Strange Empire

My husband and I have enjoyed binge-watching this show! Recently, we have seen a lot of post civil war America period pieces on Netflix. They all have the similar theme of civil war trauma (ptsd) and its subsequent violent effects in a frontier landscape. I like this because it's NOT a typical western. I felt that the themes in the story were universal. I loved the costumes! They could almost be "steampunk." If I were to write the second season, I might go that route as engineers work out issues on the railroad and in the mines using technology. I can almost see a Johnny Depp style character partnering up with Dr. Blithely. Of course, this show wouldn't go as far as the steampunk fantasy world, I suppose. We are very disappointed that the show is cancelled. I hope Netflix decides to produce the story.

Incredible show. Just re-watched the first three episodes. All four lead characters are brilliant actors. Such talent. Visually stunning with the British Columbia foothills as a backdrop. So many words to describe this show, mystical, bizarre, quirky, tragic, etc. Historical perspective of women and their lot in life during these times. I recommend this show for anyone who enjoys a good and oddly bizarre drama. Hindsight now gives us historical accuracies, but at the times depicted they were not quite sure where they were. But interesting, the coal mines, think of Coleman area, the railroads, the hard life of the early settlers. Thankyou CBC for producing this excellent show. I am enthralled!

There is much to like about Strange Empire. Character driven by relatively unknown actors, the fact that it is gritty and flawed works well within the context of the strange world of trauma and loss these women find themselves thrust into. Those who want to nitpick about historical accuracy or whatever else are missing the thrust of the piece. I applaud the fact that a chance was taken with this story by Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik. There is a deeper and darker truth about what it is to be human when faced with survival, and this series does a damn good job of giving the viewer a window into it. Word of mouth could very well elevate the series to some level of cult status.

Perhaps the color palette is a little too desaturated and perhaps the dialog is a bit over the top, but I thoroughly enjoyed this show. The three female leads are fascinating and beautiful, and the actor playing the main villain does a great job as well. Cara Gee looks inspiring and formidable in that outfit! For sure, this show lacks any varnish and gloss, but that is part of its charm. The whole story takes a lot of unexpected turns. Sometimes it almost felt like no one was keeping track of story threads because characters like Caze and Mrs. Biggs would go from bitter and hateful to sympathetic and helpful depending on the episode. But this ambiguity felt both real and somewhat novel for TV. Mrs. Blithely asks at one point, would all these people be doing these horrible things if not for this place they find themselves in? I also liked it when Mrs. Blithely mused about how she and Mrs. Loving and John Slotter were all cut from the same cloth. They are, all three, scary people in their own ways. (Don't tell Mrs. Blithely that your heart belongs to her, as she will literally keep it in a jar on the shelf.) Really like the title sequence as well.

Strange Empire is more than just a Western, although there's plenty of Western action. It's a female-driven, sexy, well-plotted drama. Beautifully shot, well-written, it's really the characters who drive the story. A small wagon train traveling into the west between Montana and Canada border, runs into a mining community that has little more than a brothel, mine, and railroad running through it. When two young girls are hidden from the brothel and mine owner, he extracts his revenge by sicking his men on the wagons, killing all the husbands, fathers, and male children, in order to force the women to work the brothel. The plan mostly blows up thanks to Kat Loving, a fierce wife-made-widow. From then on, it's pretty much war. Hopefully CBC won't cancel this one prematurely while it finds its audience. Hear that, CBC? Don't you dare!