User Reviews

The realisation of the potential has not been fulfilled yet. The plot is intriguing and there are some good acting performances. However there is a lot of silly scenes like the wraith running down Margaret and she purposely run towards open spaces and avoids hiding behind the dozen or so cars she walks past. There a few scenes like that just seem to be poorly thought out. The main protagonist Vik Mcqueen is also incredibly annoying as she just looks pouty and miserable at all times and her stupidity causes her further problems. That said the rest of the series is very good I just wish some scenes were thought out slightly better

I came across this by accident and the premise sounded interesting. I'd never heard of the books I guess it's based on so all new for me.

The first few episodes drew me in but the next few just went downhill. I gave the lead character the benefit of the doubt the first few episodes but now it's to the point it's grating on me - take a bath and wash your hair or get a proper haircut. Maybe even change your clothes. We get it, you're supposed to be a rebel. She also looks to be in her early to mid 30s playing an eighteen year old so maybe the look is to try to compensate for that?

The show starts off with a bang with two people having sex so I'm guessing that was done intentionally to let us know this wasn't CW. However, you still have to wade through some of the teen drama midway through.

The scrabble girl, who seems pretty street smart to me runs on to open pavement to try to outrun a vehicle when she could have easily dodged behind any parked car next to her. That's just lazy writing.

Anyway, not trying to knock the lead actress but I just think she was really miscast for this role.

I desperately want to like this show, but it's a struggle to do so. The concept is fantastic, you have all the right elements that should come together well. The special effects while sparse are passable at least, and the soundtrack does a good job of helping to set the tone.

Unfortunately the things letting the show down aren't so easy to fix. The writing and the cast are a mixed bag, the worst parts of both culminating in the chief protagonist of the show played by Ashleigh Cummings. She simply isn't believable as an 18 year old teenager, she isn't particularly great as a 26 year old mother in the second season either. It isn't simple a case of the character being unlikable, or being played poorly, she's flat out terribly written -- although I'm really not sure how much can be blamed on the actress given what she has to work with.

Vic makes a string of incredibly poor decisions throughout the show, she never actually seems to grow as a character unless you count a growing single minded obsession that ultimately puts a lot of other people at risk in multiple ways. From risking her father going to prison by forging his tax returns as an acceptable alternative to telling the truth and having herself declared independent, to handing a stranger a gun rather than using against her nemesis only to instead set a car on fire with two hostages inside of it. The teen angst gets old fast, even with incredibly poor parents it's impossible to like her let alone excuse her actions. She actually brings said actions up in the premier for season two, referencing how everyone with powers had a price they had to pay. Is her price one which causes her to act irrationally? Should that be true it comes across as a poor excuse for a terribly realised character.

Watching the second episode of season two cemented much of the above for me. It focuses on Manx and Bing while Vic isn't in it at all, and it's by far the most enjoyable episode I've seen of the show by a large margin. I find both characters compelling, they're interesting, I want to know more about them. When Vic is around I just want the scene to shift away from her.

This show has an interesting concept and the actors are very good. Quinto being the absolute standout of the show. He is exceptional as Manx. Bachrach, who plays Vic's dad, is so interesting to watch. Every time he's in a scene I want to watch more of him. Conforti, who plays Manx's daughter Millie, completely steals the show. One of the main reasons I'm still watching the show is to see more of Millie's background and what will happen to her. Her newfound interest in her childhood home and the world beyond Christmas land is a plot line I'm invested in. The problems with the show have to do with unlikability of the protagonist (Vic) and the unbelievably in plot development. For instance: 8 years have passed between season 1 and season 2. When season 2 begins we see Vic as a loving mother. Flawed (active alcoholism) and emotionally damaged (b/c of her experiences with Manx 8 years prior) but still, it's obvious that she is a loving mother. We are also shown that she has a loving relationship with the man she met in season 1 and they have been raising her child together. In the next episode we see her leaving her man , whom she just made promises of marriage to, and leaving her child who she clearly loves a great deal. It doesn't click at all. It's portrayed as if she left because she's an alcoholic and because of her obsession with Manx. However, that doesn't work at all. I was not convinced. The other plot point that is unconvincing is the relationship between FBI agent Romans (played by Tabitha Hutter, a stunning beauty) and Maggie (played by Jahkara Smith). In season 1 Maggie is an emotional wreck and drug addict who is so strung out Vic finds her sleeping near a dumpster. A plot point is bluntly inserted about Maggie's parents not accepting her homosexuality. It's not very well done at all. It comes across as virtue signaling to the audience rather than something we can empathize with Maggie about. Then in season 2 Maggie is seemingly completely off drugs, emotionally mature and in a committed relationship with FBI agent Romans. Even if the audience believes that Maggie has grown up and cleaned up in the 8 years that have passed it's not believable that an FBI agent would be interested in someone like Maggie. I'm sure that mature upstanding people fall in love with immature people all the time, but it's just not convincing here. I'm still watching the show though, even though Vic has become quite unlikable (it's very hard to root for her) and the audience is being asked to believe in some not very well done plot points. As mentioned above I'm very interested in what happens to Mille and Manx.