First Kill, thoughts/review. Elaborating on my spoiler free post
Spoilers ahead
A big critique I have of the show is a lack of world building and coherent plot points. There is an established organization for hunters, the Guild, and for the original vampires the Legacies . It's hinted at that there are multiple legacy families that are all part of a counsel.
So then it's illogical that monster hunters and Legacies don't have ways of fixing these kinds of events or contacts within government. They were quick to be turned on and lose control of the situation on both ends. Although I found it very interesting that the concept of the supernatural is one understood by the current society they just disappeared for a while. The MAAMS group was an interesting addition and I liked that time wasn't wasted with cover ups or convincing the town that monsters aren't real.
Given that Margot states she has been essentially exiled by the family because she married Sebastian, it may be understandable that the other families wouldn't jump in to help them however it seems unlikely they'd be so on there own concerning the murders.
Also, it seems odd to me that the Guild and the legacies don't have an established treaty or agreement considering both have been around since the garden of Eden. All the thousands of years and no wars? Two forces living near each other, hunting each other, at odds, with the same origin point and story not having some kind of protocol or history? No meeting between the two? No form of communication at all? It seems unnatural.
For having a guild the hunters appear disorganized and the structure hasn't been explained. Plot exposition may be obvious but at least it's helpful in understanding the world. There may be explanations to a lot of these points but so far it only seems convenient to the plot not to explain it, which makes the writing appear messy and lazy.
Big Pros of the show is the realism or some commitment to realism:
The police officer that stopped them wasn't represented as a complete idiot mostly that was a good dose of realism.
There were many parts that felt realistic and I genuinely appreciated it. I also liked that Ben stood up for himself against Noah and said he was worth more instead of wasting countless episodes on a relationship that isn't going to work.
I actually liked Elinor and Oliver a lot more than I thought I would. When Oliver first appeared rebellious and that long hair I just wanted him to tuck it behind his ears so bad it was hanging in his face but I didn't take him seriously. He's kinda interesting and Elinor is enjoyable. It is hinted that she's clearly not morally sound or filled with empathy but she's shown to have emotions. It's better than the usual ruthless family member dynamic. Margot has a similar characterization. At first she seems like the type to force her daughters into decisions but she is revealed to have defined her own path, she fell in love with a human and she accepts Juliette's decision. It took me by surprise that she was quick to force Elinor into her agreement. I thought because of her past she would want Elinor to choose differently but in a way it makes sense that she doesn't always show her best self to her children (no parent does).
I like Elinors progress throughout the season. She's not shown to be completely right but not quite wrong. She lies and appears callous when underneath she isn't. She was going to walk away and leave Apollo and Theo alone until they attacked. She didn't try to kill them and honestly just dodged an attack. She could have told her sister all of this but chose not to protecting her idea of power. She was disappointed her sister didn't identify with her beliefs in seeing humans more as food. This can be described as psychopathic tendencies but she's shown to have emotions. A lot of her situation is caused by her idea of not being seen as weak combined with her reckless and often cruel attitude. For a family that throws a gala after you've murdered someone I don't see Elinors actions as too much of a stretch.
I was unhappy with them leaving Elinor in jail. You're really going to have sex while your daughter sits in jail? Really? But that's personal preference not a critique.
Oliver and Elinors story needs more explanation. Why did he kill his turtle? What would she have possibly said to get him to kill his turtle? Suggest he see inside? Just because she told you to do something doesn't mean you should do it? Apparently killing the turtle was your own doing but the other two weren't? Even though you did both? Bud why do you have the turtle shell that's a little weird? Elinor must have felt rejected by her twin too.
Half of that is my personal preference not a critique.
My second biggest concern is the feeding. Legacies can tolerate human food but do they need it? They're shown only feeding once a day and it's only Elinor, can they survive with blood packets? Normal food? Does normal food provide any nutrients at all? How long can they go without blood? What do they do for blood during the work day? What does age have to do with their feeding? Does it mean they don't need blood as children? Why do they have to kill someone when they come of age? Is it a creed of their own making or a requirement? Elinor is seen feeding and erasing the persons memories so it's possible not to have to kill to feed although not everyone can make them forget but it's possible to feed and take just a little. There are servants that provide 'food' but that isn't explored. Why is the kill itself necessary? What is the snake? Why did it merge instead of just biting the father? The bite is what is said to have the effect of creating Lilith unless Lilith became a snake? Or is the snake an entirely different creature unlike vampires? How does turning work? What makes the one feeding different from any others?
Oliver said Margot bought the pills off the "black market" but so far there's been a disconnect between them and anything supernatural. How can they stay hidden but have blood pills to buy let alone find someone to buy them from in a place that's supposed to not have monsters? Who makes these pills? Who else is buying them? Are there other vampires in the town? Why can't they make their own? Or get blood donations? What does Margot do for work again?
What about babies? Do they still breast feed after birth? Do they need blood?
Humans have a lot of blood don't you get full?
Ok those last two aren't related to the show that's I've just been thinking about it.
To conclude, there's not plot holes per say since there really isn't a plot. Not yet, kind of a hint of one but season one did very little to set up for it. Clearly Oliver is going to attack the town in some way and although it's an interesting idea not to go for the "monster of the week" formula while the girls try to find out who is doing it for the entire season like 90 percent of these kind of shows having them do everything and nothing doesn't help either. If someone asked me what this show is about I would have a lot of speculation but not a real answer, the only thing I'd have is "vampire girlfriend and hunter girlfriend".
It felt like it was falling apart near the middle but the pay off in the finale brought it back although the last line Oliver delivers is dumb and none of the plot and reasonings make sense.
Overall I really enjoy the freshness, and ingenuity of the narrative, what little we have so far, and the final episode was very well done. I actually became very emotional when Talia refused to kill Theo and when Cal threatens Juliette to get out of her life. It was heart wrenching both scenes.
Not great, not bad, and did things differently which I respect a lot.
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Romeo and Juliet, act II, scene 6”
“Love moderately”?
Did Shakespeare really believe you could control or measure how deeply you fall for someone ? Like your heart ♥ is something you can pour into a measuring cup and stop at the two-thirds line? Seriously? 🙁
Then maybe that isn't what you call love. That's infatuation or lust.
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