Well, this show really is using each episode to take a new, sharp angle
on the nature of revenge - - and tightening that angle to the most acute
degree, I’ve got to say. I mean, there are at least three inversions of your
usual revenge thriller, here…
First, this asskicker suddenly finds herself at the mercy of one of her
victims’ parents. Then, one of those parents takes the high road, and opts to
greet Alka with mercy, instead of the righteous vengeance she deserves. And lastly, we see how the other parent’s
refusal to let his hatred go inevitably spells the ruin of his entire family.
The show’s playing an interesting game: letting the audience relish in the
thrill of revenge, while repeatedly stressing how wasteful and self-defeating
it is.
At another time, I might have thought that to be a trite message, but
now, I can’t really forget the response of so many viewers to DEATH NOTE when I
was reviewing that series a couple years ago. Sure, that series had a rich
moral ambiguity to it - - leaving it up to viewers to make up their own minds
about which characters were more justified in a given scene. However, I’ll be
honest, it was a little trouble to see so many people root for Light. It was
always fascinating to watch him, for sure, but I don’t think the show was ever
advocating his position as judge, jury and executioner. There’s a difference between playing with ideas, and condoning them, and it was troubling to see so
many viewers confuse the two.
I don’t generally believe in entertainment
needing to be didactic, but still -- I’d like to show this show to those
fans. And at least hope they get the clearer message regarding the
futility of revenge.
Anyway, by this point, I really must question how sustainable this is;
if the series is actually planning to go a full-season. I’ve absolutely enjoyed
each meditation on these weighty question of morality - - and the deftly-terse
action that accompanies each meditation - - but I don’t know if that’s
necessarily enough for an epic length narrative. This show’s pleasantly
reminded me of MUSHI-SHI, at times, and even MUSHI-SHI’s subtle and observed
morality plays eventually started seeming like they were stretched to fit 26
episodes.
Watch “Sin” and
decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode.
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