I have not read the book by C. J. Sansom on which this series is based. I read a review where Shardlake was compared to The Name Of The Rose. The review believed that this was just as exciting, creepy and in the same environment and era. The movie The Name Of The Rose was excellent, one of my favorite movies from the 80s. I disagree that this series is so comparable, apart from the fact that the action also takes place in a monastery where a murder takes place which must be investigated. I think the horror is absent here. The tension is not as intense as in the film, and there are not particularly exciting protagonists in the series either. On top of it all, the priests in the monastery are not particularly scary and the series starts off rather tame. The series is ok, but after two episodes I am far from sold.
2 Reviews
Episode 2
Prismark108 May 2024
Shardlake continues the second episode in a solid manner but it is not that exciting.
The shadow of Thomas Cromwell looms large in the story, even though the character never appears.
The antagonistic Brother Jerome (Paul Kaye) has plenty to say about the corrupt Cromwell.
Matthew Shardlake continues his questioning of the monks regarding the decapitation of Robin Singleton. He has no time for any demonic entities being the killer such as followers of Satan.
While John Barak just wants to rush the investigation. He has no time for the monk's greed, while children outside of the monastery are starving. He wants to shut it down.
At least there are many dangling threads to the mystery and Shardlake knows it. There is some kind of conspiracy but I do wonder if this will all lead to Thomas Cromwell.
So no quickfire solution but Shardlake managed to fall into the quicksand.
The shadow of Thomas Cromwell looms large in the story, even though the character never appears.
The antagonistic Brother Jerome (Paul Kaye) has plenty to say about the corrupt Cromwell.
Matthew Shardlake continues his questioning of the monks regarding the decapitation of Robin Singleton. He has no time for any demonic entities being the killer such as followers of Satan.
While John Barak just wants to rush the investigation. He has no time for the monk's greed, while children outside of the monastery are starving. He wants to shut it down.
At least there are many dangling threads to the mystery and Shardlake knows it. There is some kind of conspiracy but I do wonder if this will all lead to Thomas Cromwell.
So no quickfire solution but Shardlake managed to fall into the quicksand.
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