Reviews

Eh... the best I can say: it was good to see Tut and Ancient Egypt finally get a little attention that doesn't involve walking mummies or biblical myths. Avan Jogia as the young pharaoh was perfectly cast and did well considering the material he was given. He's really the only standout in this otherwise mundane melodrama. I thought the production values were passable for a third-tier cable channel, but all of the usual failings were on full display: no history, bad costumes, worse locations, and indifferent writing. Be warned, this series is not a history lesson. Akhenaten, Tut's father, did not die in Thebes, but in the city of Amarna. Tut did not try and continue his father's monotheism; in fact the only remarkable act of his reign was to return Egypt to the old gods. (Spoilers!) And Horemheb would never have contemplated leaving a wounded Tut behind on a battlefield, even wanting him dead, it was simply impossible to return to Egypt without the pharaoh's body---he was worshiped as a god, after all, and a proper burial of his body was crucial to the Egyptian identity. If a general came back from war without the king, dead or alive, well... no amount of explaining would've saved his head. And "Amun" (the chief god of Egypt) as the name of the high priest!?! How many popes do you know named "Jehovah?" Really stupid choice, there. As for the look of the show: I suppose it must be difficult and costly to find or make jewelry that actually looks like the stuff from Tut's tomb, rather than the crude, clumsy junk seen here. And I very much wish producers and directors would STOP using Morocco as a stand-in for Egypt. The two countries look no more alike than Alaska does Hawaii. And my final gripe: Mitanni was hundreds of miles away from Egypt and in those days would take months, possibly even a year to reach; the series gives the impression it was right next door.