Underground Railroad (2021)

It almost pains me to give this a 4, but it also is difficult for me to recommend this in good conscience. By no means is it bad; it's as incredible as everyone says and I'm glad to have seen it, experienced it. But it's a super challenging watch. I think it's the most brutal depiction of slavery I've ever seen. And yet it's depicted with such mastery and dare I say beauty. The cinematography is stunning, and coupled with Nicholas Britell's haunting score, it is nothing short of beautiful. But beautiful just doesn't seem like the right word to describe a slavery tale. I think the shots that perhaps best epitomize Barry Jenkins's style is the shots in which the slaves stare down the camera. His camera is fluid (he loves those long takes), it moves around a lot, but the figures stand still and tall, dignified. Without words, with empathy, Jenkins confers upon them the dignity that they were denied. The imagery is extremely powerful. 

I was led to believe that it was more of a magical realist take on historical fiction, but it isn't quite magic. Though I suppose you could say that an actual underground railroad is something fantastical. Cora goes from one terrible locale to different kinds of horrible places. And when she finally finds supposed-paradise, it is snatched away in a rather painful episode. There is a heavy emphasis on testimony, that the escaped slaves must provide a written account in order to board the train. It is as if to say that people need to know what happened here, history demands it, lest we forget it. Thuso Mbedu does a lot of heavy lifting  as Cora, processing many complex emotions. And I think Joel Edgerton is actually extraordinary too as the slave catcher Ridgeway. 

I found the 10 episodes to be the opposite of binge-able. Especially in the early episodes, many of the depicted brutalities keep you from clicking next. Hard to do any more than a couple at a time. It's a lot to take in. The end credits of each episode are played over modern music, whether Outkast, Marvin Gaye, Mahalia Jackson, Childish Gambino or Kendrick Lamar. It's surprising, immediately pulling the viewer out of the world, giving us a respite from the horrors of the episode. An orchestral arrangement of Clair de Lune plays over a sensitive show-stopping love scene. The use of music is brilliant. Jenkins and Britell have one of the best director-composer partnerships in the business.

The Good Place (2016-20)

So after 2.5 years evading Covid-19, it finally came for me too. I took a few sick days off work and basically watched TV all day. The Good Place kept my spirits up. And it was very bingeable, breezily going through a season a day. It's bright, funny, and insightful. The characters are likable and redeemable and each have their own quirks. But there are a few things that really elevate The Good Place above other network comedies. 

 First is that it entrusts its audience with rather complex philosophical theory. The series deep dives into Kant and Aristotle and the like. It tackles the biggest philosophical questions and actually gives pretty good answers. Popularizing philosophy is something to be lauded. And it's not just a subplot, it's actually at the core of the show's themes. Second is the brilliant plot, with its unique premise setting up a conception of the afterlife with a points system. It has an excellent twist at the end of Season 1 (that I remember reading about at the time, but it was still a fantastic reveal), and turns the whole premise upside down. Even when it departs from the original conceit, it morphs into some other brilliant thing. Each season does something different, clever, on the same theme but from a different angle. 

Third, I love the diverse casting. William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil and Manny Jacinto with top billing on network TV. Harper plays the academic Chidi, a philosopher scholar. Jamil plays the beautiful philanthropic Tahani. And Jacinto, freed from the model minority stereotype, plays the dimwit Florirdian Jason. Kristen Bell, D'Arcy Carden and Ted Danson are all great too, as is Maya Rudolph in a recurring guest spot.

And finally, Michael Schur nails the landing with a poignant finale that provides satisfying closure. The scale of the finale spans hundreds of Jeremy Bearimys, Enough time for our protagonists to fulfill their life's and afterlife's dreams and to find the quietude to move on. It's a beautiful ending.