![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aunt_zelda Ok, this WAZT may seem a little weird. That's because I just finished the show and I can't stop crying. Those final moments, I ... wow.
IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. *can't stop sobbing* When the camera panned out so we got the full view of the cathedral I just lost it. And couldn't stop shaking and sobbing. It wasn't dignified at all.
*struggling to come into some semblance of order here*
Let me begin properly by saying that this show was and is one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. If I ever make a Top Favorite Shows, Top Favorite book-to-film adaptions, Top Favorite Historical Dramas, Top Favorite Battle Sequences, etc. you can bet your Ren Fair costumes it'll be on there.
(You'll notice I didn't list 'Top Most Epic Theme Songs.' This is because Pillars of the Earth owns the title of Most Badass, Epic, Fantastic show credits song/sequence and always will, except perhaps until we pump shows into our brains holographically, in which case that adaption will be on the top of the list. It never failed to send shivers down my spine. Go find it on youtube, it's worth every epic second.)f
This is one of the few rare instances where I did not read the book before watching. I just didn't have the time. I was watching it on Netflix Instant Play and then I got hooked and I blazed through the last three episodes tonight and the sobbing's just abated. I WILL read the book ... I just don't know when. I hear it was quite faithful, and I welcome opinions and comparisons in the comments.
This show has some REALLY GOOD characterization, especially in characters you wouldn't expect it to show up in. Aliena is more than the Rebellious Princess trope, and not just because she gets raped. (More on her later.) Philip is ... do the words 'Badass Prideful Awesometastic Slightly-Gay Woobie' even begin to encompass him? (He reminded me of a Bizarro-World Ianto, tbh.) Richard is weak at first but stubborn and grows beautifully. I hated Alfred from the start and he grows even more loathsome as the series continues. Jack is ... well, Jack's probably the only person I could say I had an issue with, but that's probably because he was more Plot Device than Character, so that's ok. Lady Regan was the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my entire life, especially since I went into the show not knowing about the extent of the relationship with her son. (There is not enough brain bleach in the world, my friends.) William managed to be a horrific monster that, just as you got used to him being this brand of atrocious found new ways to make me shriek and cover my eyes and scream "Oh my god that's WRONG! Wrong! EWWW! EVIL!" I admit without shame that I cheered at his death.
Speaking of cheering for someone's death, Bishop Fucking Waleran. The words "Magnificent Bastard" have never been more apt. What a slimy, Snape-cosplaying bastard he was. Him dying like Frollo from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was kind of awesome in a strange kind of way.
I love the extent that the show reaches in exploring its characters. From monks to Kings to bastards to monsters to siblings to builders. I especially love the parallels: the bonds between siblings, the bonds between parents and children, the bonds between lovers, the bonds between men and God, and how each is shown in its ideal form and its darker reflection.
Speaking of God, as someone who is sometimes uncomfortable by outward demonstrations of Faith, religious belief, and the like, being able to sit through a show that is basically about a bunch of people who want very much to build a big house to God and have me love every freaking second of it, is a pretty big accomplishment.
Another thing I loved (and I don't know if this was intentional but I certainly loved it) was the way they got to explore female characters in a setting we're not used to in this day and age. Aliena, Lady Regan, Ellen, Agnes, Martha, Queen Maude, and Elizabeth are all fascinating to study as well as enjoyable to watch. Considering they live in an age when women were considered either weak property or dangerous temptresses, and the show could have easily let this become one of those period dramas where there are one or two memorable female characters on opposite sides who hardly interact, we get some of the strongest, most engaging characters in the show. (Ok ok, Phillip and Waleran are way up there, but you can view the show with Aliena as the main character and have everything still make sense, so there!) It's interesting to see gender roles explored in the kind of environment where people won't cry 'anti-feminism' because a girl cries about something awful happening. Aliena was an utterly fantastic character who really must be seen to be believed. This is the kind of 'strong female character' that people dream about, not the 'Mary-Sue who can fix cars' kind that we keep getting these days.
Also, I liked that you could find Maiden/Mother/Crone parallels if you looked hard enough.
I LOVED the battle scenes. LoveloveloveloveLOVED them. They were creative and realistic and gorgeous and gory and fantastic and they made me punch the air and cheer they were so well staged. MAJOR MAJOR PROPS to their fight choreographers, it's been ages since I've seen such beautiful siege work.
I may have other thoughts to add later, but at the moment this is all I can write.
IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. *can't stop sobbing* When the camera panned out so we got the full view of the cathedral I just lost it. And couldn't stop shaking and sobbing. It wasn't dignified at all.
*struggling to come into some semblance of order here*
Let me begin properly by saying that this show was and is one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. If I ever make a Top Favorite Shows, Top Favorite book-to-film adaptions, Top Favorite Historical Dramas, Top Favorite Battle Sequences, etc. you can bet your Ren Fair costumes it'll be on there.
(You'll notice I didn't list 'Top Most Epic Theme Songs.' This is because Pillars of the Earth owns the title of Most Badass, Epic, Fantastic show credits song/sequence and always will, except perhaps until we pump shows into our brains holographically, in which case that adaption will be on the top of the list. It never failed to send shivers down my spine. Go find it on youtube, it's worth every epic second.)f
This is one of the few rare instances where I did not read the book before watching. I just didn't have the time. I was watching it on Netflix Instant Play and then I got hooked and I blazed through the last three episodes tonight and the sobbing's just abated. I WILL read the book ... I just don't know when. I hear it was quite faithful, and I welcome opinions and comparisons in the comments.
This show has some REALLY GOOD characterization, especially in characters you wouldn't expect it to show up in. Aliena is more than the Rebellious Princess trope, and not just because she gets raped. (More on her later.) Philip is ... do the words 'Badass Prideful Awesometastic Slightly-Gay Woobie' even begin to encompass him? (He reminded me of a Bizarro-World Ianto, tbh.) Richard is weak at first but stubborn and grows beautifully. I hated Alfred from the start and he grows even more loathsome as the series continues. Jack is ... well, Jack's probably the only person I could say I had an issue with, but that's probably because he was more Plot Device than Character, so that's ok. Lady Regan was the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my entire life, especially since I went into the show not knowing about the extent of the relationship with her son. (There is not enough brain bleach in the world, my friends.) William managed to be a horrific monster that, just as you got used to him being this brand of atrocious found new ways to make me shriek and cover my eyes and scream "Oh my god that's WRONG! Wrong! EWWW! EVIL!" I admit without shame that I cheered at his death.
Speaking of cheering for someone's death, Bishop Fucking Waleran. The words "Magnificent Bastard" have never been more apt. What a slimy, Snape-cosplaying bastard he was. Him dying like Frollo from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was kind of awesome in a strange kind of way.
I love the extent that the show reaches in exploring its characters. From monks to Kings to bastards to monsters to siblings to builders. I especially love the parallels: the bonds between siblings, the bonds between parents and children, the bonds between lovers, the bonds between men and God, and how each is shown in its ideal form and its darker reflection.
Speaking of God, as someone who is sometimes uncomfortable by outward demonstrations of Faith, religious belief, and the like, being able to sit through a show that is basically about a bunch of people who want very much to build a big house to God and have me love every freaking second of it, is a pretty big accomplishment.
Another thing I loved (and I don't know if this was intentional but I certainly loved it) was the way they got to explore female characters in a setting we're not used to in this day and age. Aliena, Lady Regan, Ellen, Agnes, Martha, Queen Maude, and Elizabeth are all fascinating to study as well as enjoyable to watch. Considering they live in an age when women were considered either weak property or dangerous temptresses, and the show could have easily let this become one of those period dramas where there are one or two memorable female characters on opposite sides who hardly interact, we get some of the strongest, most engaging characters in the show. (Ok ok, Phillip and Waleran are way up there, but you can view the show with Aliena as the main character and have everything still make sense, so there!) It's interesting to see gender roles explored in the kind of environment where people won't cry 'anti-feminism' because a girl cries about something awful happening. Aliena was an utterly fantastic character who really must be seen to be believed. This is the kind of 'strong female character' that people dream about, not the 'Mary-Sue who can fix cars' kind that we keep getting these days.
Also, I liked that you could find Maiden/Mother/Crone parallels if you looked hard enough.
I LOVED the battle scenes. LoveloveloveloveLOVED them. They were creative and realistic and gorgeous and gory and fantastic and they made me punch the air and cheer they were so well staged. MAJOR MAJOR PROPS to their fight choreographers, it's been ages since I've seen such beautiful siege work.
I may have other thoughts to add later, but at the moment this is all I can write.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-09-13 05:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 12:31 am (UTC)As a history nerd, I loved the miniseries. Sure, there may have been a few historical mess-ups, but I didn't catch anything and enjoyed it immensely. Please let me know what you thought of it once you get your hands on it!
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 03:02 pm (UTC)