Saints & Strangers

Saints and Strangers does a pretty good job of telling the story of the early encounters between New England's pilgrim settlers and their Native American hosts/antagonists. I felt the story portrayed a balanced (accuracy is debatable) view of the plight of both groups. The constant cultural dilemmas, physical dangers, and shifting alliances made for a good night of television. There's obviously a lot of history to fit into 2 episodes so hopefully this will return as a full series. One interesting note: when I read through the cast of characters, I was surprised to see Ron Livingston (of Office Space fame) listed as portraying John Carver? I totally missed him...I'll have to pay closer attention when I watch it again.

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.

Granted, there is controversy about what happened between the Pilgrims from the Mayflower and the local Native Americans. As the Ojibwa say, "there are two sides to every story, and then there's the truth."

What this two-part series demonstrates is that it's not just the clash of cultures that creates tension: it's the political strife within cultures. Saints & Strangers brings these tensions, misunderstandings and conflicts to the forefront to make what we've all told is a simple story the more true reality of how complex the interactions actually were.

Attention to historical detail, including in costume design and makeup, is impeccable. The use of what would have been the language of the Native Americans (barely preserved by the dialect coach from people he knew because he didn't want to see the language die) is a side benefit of the enterprise and makes the portrayals of the main Native American roles not only believable, but compelling. Dialog between key characters illuminates the realization of the difficult enterprise resulting from arriving in an unknown place. Freedom from cultural restraints is replaced by awareness that no matter where we are, there are always social constraints.

This project must become a classic. It reveals that our sentimental notions about Thanksgiving don't reveal the truth. European settlement on this continent wasn't what anyone thought it would be -- neither the Europeans nor the Native Americans who had to navigate how to interact with each other, whether to trust each other, and what to learn from one another.

Saints & Strangers is both an homage to the people who came together, under trying circumstances, as well as a cautionary tale. It paints clearly that there is no "good" or "bad" side: that politics, no matter our skin color, always attempts to cloud our judgment. In the end, it also shows that no matter who we are, or from where we have come, we are ultimately all cut from the same cloth.

Isabeau Vollhardt, author, The Casebook of Elisha Grey e-book series

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!

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