It’s a strange time to review a Created by Joss Whedon. Even though he walked away from the last HBO show a while back, his signature jokes and obsessions are all over the pilot episode of The Nevers, which he also wrote and directed. The series was already going to be a tough sell, given its Victorian steampunk chaos and – let’s face it – a largely female cast. But that could also have made it a very exciting business. What has come to fruition so far, however, is nothing of the sort – a sort of pale, one-dimensional repackaging of Whedon’s Greatest Hits. Namely, strong ladies constantly degraded while quickly coming back through her, only with powers! The basic story is this: Three years before today’s events, many women and other marginalized people were “affected” by a bizarre event in heaven. Their “turns,” or powers inherited during this quirk, vary wildly and have no real connection. Some people can manipulate energy, others are spellbinding healers and singers, while others are just very, very tall. There’s a lady X-Men steampunk vibe to it, but the show really doesn’t give us any reason to make these people and their gifts attractive. Most of those we meet are looked after by Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and her best friend Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) in an orphanage, but there are plenty more out there, unprotected from the homicide, Disease (Amy Manson), or the dark organization that stalks them – either for themselves or for Denis O’Hare’s creepster doctor. There is also a group of angry white men, who at this point shouldn’t surprise anyone. However, none of the way it all blends together is particularly transparent and questioning – preferring to wade through the surface rather than go a little deeper. It’s all pretty confusing with its more hokey, squeaky elements of its dialogue and character situations. That’s not to say there isn’t goodness to be had here. Laura Donnelly is a wonderful actor who we’re excited to see more of – someone many may remember from Outlander where we don’t have enough of her as Jamie Fraser’s sister. She is clearly a captivating star. (So does James Norton, who plays pansexual lothario Hugo Swan with aplomb.) Donnelly is making a lovely home here despite the often awkward storylines and dialogue given to him, and one particularly embarrassing scene where – whoopsie daisy! – her dress comes in a “hilarious” punch (which we’re not so sure about). The show leaves something to be desired in the VFX department as well, but Game of Thrones’ Michele Clapton costumes and cinematography bring their own joy to an otherwise boring first episode.It’s in these moments that we see the worst parts of Whedon that were still there, magnified under the watchful gaze of the moment: these women don’t feel real, they’re just blown away as they turn their hair and eyeroll all the occasional sexism they put up with. They feel like brutalized and mocked (but still sexy!) Toys for the men who watch (create?) The series. It’s quite a weightless spectacle, try well that The Nevers can be both zeitgeist-y and fun at the same time, telling stories of other people taking back their power. In the end, however, it all feels several years behind the societal conversations of the day, failing to make some really interesting choices that cause the characters – and in turn the audience – to wonder why patriarchal and cisgender norms should. be abolished. And he just feels, frankly, so masculine, both in his point of view and in his look at his actors. Which, when telling a story largely about women, is just disheartening and embarrassing in 2021.
While it’s interesting to see how this show evolves under the tutelage of its new showrunner (Little Ashes writer Philippa Goslett), what aired this weekend as a preview of what’s to come was a sum. generally drab in parts, inextricable from its brand Whedonism, which makes it feel like it’s dated to around 10-20 years. Visually great, the ultimately hokey, one-dimensional “reveal” at the end of the pilot doesn’t let us ask more questions and ask for more, it just lets us go, “eh”.
Spotlight on HBO Max: April 2021
