Pros: Interesting setting; colorful characters; Jason Momoa; staging battle scenes Cons: The very idea of survival of a blind race in a post-apocalyptic environment; some assumptions of the authors of the show “See” that are inexplicable by the laws of logic
Genre fiction
Creator Steven Knight
Cast: Jason Momoa (Baba Voss), Sylvia Hoeks (Queen Kane), Alfre Woodard (Paris), Hera Hilmar (Magra), Christian Camargo (Tamati June), Archie Madekwe (Kofun), Nesta Cooper (Haniwa), Aria Mozhin ( Heather Bucks), Marilee Talkington (Souter Bucks), etc.
Apple TV+ channel
Year of release 2019
Episodes 10
Site IMDb
According to the plot of See (in the Russian and Ukrainian segment of the Internet, the translation of the title varies from “See” and “Sight” to “Blindness”), after a certain global pandemic, the population of the Earth decreased to 2 million people, and those who survived lost the ability to see. In the centuries since the catastrophe, sight has become not just a legend, but a taboo, so the emergence of news of people who can see shook up the authorities and sent an army of witch-catchers in their wake. Two of the sighted are the newborn adopted children of Baba Voss, the stern military leader of one of the small tribes. Baba Voss, his wife Magra and several others lead the tribe away from the witchcatchers in an attempt to save the children and their own lives.
According to Apple, the main feature of the series, which should sell it and a subscription to Apple TV+ to viewers, is the participation in the project of Jason Momoa, who plays the role of Baba Voss, a stern giant with a dark past, who dearly loves his wife and is able, even without sight, to cut enemies into small slices with the help of huge sword. Well, the Aquaman star knows how to make an impression, perfectly getting into the images of completely insane characters who are ready to rip the heart out of the enemy’s chest and eat it. Moreover, Momoa already had to work in a serial format, and if, for a number of objective reasons, he did not stay long in Games of Thrones, he worked in the Frontier series from Discovery Canada for three whole seasons, albeit short ones. The problem with Jason Momoa is that directors give him roles that are painfully similar to each other. So in See, the actor plays, in fact, the same Declan Harp from Frontier – fair to his own, but merciless to his enemies.
However, the main problem of the See series is completely different. As with the story depicted in the film Bird Box, I have serious doubts about the survival of humanity if its members are deprived of their sight. Moreover, if in Bird Box people must walk with their eyes closed only on the street, then in See they are permanently deprived of vision. I doubt that in a world where everyone is blind, people would be able to hunt, build complex buildings and mechanisms, travel, and simply maintain a fire. It is quite difficult for the blind to navigate in a modern city, which is at least slightly adapted to their needs and is generally predictable and structured, what can we say about wild nature. Again, do not forget about the predators that were supposed to breed after a radical reduction in the population, about injuries, diseases, etc. In See, people not only survive, but also build settlements, sew neat clothes with the right selection of colors, and generally look neat, clean and tidy, which in itself is difficult when living in nature, not to mention if you you can’t see. And people in See are fighting. Blindly. And surprisingly, this particular part of the film does not look stupid.
The authors did a good job of thinking through what battles between armies of the blind might look like. In addition to the obvious focus on hearing, fighters here use modified weapons that allow them to cover a large area; they probe the space in front of them with whips; they learn about the enemy’s movements from special trained “listeners.” In villages, special ropes are stretched between buildings for orientation, knotted writing is used for communication, like the Incas, etc.
Overall, the spirit of the See series resembles a mixture of science fiction and fantasy. Although there are no obvious magical elements here, the primitive beliefs, superstitions and general atmosphere are closer to fantasy than science fiction. In general, the series resembles a mix of games from the Fallout and Horizon Zero Dawn series. No, there are no robotic animals in See, at least not yet, but a certain spirit of the game from Guerrilla Games is still present.
The Russian translation of See is one big problem. For obvious reasons, the characters in the series do not use the verb “to see”, its synonyms and their derivatives. However, in the Russian version, the characters regularly “see” someone, which sounds, to put it mildly, ridiculous. So it’s better to choose English with English subtitles.
See as a whole looks good if you turn off logical thinking in time and don’t think about how a hydroelectric power station worked for several centuries without maintenance, how blind people maintain a fire, cook food and don’t get burned, how they even hunt, etc., etc. Just don’t ask. Enjoy the picture, the crazy world of the series, in which the queen prays to electric turbines by masturbating, and the plastic we hate is one of the most useful materials in the household precisely because of its durability.
So far, only half of the season of See has been released, which has received muted responses from the press and viewers. It is unknown whether Apple plans to renew the show, given its considerable budget, including the staging of fight scenes, decorations and fairly good visual effects. However, even if Apple closes the show after the first season, it’s still worth watching Jason Momoa, while he’s heard cutting the throats of his opponents. He is so spontaneous and natural in his fighting rage. Not Blind Fury with a young Rutger Hauer, but not bad either.
Conclusion:
A colorful fantasy series in a post-apocalyptic setting, which is best not approached by the standards of logic
