Saints & Strangers

This is a reasonable telling of the Pilgrims saga from the time they left England to some years after their settlement in Plymouth. I have read the historical accounts of George Willison's "Saints and Strangers", as well as Nathaniel Philbrook's "Mayflower". William Brewster was a key figure in the Pilgrim's history. He was known as William the Elder, as he was their church leader. He was likely instrumental in drawing up the Mayflower Compact. He was completely left out of this telling of the tale. To leave him out is a grievous error! There should have been more of the Pilgrim's Sunday services, as it was a very important part of their culture. Also, the Pilgrim's were taken aback by how scantily dressed the Native Americans were. The Native Americans in this production are in full leathers! Another grievous error!

A very well played movie, with an interesting plot. I didn't get bored a single second of it and I recommend it to anyone.

Not impressed with this at all. Between the series itself and the reviews here, I'm convinced that at least eighty per cent of Americans have never met an Indigenous person in their entire lives and really don't care about them, their culture, or their history. I didn't appreciate the way the Indigenous characters were portrayed. I didn't find it credible or compelling. I also have to agree with "jackhuntermtl" about the poor production, etc.

Saints and Strangers depicts the Pilgrim's journey to the new world and their first encounters with the Native Americans. The story portrays a balanced view between both groups' points of view. While this mini-series was extremely well done, I felt it suffered from having too many characters and not having a clear central character. It also would have been nice to have had a little more exposition at the beginning. I am not super familiar with that this particular time period. So having a little more information would've been a good thing. Also, I think it would have been better to have more than two episodes as the story wouldn't have felt so rushed. With that said, I thought the acting was great. Anna Camp's performance was amazing and heartbreaking. It's different than the roles she normally has, and I wish she had a bigger part. However, I understand why it was the way it was. This show also a reminder of a time when the world was a harder place to live in, and it's crazy to think about what those earlier settlers went through. And I would recommend watching this one if you get a chance.

Like all good dramas this show doesn't try to tell you what you should think. It tries to tell the story with honesty and attention to detail while taking just enough poetic license to make these characters relatable to us. What it boils down to is that, regardless of the perspective, we're all people who share a common desire to prosper and live good lives. We're often more alike than different, and all of us have flaws. In a new world where can decide how they want to live people make up the rules as they go. Being unhindered by prejuidces and past norms allow people the flexibility to come to new understandings