If The X-Men Went Steampunk Victorian England
There was a bit of drama surrounding the creation of this series and its links to Joss Whedon, but the series and its stars deserve a chance to stand on their own feet even without the controversial filmmaker. The premise of the show is somewhat stereotypical: everyday people suddenly developing superpowers, and society having to adapt and figure out what exactly happened (or why!). However, the setting of Victorian England and the central mystery of why these powers developed in the first place is what creates the most intrigue in the show so far.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
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The pilot episode takes us through what happened three years prior to the events of the the series and how society has adapted to the appearance of these “Touched”, as superpowered people are called. Some people have rejected their existence; others are concerned about why this is happening and what it means. For the Touched, however, the focus is mostly on adapting and surviving; while there are many who hide their abilities, there are some who cannot or some who choose to help those less fortunate than themselves. If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is essentially the plot of popular superhero franchises like the X-Men or the TV series Heroes.
On the more X-Men side, the main characters Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) run an orphanage which functions as a sanctuary for the Touched. We meet them as they are on their way to help a newfound Touched girl called Myrtle Haplisch (Viola Prettejohn) and bring her to their orphanage. Unbeknownst to them, however, another mysterious group has also come calling, and a fight ensues over the girl. Thanks to Amalia’s powers of precognition and Penance’s steampunk technology, they safely rescue Myrtle.
We are also introduced to Hugo Swann (James Norton), who is an aristocratic playboy who runs a mysterious club of currently unknown intentions, and his friend Augustus Biglow (Tom Riley), who is the brother of Lavinia Biglow, the wealthy, wheelchair-bound woman who funds the orphanage sanctuary for the Touched. Lastly, the episode establishes Maladie, a crazy Touched woman who is wanted for a string of murders and the police officer chasing her called Frank Mundi (Ben Chaplin).
Seeing as this is the first episode, there’s a lot of character introductions and plot set up going on, so it wasn’t the most riveting story by any means, and fairly predictable. A lot of character stereotypes are relied on: the brooding, impulsive Amalia, the overly-cheerful best friend Penance, the rich and witty spinster Lavinia a la Little Women‘s Aunt Josephine…the list goes on. Maladie is set up as the obviously-going-to-be-sympathetic baddie from the get-go, and surely as the series progresses, the audience will supposed to fall in love with the mass murderer, kind of like Helena from Orphan Black.
Other than the character introductions, there were two main action sequences that added some flavor to the episode. The first was the run in with Myrtle’s would-be kidnappers, and the second was a meeting at the opera between Team Main Characters and Team Maladie. Amalia succeeded to save Myrtle from the mystery kidnappers but failed to save the Touched opera singer Mary Brighton (Eleanor Tomlinson). The action sequences are somewhat basic, with the first being a classic chase scene in a buggy-turned-steampunk-car and the second a one-on-one battle with hardly any powers involved, but seeing as it is only the first episode, I expect more elegant choreography and creative uses of Touched abilities as it goes on.
The Good and the Bad
What I Liked:
- The setting – there’s a lot to be gained from exploring the social structures of this era as well as the aesthetics of the times, plus steampunk tech!
- The mystery – what is the truth about the Touched? Who are these mysterious visitors who bestowed these powers to humans?
- This line: “Oh-no-she-fell!” from Penance at the opera – so unconvincing yet a heartfelt, hilarious moment that tells you so much about Penance, and her relationship with Amalia.
What Needs More:
- The characters – so far, cliche. No one really stands out yet, although so far I find Penance to be decently likable.
- The plot – uses too many well-known tropes in modern-day superpowers series: powered vs non-powered politics, groups of powered people fighting over certain powers…might as well have named the orphanage “Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters” or “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”.
- Amalia – she’s got the mystery and a very general desire to protect the Touched, but not much else going for her. As the central character, if the series is to succeed, she needs to develop more, and quickly.