So, I just watched last week's episode and I'm curious to hear what you guys think. I enjoyed it but I keep feeling like this is gearing up for something super amazing and it's all still just gear-up. So the payoff is going to have to be awesome.
I'll have to watch it, I got... uh... sucked up in Breaking Bad.
Lol. Maybe tonight, since TWD is off for a bit?
Also, is anyone bothered by the racial politics of the show? It's sort of gearing up to be a black witches vs. white witches war where the audience is in the position to basically root for the white witches (since they get the majority of the screen time and the protagonists are all on that side). And they give all this rich backstory and nuance to Fiona who is kind of a big baddie in her own right but is allowed to have some ambivalence and compelling moments, but Marie Laveau is just "big bad voodoo mama" with very little character development. The Onion AV Club reviewer speculated that this is because if we got more history/character development on why she's at war with the coven, we might have to root for her "side," since her grudge includes fecking slavery.
I'm still wondering what they'll do with it and how others perceive it.
I mean, i think the most unsympathetic character was Kathy Bates' character for some time, out of all the characters, and her racist behavior in the first 1-3 episodes really positioned the black side as the side that had been victimized. So far for me, I've still been operating under that presumption and don't blame Laveau for what she's been doing -- considering how she and her group were victimized, her antagonism of the white witches makes sense to me. I do think she is burning up capital in the viewers' perspective, though, since she refuses any kind of compromise. There was only one black witch I recall represented (Queenie) and Laveau was vying for her loyalties simply due to race. I do think Bassett has the capability to handle more nuance in her character (as Lange can), so I hope she is given more range throughout the rest of the series.
i'm not really fond of the white witches, myself. most are flakes, or presumptuous, or self-absorbed. Zoe's probably the most sympathetic (and Nan), and Delia's a sympathetic character since she is trying to be responsible for the girls and has been taken advantage of by her mother and her husband... and Misty's just a wild card. I don't really have a negative view of Laveau yet because I understand why she does what she does; I suppose for me it comes down to what she does when it is in her best interest (and the interest of those she looks over) to make peace and then decides to do so or not. At that point, her character would be even more sorely tested.
Again, I did not see the most current episode, so maybe my opinion will shift after seeing it.
