As one of the most important dramas of HBO today, "War of Inheritance" has been affirmed by various critics including Emmy Awards since its second season. A series of awards such as the episode and the actor, the American Critics TV Awards for Best TV Series and so on. I personally watched the second season just like when I watched "Vice President". Now this summer vacation, HBO releases the third season promo. I would like to say that I still have to review the show and watch the first season. NS. I found that the first season was far more exciting than I thought, so I got the idea of writing a long review for this show. (This article has very little spoiler)
1. Father and Oedipus plot
"War of Inheritance", such a tacky name, is also only HBO can handle such a theme, making it exquisite rather than dog-blooded.
This story about the struggle of media companies is of course the same as we imagined in terms of character setting. An elderly father, three sons and a daughter who are more unreliable than one. In fact, to be honest, it is estimated that it can quickly attract the eye even if it is going to be a gorgeous dog-blood route, especially this kind of direction tends to become popular in China. With a swipe of HBO, this drama is completely different in depth and level. Of course, there are many reasons. Intensive line input, actors restrained and precise performances, and one of the important reasons why I did not go to the blood of dogs. In terms of character setting, the role of father is not "retreating behind the scenes", but has become the most important part of this succession battle.
Now I’m looking back at the first episode. Actually, this pilot is really beautifully written. All the characters, especially the relationship between the characters, are actually laid out in this episode. The contradiction between the second son Kendall Roy and his father Logan Roy is intertwined with light and dark, and it will also run through the entire series, becoming The most exciting stroke.
As soon as the whole drama comes up, all the children, as we thought, are secretly planning to prepare to take over the company and become the new CEO, waiting for each other's time and competing with each other. In the first episode, my father said in front of everyone that he would continue to be in power. Until the end of the first episode, my father suffered a stroke on the helicopter, which made us think that this drama is still going to move toward the four sons seizing power. .
But looking back now, none of the four children can calm down in terms of character settings. Even if they move to each other, it is difficult to have any in-depth skills. If you write down like this, the story will inevitably move towards The more and more ridiculous and frivolous route, no pillar of the whole show can support its thickness. Therefore, in the fourth episode, when the father forced his body and said the phrase "I'm back" at the charity dinner, the good show really kicked off. The fight between the sons was resolved, instead it turned into an "Oedipus" plot gradually intensified by the second son Kendall, that is, how he would implement his "father-killing" plan under the huge shadow of his father, which also became The best part of the show. Especially in the second season, the role of the father is more important. His control of the atmosphere and people's hearts is far beyond the children's ability. We will find that the setting of the role of "father" makes this drama true. The key to being different.
Two, an unsettled ups and downs
If we regard American TV series as an extended version of the movie, it is not bad for most American TV series to have one or two "climaxes" in a season. After all, a lot of episodes are needed to act as a "convergence". effect. Each episode of "War of Inheritance" is like a compact classic drama, and must strictly follow the four steps of "starting, inheriting, turning and reunion". Of course, this is even more so on a large scale.
So we will find that each episode is basically developed with the "space" of the climax as the center. Charity dinner, Thanksgiving, birthday, farm villa, to the final wedding of the first season. As mentioned above, the daily temperament of the whole drama is not "release" but "retraction", so when everyone gathers from different "spaces", the explosion will be more obvious. From a large perspective, the sixth episode of the first season of no-confidence vote and the tenth episode of the wedding, deserve a high score of 9 points or more on the single episode on imdb, because from a technical perspective, the screenwriter is really too strong. .
I can understand that some viewers compare this drama with another American drama I love, "Development Obstructed". After all, both dramas are family businesses, and there are a lot of absurdities in them. But "Hindered Development" is a comedy after all, and its absurdity is the kind that can be completely released; the good thing about "War of Inheritance" is that it is a serious drama, and its absurdity will dispel its tension as a serious drama. So you will see that many plots are absurd and black humor, but they do not detract from its overall temperament. This is a very rare point in my opinion.
Three, must recommend the soundtrack
Since the superb acting skills of the actors in this play need to be tasted by you, I will not repeat them here. To say something else, it is enough to match the screenwriting level of this play, including all kinds of service, as well as the opening song that I have to mention.
I haven't heard such an excellent opening song for a long time. For this reason, I specially asked the composer Nicholas Britell to share his ideas when composing the music on YouTube. This opening song, of course, is simple and rude, as many netizens say, I heard the ringing of money, but when I first heard it, the most intuitive thing was that after a few high pitches fell, various semitones Uneasy and shaky feeling caused by use. Of course, the tune must also convey that this is a "vanity fair game", so according to the composer Nicholas, he used the classic harmony in classical music to perform, and let the tune retain its luxurious and solemn temperament, so to speak. , The temperament that this entire TV series wants to present is fully expressed in the piano and violin in these sections.
If you want to get on the bus when the third season of HBO is released, I really recommend this summer vacation to feel the charm of this show.
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