mellbell-56180

I really tried to follow what was happening here but this show suffers from the usual pitfalls of poorly written mysteries. The plot is hard to follow and there are no coherent motivations or explanations for any of the episodic murderers or monsters. Characters jump to implausible conclusions purely because the plot needs them to, so it feels like things are just sort of happening with no rhyme or reason. The "villains" occasionally have motivations that are a little too understandable, and in a different genre we'd probably be rooting for them to get their revenge.

The acting is just okay, although most of the actors are charismatic enough that I wish more time was devoted to the friendships between the characters. That said, I hated Bea and Billy, and I absolutely despised the love-triangle between them and Leo. While Spike and Jess bring a level of carefree humor (like real teenagers), Bea is overly intense and mean to everyone around her (yet still has every guy falling for her lol). There was absolutely no believable character development and every time character relationships were seemingly progressed, they totally reset by the next episode.

Like other reviews have pointed out, the music is awful. Genuinely, unbelievably awful. It completely ruins what could have been some very creepy horror scenes. Even if the creators were hoping to use modern music, they could have at the very least tried to select songs that fit the tone of the show rather than just slapping a techno beat over it all.

I'm also not a fan of the "modernized" version of Victorian London (Actually, I like the colorblind casting - and if that's the thing that makes this show unwatchable for you, then yikes). I don't hate it, but the half-modern costuming and modern dialogue makes the whole show feel half-asses, like the creators couldn't be bothered to do their research.

First, this is not a comedy, no matter how hard it tried to be. There were a few moments where I though "that was kind of funny" but I didn't even crack a smile once, and I didn't hear a single laugh from the crowd in the theater. Overall, the movie should have stuck to a single time period. It glosses over some interesting stuff, but it never goes in depth enough to make it interesting. It was so well acted, and they set up a lot of potentially interesting plot threads that never panned out or went anywhere, so there was no real depth or emotion to any of the events depicted. The whole movie was directionless and I felt like I was watching a clip show rather than a story where there were stakes and consequences for the characters involved. The bit with the narrator was really interesting but the movie didn't build up to it enough, so it seemed like just another random event, rather than the merging of two plot threads.

It's a cute show, and it's definitely watchable, but almost everything about is just slightly... off. Firstly, don't hold this show to Avatar standards - you'll only be disappointed. The worst by far is the low-budget animation. It's glitchy and awkward, and the characters look out of place against the beautiful backdrops. They aren't even well-rendered. Especially Callan, whose head isn't in proportion with his features. A close second is the poor writing. There's a lot of goofy throw-away scenes that lack any kind of pacing or comedic timing, something Avatar did incredibly well (and something that made Avatar watchable to all ages). Nothing is more awkward than listening to every character explain their own unfunny jokes two seconds later, as if the audience won't understand otherwise. And on the topic of pacing, it literally took four episodes - half the season - to kick off the plot. If they cut out some of the pointless, goofy "comedy" scenes, extended, panning landscape shots, and drawn out moments of characters sitting silently, they probably could have condensed it down to a single episode. Also, some characters speak as if it's the middle ages while others use casual, modern slang. The difference was too jarring, and that's not even taking into account the cringey voice acting or the loud, over-emphasized sound effects. Over all, I did enjoy it, even if it took me a while to get over the animation and pacing, and the story was interesting, especially if you're into Lord of the Rings type fantasy. Unfortunately, its attempts at creating any meaningful drama fall painfully flat. Hopefully, Netflix will invest a little more money into the next season.