I am totally hyped to find series finally making an effort (i.e. Under the Banner of Heaven) to treat religion as something else than either backwater culture or social pathology. I think the cop-thriller format is also very promising to explore the personal and introspective aspects of religion, which, compared to its collective or social aspect, rarely make it to the screen. Finally, I think Judaism is a rich and powerful tradition, at once familiar and strange ('uncanny') in our (post)Christian West, one deserving of more limelight than it usually gets (9 times out of 10, when Judaism shows up on screen, it's for a liberal Bar Mitzvah in an East Coast comedy). All this to say that I'm probably the right audience for this kind of show.
I am sorry to report, however, that the series has failed to meet my expectations. The heavy-handed writing (especially the characterisation), and the over-acting, give the whole thing a near-cartoonish tone despite its grimdark theme. Even the sound veer repeatedly on 90s kitsch, with reverbed duduk playing whenever the lead is 'intuiting'. In short, I was hoping for 'True Detective, but with Paul Auster instead of Pizzolatto', and what I got is 'Ghost Dog, but with Levinas instead of Laozu'.
Both leads are contrived. Wilbush is too otherworldly to be anything more than a deus ex machina (pardon the pun). Canfield is too starstruck to be more than a foil. The secondary characters are often formulaic (males are typically anguished and insecure, females tend to be distraught and helpless). Those who are interesting (i.e. Malzone) don't get enough screen-time. And the whole thing moves far too slowly, with not enough visual story-telling and too much time wasted on unnecessary dialogues.
Part of the problem with the writing appear to be the decision to focus on 'instinct' and 'intuition'. This is probably the team's attempt to connect Avraham's 'spirituality' and his investigative work. The idea that religion is 'irrational' or 'instinctive' is an atheist's idea of religion, and that's what this sometimes feel like: a 'magical Jew' dreamed up by WASPs, having 'visions', rather than a serious or heartfelt reflection on how Judaism fits in secular life. This is an unthreatening understanding of religion (protestantly reduced to 'feeling'), and a rather clichéd depiction of police investigation (psychometric flashbacks have grown a bit stale since the days of Samantha Waters).
The snippets of Jewish life (i.e. Sukkot or Shemura) are interesting additions, though so far they feel a little 'tacked on'. It seems this might however change in the next season. References to Judaic traditions are similarly decorative and a bit run-of-the-mill (Susannah & the elders, Cain & Abel, Jesus was a Rabbi, etc.) Avraham's Orthodoxy is mentioned but not really explored: Such common Biblical references make Avraham's Orthodoxy appear familiar and unchallenging, rather than give support to his unworldliness. Midrashic references or Hasidic tales might have been more interesting material to build on.
On the whole, I would watch a second season, because this is a subject dear to my heart, but I cannot say it is great television: unless you are interested in the resurgence of religion in popular culture, you probably won't be missing anything.
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