Right off the bat, I was totally mesmerized by this show. The entire cast is incredible, great chemistry between the actors, absolutely gorgeous cinematography, and for an American like me, found the setting of rural Baja Mexico and representation of tribal customs fascinating. The series, up into the last 15 minutes, had an almost dream-like beauty and uniqueness.
SPOILERS AHEAD
While the first two episodes were a bit of a slow burn, the cinematography and compelling and believable cast made it an enjoyable watch. Also, it was so refreshing to find directors and writers have respect for people of faith and their practices, even if things eventually take a dark turn. As someone who knows a thing or two about Christianity, I was able to pick up on subtle things that hinted that some things were amiss (such as the girls washing the feet of the "Miracle Boy" when, if he was the messiah, should have been the other way around) but I think secular people will still find the story engrossing.
I was enthralled thinking this was a wonderful, coming-of-age story about a young boy navigating the complexities of being the chosen the one, but it all falls apart in the last 15 minutes. The plot "twist" ruined what could have been an uplifting sentimental story into a very unoriginal, cliche twist that has been done so many times before (The Omen, Messiah, the recent Netflix film Eli, and scores of other shows). So, all that good will that was developed between the wonderful friendships, reconciliation, forgiveness was more of less shattered. Besides that, the last 15 minutes was such a radical departure from the beauty and poetry of what came before that I thought I accidentally hit the remote control and was watching some entirely unrelated random show. It was clunky, poorly paced, seemed rushed, and completely lacked the grace and beauty of what came before. It just seemed so random and out of place like some other set of film makers just tacked it on to the end.
Afterwards, I found out this was based on a comic book series so I guess the writers and directors were boxed in by the source material. Too bad. I could think of several alternative endings that would have made it a beautiful, poignant, and uplifting work such as Jodie reluctantly going off on his own to further ponder his destiny and slowly becoming more responsible and powerful (in a good way) while dealing with society's mistrust and suspicion; or maybe a deeper character dive where Jodie wrestles with being mature and responsible versus engaging in the joyous impulsiveness of childhood; or what could have been a great twist and still kept it uplifting and positive tone was maybe finding out Jodie was more of a John the Baptist type of person while Tuka was shown to be the real second coming. Instead, I got a cliche and downer of a plot twist I've seen a hundred times. It shattered all the beauty, friendship, goodwill, and themes of redemption that was built up over 5 and a half episodes and kind of made you say "what was the point of all that? " In addition, I now have to wait 18 -24 months (provided Netflix renews) to find a truly, angelic character (who is the next major character in the comic book series) that I can feel good about liking.
SPOILERS AHEAD
While the first two episodes were a bit of a slow burn, the cinematography and compelling and believable cast made it an enjoyable watch. Also, it was so refreshing to find directors and writers have respect for people of faith and their practices, even if things eventually take a dark turn. As someone who knows a thing or two about Christianity, I was able to pick up on subtle things that hinted that some things were amiss (such as the girls washing the feet of the "Miracle Boy" when, if he was the messiah, should have been the other way around) but I think secular people will still find the story engrossing.
I was enthralled thinking this was a wonderful, coming-of-age story about a young boy navigating the complexities of being the chosen the one, but it all falls apart in the last 15 minutes. The plot "twist" ruined what could have been an uplifting sentimental story into a very unoriginal, cliche twist that has been done so many times before (The Omen, Messiah, the recent Netflix film Eli, and scores of other shows). So, all that good will that was developed between the wonderful friendships, reconciliation, forgiveness was more of less shattered. Besides that, the last 15 minutes was such a radical departure from the beauty and poetry of what came before that I thought I accidentally hit the remote control and was watching some entirely unrelated random show. It was clunky, poorly paced, seemed rushed, and completely lacked the grace and beauty of what came before. It just seemed so random and out of place like some other set of film makers just tacked it on to the end.
Afterwards, I found out this was based on a comic book series so I guess the writers and directors were boxed in by the source material. Too bad. I could think of several alternative endings that would have made it a beautiful, poignant, and uplifting work such as Jodie reluctantly going off on his own to further ponder his destiny and slowly becoming more responsible and powerful (in a good way) while dealing with society's mistrust and suspicion; or maybe a deeper character dive where Jodie wrestles with being mature and responsible versus engaging in the joyous impulsiveness of childhood; or what could have been a great twist and still kept it uplifting and positive tone was maybe finding out Jodie was more of a John the Baptist type of person while Tuka was shown to be the real second coming. Instead, I got a cliche and downer of a plot twist I've seen a hundred times. It shattered all the beauty, friendship, goodwill, and themes of redemption that was built up over 5 and a half episodes and kind of made you say "what was the point of all that? " In addition, I now have to wait 18 -24 months (provided Netflix renews) to find a truly, angelic character (who is the next major character in the comic book series) that I can feel good about liking.