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Media Reviews...
1. Casa Grande, by Lauren Swickard and Ali Afshar. (James Marsters newest television appearance, although he's a special guest star and has a relatively minor role as an antagonist rival landholder who wants the protagonist family's land).
This is good, folks. I was surprised. I did not expect it to be. Swickard is known for the California Christmas films with her attractive hubby, Josh Swickward, on Netflix (kind of a Hallmark style series of rom-coms). And Afshar is unknown.
But the series was a surprise, and I ripped through it quickly. It's just five episodes, with ads, on Amazon Freezee. It's streaming for free with ads. So no need to subscribe or pay anything. Although to find it - I had to go my Amazon App. I'm not sure if you can access it another way or not?
The series is rather dark, and kind of twisty. It's a bilingual series about migrant workers on ranches in Fresno, California. Shown from both the perspective of the ranch holders and the migrant workers, and the characters are all fully developed. You understand why they do what they do. The only ones that aren't really - are the ICE operatives - but the series is only in its first season, that could change.
The set-up? An upper-middle class rancher and his wife are trying to get ahead. But a few rash and self-serving actions to get "ahead", decimate their family and impact the lives of those around them.
It wasn't predictable, the characters weren't stock, it went in a direction I did not expect at all. And it ends on a bitter-sweet cliff-hanger, that could also wrap up the series as a cautionary tale. Very noirish ending.
I was impressed by it. And Marsters role is subtle and works, one of his better performances. Possibly the best series he's done in a long while.
Some of the dialogue could be improved, but overall a solid effort. Credits are good. Production is good. Acting is good. Casting is strong. I particularly love the actress who plays Hunter.
The ending is kind of haunting.
Overall? B+/A-
[Oh in the battle between Casa Grande (Marster's latest) and Wolf Pack (SMG's latest)? Watch Casa Grande. I've yet to get through Wolf Pack and I binged Casa Grande fast - and wanted more.]
2. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 - weirdly I found Casa Grande more interesting. I don't know why. I was kind of bored and a touch disappointed by this outing. Movie Buddy liked it better than I did. Granted - I'm not exactly the demographic that Gunn and Marvel were shooting for. (I'm a woman in my mid-late 50s, they were aiming for 12-35 year old men, who play video games and argue about which pop song is better.)
It works well for what it aims to be - which is a character-centric, fast action, comedy driven, space-opera adventure flick, with a moral message at the center. I wouldn't call it a superhero flick - more of a comic book/space opera.
I tend to like these - so for the most part I was entertained. But some of the jokes went on for a bit too long. Or were repeated one too many times. (Yes, Gunn, I get it - it sucks to work with idiots. Enough already.) Also there's a lot of annoying bickering disguised as banter, but is in reality just bickering. I was over-identifying with Nebula who every once and a while would smack a few of them upside the head. Everyone in this movie bickers with each other endlessly. And the jokes are...crude and kind of nerdy to the extreme. It's a nerd fest. (If you aren't nerdy, and prefer a more subtle, dry wit - this will get on your nerves.)
If you are not a fan of the Suicide Squad flicks or the Guardians flicks, and can't stand Pratt - this baby is not for you. Also if nerdy banter and bickering gets on your nerves - look elsewhere. If you tried the first two flicks and think this film will be better? It's not. This film does not improve on the other Guardians of the Galaxy films. If you think - oh, if I didn't see the other films, I can still see this? No, you really can't. And yes, you really need to be a Guardians of the Galaxy fan to enjoy it and/or watch it. (This film is for Guardians of the Galaxy fans - there's a lot of fan-service bits, along weird actor cameos...such as Nathan Fillion, Michael Rosenbloom (Martinex - the silver headed Ravager), and Sly Stallone.
If you haven't watched the previous films - you'll be lost. If you didn't watch Endgame or Infinity War? You'll be lost. So you have to watch Guardians Vol 1, Guardians Vol II, Infinity War and Endgame - to figure out what is going on. They don't really help you that much. There's a little expository help - but it is just few sentences of dialogue here and there. (Thor: Love and Thunder isn't necessary - Movie Buddy didn't see that one and really all that one did was show why Thor was no longer with the Guardians, and why Quill was less full of himself. Spending any length of time with Thor would do that to any white guy, with the possible exception of Captain America.)
So no - this film is not for everyone. And if any of the above applies to you? Skip, you can thank me later.
If however, you do love this sort of thing, watched the other films, are ambivalent about Pratt or like him well enough or love him (I'm personally somewhere between ambivalent and like well enough) - then yes, this is enjoyable and worth watching if only to see all the character's arcs wrapped up in a neat little package and tied with a bow.
Gunn does a very good job of juggling multiple character arcs, and wrapping up all of them, without losing track of the plot.
It helps that the plot is fairly simple and the villain, interesting, but also irredeemable and somewhat one-dimensional. So he doesn't have to spend too much time on him. This film is not quite as convoluted or busy as Thor: Love and Thunder. Gunn managed, somehow, to convince Marvel to let him do a movie that did not connect to the rest of the Marvel verse (that much) and could stand outside of it (for the most part). Marvel likes to re-use villains and characters - so do not be surprised if these show up in other films. But it's unlikely you'll need to see this one to follow those. Because he was able to disconnect it from the rest of the verse (at least for the most part), it's not quite as convoluted. And the plot could be kept relatively simple.
The plot? It's basically Rocket's origin story. Guardian's is really Rocket's story, not Quill's. Rocket Racoon is the central figure - who goes from lone wolf to a team member. He's kind of the Han Solo/Wolverine character of the team - or the rogue with a heart of gold that Quill manages to friend and send on a redemptive arc. Anyhow, they have to save Rocket from the villainous High Evolutionary who created Rocket, and now wants to reclaim him, and more importantly Rocket's brain to dissect and analyze. Through the course of the film, we find out why, and the arc is for Rocket to finally confront his villainous creator/father and overcome him. See? Rather simple. We've all seen it before. Numerous times. Actually it was in the last film - Guardian's I - with Ego, who Star Lord had to confront and overcome. This is a common theme in comics. Man confronting his Maker, and Overcoming him. New, it's not.
The other theme is - just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. Or playing god? Bad idea. Please don't.
There are some rather gruesome experiments on CGI animals in the film. Not to worry, no real animals were hurt - they are all CGI, and yes, you can tell. It's kind of obvious. Actually that was my main difficulty with the film - I could see the flaws in the special effects - they felt like video game special effects, and very digitized. (Maybe it's just me? But due to Marvel's decision to speed things to screen - the special effects seem to be ...a little less up to snuff? Or maybe it's too much reliance on the cheaper faster CGI, computer digitization, and less on the painted cell frames? I know there was a revolt at Marvel recently among the special effects teams regarding how quickly Marvel wanted them to complete this time-consuming and highly detailed process, and as a result quality, they claimed, had gone done. When I read about this - I thought, oh, okay that explains a lot.)
That said? I could have done without spider bunny aka Floor. Spider bunny gave me the creeps. I also could have done without War Pig. I swear - having watched several Gunn flicks now, I am not appreciative of how this guy envisions things. He can create some truly grotesque and frightening critters. I did however, appreciate Nebula not being shown as a sex kitten or sexualized. She looked like a normal, big, woman in combat gear. Realistic in fact. And by far my favorite character in the series.
The villain in this one is decidedly creepy and painful. Also the only one I wanted them to kill - which they kind of did and kind of didn't. That's not really a spoiler. It's a Marvel film - you know that going into it.
The character arcs all worked here, as did the plot (it was hard to screw up that plot). And the focus was on the characters. Which I enjoyed and made the film for me. I was emotionally invested, and actually had a tear in my eye at the end. Just a tear, it didn't drop. So nothing serious.
But the emotions were well earned. And I liked how they wrapped up everyone's arcs, making it clear that another film wasn't required, yet we could still have various characters popping up in other films. We won't see Gamorra again (Saladane wants out), and Drax is out. So too is Quill for the most part. But Rocket could reappear, as could his new team, and
so too could Mantix and Nebula. But I doubt Nebula will - her arc was completed as well. We may see Quill again though. They went their separate ways - so one could appear without the others.
Overall? a Solid B+ effort, for the character arcs, and plot, if nothing else. Also definitely not for everybody.
3. The Company We Keep - this is the Confidence/Spy Caper on ABC and Hulu. Well cast, well produced, but most important? Well written. Not predictable at all - and not like any of the others that I've seen to date.
The set-up a confidence man on the rebound hooks up with a CIA agent on the rebound at a nifty hotel. One catch? They don't know what each other do for a living, and both are "professional" liars. Add that this is an ensemble cast and not a rom-com, and you have a fascinating show.
The Confidence Man comes with a "family that has been in the Con game for a long time" and is lead by veteran character actors, Polly Draper and William Fichtner, with Sarah Wallis playing Birdie the hacker sister with her death daughter, and ex-alcoholic hubby, an art expert. The CIA agent is interesting as well, her family is political, father an ex-senator, and her brother running for office, and they are all Asian-American. While the Con Man's family are Blue Collar Irish Bar Owners and Confidence Criminals. But that's not all, rounding out the cast is the MacGuire crime organization, Peter MacGuire, and his two kids, tough as nails and smart bastard daughter, Daphne, and his diabolical and somewhat impulsive son Connor. And of course the CIA which is not as straight arrow as it seems. There are no real good guys here. Each has their dirty secrets - hence the title, The Company You Keep.
As a result? None of it goes down the way you may expect. There are twists and turns a plenty, and all track and all are character motivated. The plot isn't that convoluted. The A and B plot lines line up well. And it is clever. Good banter (not dumb bickering - I never realized how hard it is too pull that off until recently), and good character development. Everyone has their secrets.
The season finale wrapped up the A and B plot lines, yet left plenty to explore in another season, with lots of different avenues to go down, and nothing clear cut. I can sort of see where they are going, but then again, they didn't go the direction I expected this season - nor did they do what I thought they'd do in the finale. So, predictable this isn't but it tracks and the plot works.
Overall? Enjoyable, gets the job down and a solid A for what it wants to accomplish. Should still be available on Hulu and On Demand on ABC. Aired on ABC.
4. Queen Charlotte - Shondra Rhimes Bridgerton Mini-series about Queen Charlotte and King George III's romance. Airs on Netflix.
Better than expected. It's not a rom-com or soap. It's not really a historical either, so much as a commentary on it? But it works. And it does a good job of exploring both racist themes and mental illness in Britain during a certain time period - or rather using Britain as a stand-in for our modern times.
King George is attractive in many respects, and quite brilliant really, but he is also going mad. It's more than likely he was bi-polar or had a form of it. Although that's controversial. And at the time - they really didn't know. Mental illness is not something we've handled well historically speaking or even in modern times. There's a lot of stigma attached to it, and little to no understanding.
Queen Charlotte doesn't figure this out until she's pregnant with their first child (they had fifteen children), and is understandably overwhelmed by it and annoyed. Queen Charlotte also has Moorish blood and is Black, and as a result of her role, various others with similar racial origins are elevated to aristocratic roles, with lands and titles bestowed upon them by the crown. (This is made-up history of course, Britain was never that progressive, Europe is quite racist, I'm afraid, as are their colonies around the world. Actually, the entire world is racist. I'm not sure there's a place or culture or group of people who aren't. Sigh. But there is hope that we'll evolve past this bull-shit at some point down the road. Or so Shondra Rhimes series hope. Rhimes reminds me a little of Gene Roddenberry in this respect - she hopes for a color-blind world, but may or may not ever achieve it. Her Bridgerton series paints the world as she'd like to see it.)
Anyhow, in order for this "Great Experiment" to work - Queen Charlotte must secure an heir and her place on the throne, by having children. Lots of children. Her role is to produce an heir, and apparently aid in keeping the King's secret from the populace. She is unfortunately frozen there - for his madness - which is progressive slowly freezes her in place.
This is not really a romance, so much as the opposite. The focus is not on happily ever after - for there is none in this world. It's not quite that fantastical. Charlotte marries and falls for a man who is slowly going mad. Lady Danbury is trapped in a marriage with an man who is not only her inferior but painfully bangs her nightly. She loathes him. And when he dies, she funds the things he despised in his name - for revenge, such as an orphanage and school for girls. Lady Violet was hopelessly in love with her husband, and by far the most fortunate of the three - but her husband died early on, leaving her with ten children to raise on her own. For historical romances, these are dangerously subversive.
All show strong women, who not only survive their male spouses but thrive in spite of them. Demonstrating that men neither define them or are much required outside of the making of children. A decidedly feminist take on the genre. And honestly, can we expect anything less from single mother and television powerhouse Rhimes?
So far it's rather enjoyable, more so than the first Bridgerton - it is witty, and charming, and deep. Also bittersweet. Freed from the confines of the traditional historical romance, it has a nice sardonic feminist edge that keeps me coming back for more.
Solid A for now.
This is good, folks. I was surprised. I did not expect it to be. Swickard is known for the California Christmas films with her attractive hubby, Josh Swickward, on Netflix (kind of a Hallmark style series of rom-coms). And Afshar is unknown.
But the series was a surprise, and I ripped through it quickly. It's just five episodes, with ads, on Amazon Freezee. It's streaming for free with ads. So no need to subscribe or pay anything. Although to find it - I had to go my Amazon App. I'm not sure if you can access it another way or not?
The series is rather dark, and kind of twisty. It's a bilingual series about migrant workers on ranches in Fresno, California. Shown from both the perspective of the ranch holders and the migrant workers, and the characters are all fully developed. You understand why they do what they do. The only ones that aren't really - are the ICE operatives - but the series is only in its first season, that could change.
The set-up? An upper-middle class rancher and his wife are trying to get ahead. But a few rash and self-serving actions to get "ahead", decimate their family and impact the lives of those around them.
It wasn't predictable, the characters weren't stock, it went in a direction I did not expect at all. And it ends on a bitter-sweet cliff-hanger, that could also wrap up the series as a cautionary tale. Very noirish ending.
I was impressed by it. And Marsters role is subtle and works, one of his better performances. Possibly the best series he's done in a long while.
Some of the dialogue could be improved, but overall a solid effort. Credits are good. Production is good. Acting is good. Casting is strong. I particularly love the actress who plays Hunter.
The ending is kind of haunting.
Overall? B+/A-
[Oh in the battle between Casa Grande (Marster's latest) and Wolf Pack (SMG's latest)? Watch Casa Grande. I've yet to get through Wolf Pack and I binged Casa Grande fast - and wanted more.]
2. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 - weirdly I found Casa Grande more interesting. I don't know why. I was kind of bored and a touch disappointed by this outing. Movie Buddy liked it better than I did. Granted - I'm not exactly the demographic that Gunn and Marvel were shooting for. (I'm a woman in my mid-late 50s, they were aiming for 12-35 year old men, who play video games and argue about which pop song is better.)
It works well for what it aims to be - which is a character-centric, fast action, comedy driven, space-opera adventure flick, with a moral message at the center. I wouldn't call it a superhero flick - more of a comic book/space opera.
I tend to like these - so for the most part I was entertained. But some of the jokes went on for a bit too long. Or were repeated one too many times. (Yes, Gunn, I get it - it sucks to work with idiots. Enough already.) Also there's a lot of annoying bickering disguised as banter, but is in reality just bickering. I was over-identifying with Nebula who every once and a while would smack a few of them upside the head. Everyone in this movie bickers with each other endlessly. And the jokes are...crude and kind of nerdy to the extreme. It's a nerd fest. (If you aren't nerdy, and prefer a more subtle, dry wit - this will get on your nerves.)
If you are not a fan of the Suicide Squad flicks or the Guardians flicks, and can't stand Pratt - this baby is not for you. Also if nerdy banter and bickering gets on your nerves - look elsewhere. If you tried the first two flicks and think this film will be better? It's not. This film does not improve on the other Guardians of the Galaxy films. If you think - oh, if I didn't see the other films, I can still see this? No, you really can't. And yes, you really need to be a Guardians of the Galaxy fan to enjoy it and/or watch it. (This film is for Guardians of the Galaxy fans - there's a lot of fan-service bits, along weird actor cameos...such as Nathan Fillion, Michael Rosenbloom (Martinex - the silver headed Ravager), and Sly Stallone.
If you haven't watched the previous films - you'll be lost. If you didn't watch Endgame or Infinity War? You'll be lost. So you have to watch Guardians Vol 1, Guardians Vol II, Infinity War and Endgame - to figure out what is going on. They don't really help you that much. There's a little expository help - but it is just few sentences of dialogue here and there. (Thor: Love and Thunder isn't necessary - Movie Buddy didn't see that one and really all that one did was show why Thor was no longer with the Guardians, and why Quill was less full of himself. Spending any length of time with Thor would do that to any white guy, with the possible exception of Captain America.)
So no - this film is not for everyone. And if any of the above applies to you? Skip, you can thank me later.
If however, you do love this sort of thing, watched the other films, are ambivalent about Pratt or like him well enough or love him (I'm personally somewhere between ambivalent and like well enough) - then yes, this is enjoyable and worth watching if only to see all the character's arcs wrapped up in a neat little package and tied with a bow.
Gunn does a very good job of juggling multiple character arcs, and wrapping up all of them, without losing track of the plot.
It helps that the plot is fairly simple and the villain, interesting, but also irredeemable and somewhat one-dimensional. So he doesn't have to spend too much time on him. This film is not quite as convoluted or busy as Thor: Love and Thunder. Gunn managed, somehow, to convince Marvel to let him do a movie that did not connect to the rest of the Marvel verse (that much) and could stand outside of it (for the most part). Marvel likes to re-use villains and characters - so do not be surprised if these show up in other films. But it's unlikely you'll need to see this one to follow those. Because he was able to disconnect it from the rest of the verse (at least for the most part), it's not quite as convoluted. And the plot could be kept relatively simple.
The plot? It's basically Rocket's origin story. Guardian's is really Rocket's story, not Quill's. Rocket Racoon is the central figure - who goes from lone wolf to a team member. He's kind of the Han Solo/Wolverine character of the team - or the rogue with a heart of gold that Quill manages to friend and send on a redemptive arc. Anyhow, they have to save Rocket from the villainous High Evolutionary who created Rocket, and now wants to reclaim him, and more importantly Rocket's brain to dissect and analyze. Through the course of the film, we find out why, and the arc is for Rocket to finally confront his villainous creator/father and overcome him. See? Rather simple. We've all seen it before. Numerous times. Actually it was in the last film - Guardian's I - with Ego, who Star Lord had to confront and overcome. This is a common theme in comics. Man confronting his Maker, and Overcoming him. New, it's not.
The other theme is - just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. Or playing god? Bad idea. Please don't.
There are some rather gruesome experiments on CGI animals in the film. Not to worry, no real animals were hurt - they are all CGI, and yes, you can tell. It's kind of obvious. Actually that was my main difficulty with the film - I could see the flaws in the special effects - they felt like video game special effects, and very digitized. (Maybe it's just me? But due to Marvel's decision to speed things to screen - the special effects seem to be ...a little less up to snuff? Or maybe it's too much reliance on the cheaper faster CGI, computer digitization, and less on the painted cell frames? I know there was a revolt at Marvel recently among the special effects teams regarding how quickly Marvel wanted them to complete this time-consuming and highly detailed process, and as a result quality, they claimed, had gone done. When I read about this - I thought, oh, okay that explains a lot.)
That said? I could have done without spider bunny aka Floor. Spider bunny gave me the creeps. I also could have done without War Pig. I swear - having watched several Gunn flicks now, I am not appreciative of how this guy envisions things. He can create some truly grotesque and frightening critters. I did however, appreciate Nebula not being shown as a sex kitten or sexualized. She looked like a normal, big, woman in combat gear. Realistic in fact. And by far my favorite character in the series.
The villain in this one is decidedly creepy and painful. Also the only one I wanted them to kill - which they kind of did and kind of didn't. That's not really a spoiler. It's a Marvel film - you know that going into it.
The character arcs all worked here, as did the plot (it was hard to screw up that plot). And the focus was on the characters. Which I enjoyed and made the film for me. I was emotionally invested, and actually had a tear in my eye at the end. Just a tear, it didn't drop. So nothing serious.
But the emotions were well earned. And I liked how they wrapped up everyone's arcs, making it clear that another film wasn't required, yet we could still have various characters popping up in other films. We won't see Gamorra again (Saladane wants out), and Drax is out. So too is Quill for the most part. But Rocket could reappear, as could his new team, and
so too could Mantix and Nebula. But I doubt Nebula will - her arc was completed as well. We may see Quill again though. They went their separate ways - so one could appear without the others.
Overall? a Solid B+ effort, for the character arcs, and plot, if nothing else. Also definitely not for everybody.
3. The Company We Keep - this is the Confidence/Spy Caper on ABC and Hulu. Well cast, well produced, but most important? Well written. Not predictable at all - and not like any of the others that I've seen to date.
The set-up a confidence man on the rebound hooks up with a CIA agent on the rebound at a nifty hotel. One catch? They don't know what each other do for a living, and both are "professional" liars. Add that this is an ensemble cast and not a rom-com, and you have a fascinating show.
The Confidence Man comes with a "family that has been in the Con game for a long time" and is lead by veteran character actors, Polly Draper and William Fichtner, with Sarah Wallis playing Birdie the hacker sister with her death daughter, and ex-alcoholic hubby, an art expert. The CIA agent is interesting as well, her family is political, father an ex-senator, and her brother running for office, and they are all Asian-American. While the Con Man's family are Blue Collar Irish Bar Owners and Confidence Criminals. But that's not all, rounding out the cast is the MacGuire crime organization, Peter MacGuire, and his two kids, tough as nails and smart bastard daughter, Daphne, and his diabolical and somewhat impulsive son Connor. And of course the CIA which is not as straight arrow as it seems. There are no real good guys here. Each has their dirty secrets - hence the title, The Company You Keep.
As a result? None of it goes down the way you may expect. There are twists and turns a plenty, and all track and all are character motivated. The plot isn't that convoluted. The A and B plot lines line up well. And it is clever. Good banter (not dumb bickering - I never realized how hard it is too pull that off until recently), and good character development. Everyone has their secrets.
The season finale wrapped up the A and B plot lines, yet left plenty to explore in another season, with lots of different avenues to go down, and nothing clear cut. I can sort of see where they are going, but then again, they didn't go the direction I expected this season - nor did they do what I thought they'd do in the finale. So, predictable this isn't but it tracks and the plot works.
Overall? Enjoyable, gets the job down and a solid A for what it wants to accomplish. Should still be available on Hulu and On Demand on ABC. Aired on ABC.
4. Queen Charlotte - Shondra Rhimes Bridgerton Mini-series about Queen Charlotte and King George III's romance. Airs on Netflix.
Better than expected. It's not a rom-com or soap. It's not really a historical either, so much as a commentary on it? But it works. And it does a good job of exploring both racist themes and mental illness in Britain during a certain time period - or rather using Britain as a stand-in for our modern times.
King George is attractive in many respects, and quite brilliant really, but he is also going mad. It's more than likely he was bi-polar or had a form of it. Although that's controversial. And at the time - they really didn't know. Mental illness is not something we've handled well historically speaking or even in modern times. There's a lot of stigma attached to it, and little to no understanding.
Queen Charlotte doesn't figure this out until she's pregnant with their first child (they had fifteen children), and is understandably overwhelmed by it and annoyed. Queen Charlotte also has Moorish blood and is Black, and as a result of her role, various others with similar racial origins are elevated to aristocratic roles, with lands and titles bestowed upon them by the crown. (This is made-up history of course, Britain was never that progressive, Europe is quite racist, I'm afraid, as are their colonies around the world. Actually, the entire world is racist. I'm not sure there's a place or culture or group of people who aren't. Sigh. But there is hope that we'll evolve past this bull-shit at some point down the road. Or so Shondra Rhimes series hope. Rhimes reminds me a little of Gene Roddenberry in this respect - she hopes for a color-blind world, but may or may not ever achieve it. Her Bridgerton series paints the world as she'd like to see it.)
Anyhow, in order for this "Great Experiment" to work - Queen Charlotte must secure an heir and her place on the throne, by having children. Lots of children. Her role is to produce an heir, and apparently aid in keeping the King's secret from the populace. She is unfortunately frozen there - for his madness - which is progressive slowly freezes her in place.
This is not really a romance, so much as the opposite. The focus is not on happily ever after - for there is none in this world. It's not quite that fantastical. Charlotte marries and falls for a man who is slowly going mad. Lady Danbury is trapped in a marriage with an man who is not only her inferior but painfully bangs her nightly. She loathes him. And when he dies, she funds the things he despised in his name - for revenge, such as an orphanage and school for girls. Lady Violet was hopelessly in love with her husband, and by far the most fortunate of the three - but her husband died early on, leaving her with ten children to raise on her own. For historical romances, these are dangerously subversive.
All show strong women, who not only survive their male spouses but thrive in spite of them. Demonstrating that men neither define them or are much required outside of the making of children. A decidedly feminist take on the genre. And honestly, can we expect anything less from single mother and television powerhouse Rhimes?
So far it's rather enjoyable, more so than the first Bridgerton - it is witty, and charming, and deep. Also bittersweet. Freed from the confines of the traditional historical romance, it has a nice sardonic feminist edge that keeps me coming back for more.
Solid A for now.