Here comes the first major stumbling point...
Just 2 episodes in & already, Gillian Flynn continues to struggle in her attempts to tell the exact same story as the original - but within the space of 2 episodes instead of 1 - & where Dennis Kelly irrefutably succeeded, she ultimately fails with a much bigger budget & twice the amount of time as he had in order to get things moving.
We see Wilson Wilson's infamous torture sequence reimagined for American audiences (executed ineffectively) where instead of rescuing himself like before, this time he's incapable of saving his own life & is therefore reliant upon others to do it for him... So his character's robbed of the ability to prove himself as a survivor (which is what he needs to be - or become - in this situation) & hence, the conclusion to what was meant to be the first, iconic, shocking confrontation between the two sides becomes a lacklustre interaction that delivers far less impact than intended (that furthermore acts as a blatant reminder of Cristobal Tapia De Veer's absence). Jessica Hyde's introduction also sadly falls flat... The cast deliver subpar performances & the only actress who actually seemed to be doing an adequate job on screen is subsequently killed off (for shock value) within the last few moments of the episode. There's no tension, no unsettling atmosphere or emotional stakes because unlike the first, we don't actually care about these characters. Everything's lesser than what it was & it's sad to see UTOPIA become "average" as "average" was never a word you'd have associated with the series before. They're playing it far too safe. It's meant to be disturbing.
Just 2 episodes in & already, Gillian Flynn continues to struggle in her attempts to tell the exact same story as the original - but within the space of 2 episodes instead of 1 - & where Dennis Kelly irrefutably succeeded, she ultimately fails with a much bigger budget & twice the amount of time as he had in order to get things moving.
We see Wilson Wilson's infamous torture sequence reimagined for American audiences (executed ineffectively) where instead of rescuing himself like before, this time he's incapable of saving his own life & is therefore reliant upon others to do it for him... So his character's robbed of the ability to prove himself as a survivor (which is what he needs to be - or become - in this situation) & hence, the conclusion to what was meant to be the first, iconic, shocking confrontation between the two sides becomes a lacklustre interaction that delivers far less impact than intended (that furthermore acts as a blatant reminder of Cristobal Tapia De Veer's absence). Jessica Hyde's introduction also sadly falls flat... The cast deliver subpar performances & the only actress who actually seemed to be doing an adequate job on screen is subsequently killed off (for shock value) within the last few moments of the episode. There's no tension, no unsettling atmosphere or emotional stakes because unlike the first, we don't actually care about these characters. Everything's lesser than what it was & it's sad to see UTOPIA become "average" as "average" was never a word you'd have associated with the series before. They're playing it far too safe. It's meant to be disturbing.