InsaneJournal

Kings: Pilot Episode: Goliath
And I’ll Walk Away a Fool or a King

I wish I could do funny, snarky, scene by scene recaps but it’s probably better if I don’t try. I’ll stick with Pro versus Con for this pilot episode.



Cons:
This show has a Name Issue.

Calling Jonathan “Jack” I understand. Jonathan to Jon to Jack is a logical progression, and Jack is a very male popular nickname even for men whose names have no connection to John or Jonathan. And since he’s actually referred to as “Jonathan” in one of the earliest scenes, you can probably assume Jack is the nickname and feel free to keep calling him Jonathan.

“Queen Rose” I get, because if she’s going to be a character with lines, she needs, you know, a name.

“Michelle” makes total sense, because that’s pretty much what people would call her if she was a contemporary woman in an English speaking culture (while “Michal” is popular in Israel, it’s not really used much in the West and it’s very hard for English tongues to pronounce it properly). I used it in my own modernverse, after all. It’s a natural change that won’t confuse anyone.

But “Silas”? What’s wrong with Saul? It’s a name familiar to English speakers, easy to pronounce, why not just keep it? This is gonna get annoying because I keep trying to type “Saul” when I know I can’t do that.

I am not fond of Jonathan’s characterization right now. If you didn’t already know the story, you’d think his actions make perfect sense, and they do, but they’re not Jonathan. He’s like Jonathan, As Interpreted By Chuck Bass. I’d call him Jack Bass if there wasn’t already a character on tv named that. And I’m not just bothered by this as a shipper who hoped to see them as lovers on film, I’m bothered because the David and Jonathan friendship is the lynchpin of the entire story. Not only are they not lovers so far but they’re not even friends. In fact, Jonathan is in league with the bad guy to betray them all, throwing a hissy fit because everyone likes David more. I've often struggled with my own attempts to write this character but...I'm writing alone, with no budget.

The butterfly symbolism. What is up with that? Of all the symbols they could choose, they picked butterflies? People look really ridiculous wearing spontaneous crowns of butterflies. WTFButterflies.

I think they could’ve hinted more at David’s future potential for asshaberdashery and man whoring. The actor himself has this weirdly Heath Ledgerlike face, I haven't decided whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. He's a bit one note right now, but it is the pilot, after all. Even the best shows don't have perfect pilots.

Their Saul-sorry, Silas- isn't quite bipolar enough for me. This character does not come across like he is having or ever has had, a mental breakdown.

Pros

It has really high production values for a tv show. It has this huge, gorgeous, elaborate "palace" set and even the WTFButterflies don't look fake. The architecture of the palace looks vaguely Middle Eastern but also futuristic.

I like the idea of the made up countries referenced in dialogue, Michelle mentions the piano was "a gift to my father from the prime minister of Austeria". On the whole, I think the AU/entirely new fake country idea was a good one, because it gives them the freedom to not have to worry about real world politics.

Even though the WTFButterflies are very WTF, it's definitely a memorable symbol that looks cool as a repeated motif throughout (it's on flags, uniforms, even David's watch). And if the show lasts and the fandom takes off, it'll be good for putting on icons, clothing, you know, branding the product.

Even though they seem to be stressing David's extreme heterosexuality, the actor they hired could have sexual chemistry with a chair, so he still comes across as slashy with other men...unfortunately, just not Jonathan yet. Mostly Saulas and Reverend Samuels.

I LOVE Michelle so far. She is everything she should be-spunky, snarky, independent, smart, without tipping her over into unlikability (for some reason, those traits tend to translate into "immediately bitchy" to many writers). She is shown in one scene petitioning her father in front of the parliment for a better universal healthcare plan, an idea he keeps shooting down.

They still have plenty of time to turn the Jonathan thing around. Who knows, they may be planning a slow, subtle personality switch between him and David as David becomes jaded and Jonathan realizes there are more important things than himself? I *am* still glad that Jonathan is explicitly gay, even if I'm not fond of his personality so far. I'm betting the writers were given a choice by the network-"You can't have a gay David but you can have a gay Jonathan if you really must."

My favorite scene was actually the breakfast scene, it was a brief moment of seeing the Benjamin family with their guard down, comfortably playing at being normal people doing something ordinary and domestic. Saulas is wearing an apron and cheerfully frying eggs, *snerk*. The kids accidentally set him off on a rambling lecture and Michelle rolls her eyes and Jonathan starts pointedly reading the paper. Hehheh.



All in all, a flawed series but one with a lot of potential that I'd like to see realized.

ETA: Apparently, it got creamed in the ratings last night. It was on during the 8 pm "family hour" even though it's not *really* a "family" show... PLUS, like the "Book of Daniel" fiasco, it's a show with religious themes that would please most normal people (religious in the sense that it's based on a Bible story, anyway...) but will most likely upset the very demographic who could save the show- and by that I mean, religious conservatives with money (because when they put their weight behind something, it moves)- lefties would like it if they tuned in but they won't, and even if they do like it, they won't lift a finger to do anything about it, because they never do.

cough.

And unfortunately, we don't currently live in an era where struggling tv shows get more than one more chance to grab an audience, especially not on a Big Three network in primetime. I mean, we can hold out hope, since NBC really has nothing better going on except "Law and Order" and the Thursday comedies, but this is the network that just gave Jay Leno his own primetime hour every weeknight at ten, instead of retiring him like they said they would. So NBC has been wearing Bad Idea Jeans a lot lately.