It's not fair to put the entire weight of a show's success on the contribution of one individual. So many people are a part of a crew and detrimental to the process. They all need to work in perfect unison and have everything under as tide control as possible. However, in some cases, a show's success can be determined mainly from the person in charge. Barry Jenkins is making a name for himself in Hollywood and the world as one of the brightest filmmakers in the business. He's making names for himself with his big features, but also with his contribution to the television medium. He already had something on his hands when he got the rights to make this show and was able to adapt the novel. But the brilliance of the man comes out in the way the structure of it all works, and how this show is made to make everybody contribute. He's in full demand of the entire crew to perform their very best for this to work, and if these two first episodes are any indication of the rest, the entire crew of this show should get the biggest raise ever for whatever they decide to do next. The first episode was creepy in its depiction of the South that we've come to know through history, but this second episode delivers a far more disturbing kind of horror to the mix. The horror that still creeps in the corners and still scares the life out of black individuals these days.
This episode provides the friendly behavior to the scare. It provides a mask of deception that lies on top of the disturbing elements that we've come to expect from these stories. While the show originally presented itself as a story of slaves escaping their bondage and experiencing freedom, this episode makes it clear that there's no such thing as freedom for slaves. Whether this is Jenkins' way of provoking the viewer or just a way of telling a creepy story, I don't know. But I do know that it's excellent storytelling and makes this a more tense episode to watch.
The writing is meticulous. Every little detail is masterfully planted to lead the audience to the big revelation at the end. To see all this through a joyous light, before being ripped right out of that utopia and face reality. The characters go through that, but so does the audience. It's not all about the things we wish could have happened, but the things that would have happened even if things had gone differently. The writers really know what this show is about, and they're presenting it to the audience in disturbing and scary ways, shaping it as real horror.
As I mentioned earlier, the care given to every detail of this show is astounding. The first episode provided a beautiful look at the visuals of the time. This episode doubles on that, showing more of the world as it was formed back then. The camera work is astonishing, and Jenkins' view of things come into frame so brilliantly through his direction. It's scary that a show with a premise and feel like this can be so beautiful to look at, but the visuals work as a great reminder that there's essentially beauty in everything, despite how horrible it appears.
The casting of this show is next level. Thuso Mbedu and Aaron Pierre provide great performances for our lead protagonists, but Joel Edgerton and newcomer Chase W. Dillon as the antagonists make for the unlikeliest of great duos. They seem to have great chemistry, and both have the snare of evil men around them, which is weird to say about a 10-year-old boy. The supporting cast also give everything they've got, with certain of the citizens of Griffin, South Carolina giving very layered and creepy performances, different from the overtly racist and evil plantation owners that we saw last episode.
"Chapter 2: South Carolina" brings a more horrific layer to the world that this is set in, providing an eye-opening social commentary on today's world. It sets its characters in nail-biting situations that may or may not end the way we want them to, but these filmmakers take chances, and that's why this show works.
This episode provides the friendly behavior to the scare. It provides a mask of deception that lies on top of the disturbing elements that we've come to expect from these stories. While the show originally presented itself as a story of slaves escaping their bondage and experiencing freedom, this episode makes it clear that there's no such thing as freedom for slaves. Whether this is Jenkins' way of provoking the viewer or just a way of telling a creepy story, I don't know. But I do know that it's excellent storytelling and makes this a more tense episode to watch.
The writing is meticulous. Every little detail is masterfully planted to lead the audience to the big revelation at the end. To see all this through a joyous light, before being ripped right out of that utopia and face reality. The characters go through that, but so does the audience. It's not all about the things we wish could have happened, but the things that would have happened even if things had gone differently. The writers really know what this show is about, and they're presenting it to the audience in disturbing and scary ways, shaping it as real horror.
As I mentioned earlier, the care given to every detail of this show is astounding. The first episode provided a beautiful look at the visuals of the time. This episode doubles on that, showing more of the world as it was formed back then. The camera work is astonishing, and Jenkins' view of things come into frame so brilliantly through his direction. It's scary that a show with a premise and feel like this can be so beautiful to look at, but the visuals work as a great reminder that there's essentially beauty in everything, despite how horrible it appears.
The casting of this show is next level. Thuso Mbedu and Aaron Pierre provide great performances for our lead protagonists, but Joel Edgerton and newcomer Chase W. Dillon as the antagonists make for the unlikeliest of great duos. They seem to have great chemistry, and both have the snare of evil men around them, which is weird to say about a 10-year-old boy. The supporting cast also give everything they've got, with certain of the citizens of Griffin, South Carolina giving very layered and creepy performances, different from the overtly racist and evil plantation owners that we saw last episode.
"Chapter 2: South Carolina" brings a more horrific layer to the world that this is set in, providing an eye-opening social commentary on today's world. It sets its characters in nail-biting situations that may or may not end the way we want them to, but these filmmakers take chances, and that's why this show works.
