The problem with Britannia – I mean, one of the problems, I don’t have time here to go into all of them – is how inconsistent it is. Episode 6 was good, almost interesting, episode 7 was a bore, and episode 8 goes back to almost interesting. The problem is I cannot trust them to deliver, so I’m forced to hope that what I’m about to watch is passable.
Some weeks I get it, some weeks I fight against falling asleep.
If we’re being perfectly honest, if I didn’t have to review the show, I would have stopped watching it long ago. There just isn’t enough here to keep me engaged. In this regard, at least, Game of Thrones did do a much better job. Before leaning hard on the “no one is safe” vibe, they actually made us care about the characters. A lot. That’s why we’re still mad about how it ended.
We don’t care about anyone and anything on Britannia. It’s mildly interesting to think we’re finally going to get an Antedia vs. Kerra confrontation in the finale, and hey, Cait literally hanged herself because she needed to get to the underworld (we assume she’ll be back, because, eh, not even this show is that nonsensical), and yet …that just made this episode kinda okay?
The plot was moving, at least. We don’t fully care where it’s moving, but it’s much, much better than last week.
But that’s an issue. No one seems to have a motivation, there are no relationships, romantic or otherwise, I’m really rooting for, and Aulus is a very, very boring antagonist. Veran isn’t much better. Hella is fun, but …other than likes killing, there’s little I can say about her.
Not that I really care that I don’t know her. This is just an academic discussion for me. Next week I’ll watch the season 1 finale and thank the Lord my long nightmare is over.
You could have been so much better, Britannia. You had the actors, you had the setting. But in the end, you didn’t have the writing. Not even close.
Britannia airs Sundays at 9/8c on Epix.
