jentribue

Like many, I read the book while I was enthusiastically waiting for the show to premier and I became so captivated that I read the second as well. I have loved the show. People romanticize the Victorian period and our history and this show shines a light on the realities of that time, the seedy underbelly, the corruption, ignorance and greed. I struggle sometimes with the acting and relating to the characters but the book isn't about over the top characters emoting over the pages. It's a psychological drama about what occurs in the mind. I would assume emoting everywhere each week isn't an accurate portrayal of the story. For instance, many say that Dakota Fanning's portrayal is monotone. Think about this: Her character is the FIRST woman to work at the NY Police. How far would her character get if she was super emotional? To achieve that, you would have to constantly be on guard, no react emotionally to avoid the dismissal she would get for being a "hysterical woman." Kriezler lives in his head, so how emotional can he be? As of episode seven, he's starting to take inventory and learn to reach out, but until now, he's been so deep into his study of others, it hasn't occurred to him to reflect on himself or his own feelings. Would an emotional over the top performance be accurate of him? And John? He is the most open of the characters, in my opinion, but he's drugged, knocked out and accosted repeatedly. That's got to weight on him. He's also trying to fit in with the group and establish his own credibility so being overtly emotional wouldn't seem to gain that end. While we have become accustomed to being "entertained" with over the top emotional responses that create edge of our seats voyeuristic drama (cough reality shows cough), that's not this story. This story is about what makes a person do what the killer does and how far do we need to go to think as they do.

I have enjoyed this series. I do wish to see more of the detective brothers but the series isn't over yet. We are just getting to the real drama of the story so buckle up because you haven't even MET the real killer. What has happened up until now has just been a small taste of what's to come (according to the book). You'll get your drama.