Thursday, April 03, 2014
The Americans
I've got just a handful of "appointment viewing" on TV: Modern Family (just started watching this year, and catching up with the reruns), Game of Thrones, Justified, and The Americans (in it from the beginning on these ones). Those last three have their share of brutality.
Game of Thrones is just out-right forthcoming, simply because of the swords and arrows. Still, Ned Stark and the red wedding were especially brutal because of the surprise of it, and it happening to the "good guys".
Justified has some brutality, but just about always against those who put themselves there. Raylan walking away in the season-ender last year, the "disarming" at the "piggy" bank, or the bomb-on-the-couch last week. Brutal, but, you know, not a loss in our protagonists.
The Americans upped the ante with the not-overt-but-incredibly-overt brutality last night (it's really hard to describe it, for those who are not regular fans). And it involved only the protagonsists (which, you know, it's hard to call them the good guys, since it's KGB operatives hiding in plain sight as regular Americans, but the show definitely has you cheering for them on some level). Anyway, for those who have seen it, here's the recap with a long discussion of the brutal scene, and you can read the comments as well, where someone points out the significance of the title, and how it relates to this brutal scene.
As for these three shows, if they were all on the air at the same time, I think I would go with Justified first, and Game of Thrones last. Justified has the central character who is a real bad-a$$, but his antagonist will, within the scope of an episode, be the protagonist. The Americans has a similar kind of "confusion", but depends far more on the ensemble-nature. Game of Thrones has alot more unevenness to its episodes, though it always gives you several payoffs over the course of the season.
What do you guys watch (these or others)??
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