My Thoughts on. . .
Tales From Alternate Earths 2
“Imagine a world where...”
How often a really good adventure has started with those words. Well, in “Tales
From Alternate Earths 2” we have a selection of stories that do just that,
bring us the “what if” history – reality – folklore and myth had turned out
that little bit differently. In doing so, we are presented with a medley of
philosophical and moral dilemmas that make you realize, “Wow, I never thought
about that!”
Some are clever, witty and amusing; others, poignantly insightful. A few, downright
disturbing and provocative . . . and all the more so when you appreciate that
all it would have taken for those alternate realities to exist is a little
pinch of circumstance here or a twist of fate there.
Overall, an entertaining
collection of alternative realities you need to experience.
Ozark
The latest
series of Netflix's gritty Missouri-based crime drama – Ozark – is back with a
darker and much stronger attitude permeating the script. Needless to say, events
soon force the money-laundering Byrde family to the brink of collapse, as they
struggle to not only cope, but also survive in a criminal underworld filled
with drug cartels, deranged hillbillies, crooked government agents, and narcissistic
politicians.
Picking up where last season left off, Marty and Wendy Byrde
continue to try and hold their heads above the water while navigating as safe a
course as possible with a remorseless drug cartel on their backs. The thing is,
they don’t just expect Marty to launder money for them, he’s now got to build
them a casino too. Because of this, season two sees Marty working much closer
with the Snells – gun-toting rednecks who own the land on which the casino will
be built. They epitomize all that can go wrong, for they demand allegiance,
respect and “making bank” above all else. Oh, and they murdered one of the
cartel’s leading generals at the end of last season . . . so don’t expect
things to go any smoother this time around.
A recipe for disaster? It sure
is, especially with the addition of a formidable threat in the
form of the cartel's top lawyer, Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) who watches
their every move. The Byrdes’ children, Jonah
(Skylar Gartner) and his sister Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) develop their own
arcs. A sensitive little boy, Jonah goes on to reveals a talent for following
in his father’s footsteps in a rather ingenious way – you’ll see. His sister,
however, becomes something of an aggravating pain in the ass, whose behavior
starts putting the entire family in danger.
Marty reacts in his usual
stoic way, bottling everything away while juggling million-and-one pieces of an
every increasingly unstable jigsaw. Of course, he starts to crack. Step in
Wendy, who manages to take charge of an increasingly erratic situation. Drawing on her experiences as a political
campaigner back in Chicago, she skillfully manipulates local kingpin Charles Wilkes
into exercising his influence on the Missouri movers and shakers.
It’s true to say that successful shows can often stumble with the
difficult second season. But not here. Ozark has remained spellbinding thanks
to some fresh new faces on the lake, and Wilkes is one of them. Nevertheless,
its Janet McTeer’s vicious portrayal of Helen Pierce who stands out in my book.
Sweeping in and out of everyone’s lives, her clinically cold and callous
application of simple cartel logic helps her cut through all the crap the
Byrde’s have managed to surround themselves in, to lay down the law and steer
them toward the only course open to them if they want to stay alive.
And as you’ll see, she is ruthless. Not everyone survives this
second season!
An outstanding, captivating and vivid story that keeps
you glued from start to finish. And even better, the acting is so good, it makes
you feel as if all the melodrama and bloodshed is eerily plausible.
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