with Uzo Aduba, were the two standout performers of the whole show. Although Painkiller might not be the most down-to-earth telling of the Oxycontin crisis, it is still an interesting watch.

Sex Education

Series 4 - Netflix

Back at Moordale Cavendish College for the 4th and final time as Otis and the gang head into their final term of college. With a new school and student ecosystem to navigate, rival sex therapists, long distant relationships, sexual crises, friendships in turmoil and finding religion in the queer community, Sex Education is back and as vibrant as ever.

As much as I loved being back with the Moordale crew, the series did start on uneven footing. For a final series, you expect to be reunited with all your favourite characters as you can witness the last character of their lives on screen and basque in the fulfilment of their story arcs. However, we have had to say an unexpected goodbye to several characters, and those left are thrust into a new environment. And so we are introduced to a whole new cast of people and must quickly get a grip on new character dynamics. Although it wasn't the nice welcome home you expected, once the show got into its rhythm, it felt like home again. As much as of a disruption the new characters felt at first, their presence allowed narrative plot points to be explored, such as the stress of transitioning under a long NHS waiting list, disability inequality, rectifying your queer identity with your religious beliefs, postpartum depression, coercive control and how a difference in sexuality, class and race can affect friendships. Sex Education has always existed in an ideal world where sexuality and sexual expression are championed without extreme prejudice or backlash, and we love it for that, and Series 4 is no different.

With this being the final series, the culmination of the will they won't between Maeve and Otis finally comes to a close. There has been a lot of chatter about the final, but I personally loved it. The show didn't pay any fan service, and the ending felt mature and perfect for the characters; it was a great ending to a film which will be sadly missed.