SummaryTeenage girls suddenly develop the power to electrocute people including the daughter (Auliʻi Cravalho) of the Mayor of Seatle (Leslie Mann) in the thriller series based on Naomi Alderman's novel of the same name.
SummaryTeenage girls suddenly develop the power to electrocute people including the daughter (Auliʻi Cravalho) of the Mayor of Seatle (Leslie Mann) in the thriller series based on Naomi Alderman's novel of the same name.
It’s hard to accept the world The Power presents, however well-researched it is. If not for this, the show would get an easy A-. The performances and storytelling are really that good. As such, it’s a B, with a zap, and definitely worth the watch.
Away from the core electrical condition being a somewhat jarringly obvious metaphor for the difficulties of puberty – Periods! Orgasms! Whatever next! – The Power is filled with thrills, and will appeal to a wide audience from teenage fans of Stranger Things to nostalgic adults fresh from bingeing Yellowjackets or The Last of Us.
By the back half of the first season, several characters’ stories have at last begun to intersect, in ways that promise intriguing overlaps in the future. But without a clear sense of where this show is headed, it may be too little too late.
The series only covers about a third of the book and would therefore seem to offer time to explore alternatives, even if ultimately they end the same way (electrical power corrupting as inevitably as any other, and all that). So far, however, the adaptation seems to be following the original’s path, which feels like a missed opportunity.
The Power falls short of expectations dramatically. Not for any lack of commitment by the cast, and neither for any shortage of real-world locations, which help to ground the events which unfold. Failure on this occasion feels more fundamental and comes down to originality. Combined with some sluggish pacing and frequently fragmented narrative choices, audiences will be hard pressed to make it beyond the third episode, which is ironic since that is when things start to get interesting.
It feels like it’s going to be an exhausting show to watch; for every moment that will be interesting and show the real change in the power dynamics between men and women, there might be two others that will feel like we’re barely in one story before we rocket to another.