This series is hard to watch. Few of the characters are sympathetic- I would slap most of them upside the head and tell them to get over themselves-like Olympia Dukakis in "Moonstruck".
Campion gets raves for her realism and willingness to dive deep into the dark soul of humanity, but her work is so hopeless and portrays people as essentially doomed. Are there no decent humans in the antipodes? Or are the kind ones just phonies and weak suckers in her world? Minor characters are usually assholes. Even what you'd consider the "good guys" - the ones you want to root for- are not very likable. And the bad guys are truly abhorrent. Matt, his cretinous sons and Al in the first one, and Al again briefly and horribly here.
But-
If there was ever a more repulsive and disgusting character than the odious Puss, I haven't seen one in a long time. He uses a difficult childhood as an excuse to engage in the most narcissistic, barbaric, exploitative, selfish, misogynistic, immature, cruel, nihilistic and anti-social behavior. His entire existence is a giant tantrum against the circumstances of his birth. And he is repulsive looking, and it's hard to understand how his charisma could attract all of these women who seemed to fawn at him and hang on his every word. Psychology studies tell us that this is typical behavior of damaged people being attracted to psychopaths like him.
Watching this show, I can't help thinking about how damaged people who do not suffer serious consequences for awful behavior just create more damaged people. Those who think that people like Puss should be excused for the harm they do because they were victims themselves are idiots. Most such people can still choose - and there are tons of examples of better choices to make in today's connected world. The victim card should be played to mitigate the consequences, not excuse the behavoir or leave crimes unpunished. It should be used to determine if a person gets treatment, or goes to prison, not innocence or guilt. Bail should not be waived for a person who will continue to do harm- regardless of how bad his life is. It just creates more potential for new victims who may in turn harm others.
Campion gets raves for her realism and willingness to dive deep into the dark soul of humanity, but her work is so hopeless and portrays people as essentially doomed. Are there no decent humans in the antipodes? Or are the kind ones just phonies and weak suckers in her world? Minor characters are usually assholes. Even what you'd consider the "good guys" - the ones you want to root for- are not very likable. And the bad guys are truly abhorrent. Matt, his cretinous sons and Al in the first one, and Al again briefly and horribly here.
But-
If there was ever a more repulsive and disgusting character than the odious Puss, I haven't seen one in a long time. He uses a difficult childhood as an excuse to engage in the most narcissistic, barbaric, exploitative, selfish, misogynistic, immature, cruel, nihilistic and anti-social behavior. His entire existence is a giant tantrum against the circumstances of his birth. And he is repulsive looking, and it's hard to understand how his charisma could attract all of these women who seemed to fawn at him and hang on his every word. Psychology studies tell us that this is typical behavior of damaged people being attracted to psychopaths like him.
Watching this show, I can't help thinking about how damaged people who do not suffer serious consequences for awful behavior just create more damaged people. Those who think that people like Puss should be excused for the harm they do because they were victims themselves are idiots. Most such people can still choose - and there are tons of examples of better choices to make in today's connected world. The victim card should be played to mitigate the consequences, not excuse the behavoir or leave crimes unpunished. It should be used to determine if a person gets treatment, or goes to prison, not innocence or guilt. Bail should not be waived for a person who will continue to do harm- regardless of how bad his life is. It just creates more potential for new victims who may in turn harm others.
