Reviews

Full disclosure: I read the books first and was reasonably excited about the show. However, I just finished Season 1 and I won't be continuing.

The acting is OK- some of the casting is good, some just ok. I didn't have any problem with Teresa Palmer as some did. She does as well as she can with the script. The writing is lazy at best, simplistic and nonsensical in the extreme. It gets worse and worse as the season goes on.

The writing was just so basic. It was really disappointing. They took a great book and turned it into a hokey, low budget blah-fest.

The vampires rarely show their extreme strength or speed. None of the magic (there is very little) is explained beyond simplistic jargon. The power exchanges within the congregation are either completely opaque or clearly stated in stilted dialog, ("I am going to do this because this.") There is simply no finesse in what is supposed to be a high-stakes diplomatic situation.

Trying to spice things up (one imagines), the writers take MANY liberties with the plot and add all kinds of idiotic plot twists, but not in any kind of coherent manner.

Any sign of violence is glossed over and padded down. The (in the book) pivotal and horrible scene where Diana is tortured over and over to reveal her power comes off as plodding, almost boring in the show.

Diana herself seems to lack agency in many scenes- especially ones in which she is in danger. She is not shown as a fighter, but rather almost a bystander of the action around her. Her relationship with Matthew is basically him telling her what to do and her saying "wow. Ok, yes." with wide-eyed wonder. (Needless to say, this is not like the book.)

Apart from the first few episodes there is no suspense. No wonder. Unfortunately this show is not worth the time it took to make it.

I had many other problems with the production and editing, but I will spare you. If the show had been better written I would have gleefully ignored them, myself.