Series review: "See" is Apple's first big - and very promising - show

Luca Fontana

6.11.2019

Translation: machine translated

Blind humanity in a distant dystopian future: that's how to sum up 'See' in a nutshell. Apple's first major series scores with an exciting premise and a good tempo - or at least it does at first.

Only three of the eight episodes are available on Apple's new streaming service, Apple TV Plus. Each lasts an hour. That's not enough for a final judgement, but it is enough for a first impression. And it's a very good one.

First of all: this article contains no spoilers. So you'll only read here what we already know.

A flying start

Baba Voss (Jason Momoa), chief of the Alkenny tribe, is blind. So is the rest of his tribe. His country. The whole world. In a dystopian future, a few centuries from the present, a virus has not only wiped out most of humanity, it has blinded the few people left.

In this post-apocalyptic world, sight is a myth. Worse, it's witchcraft. Even talking about it is considered heretical. Because humans are convinced that we, their ancestors, almost destroyed the planet with the gift of sight. Faith says that only God's intervention prevented the worst.

But for now, Baba Voss is preparing his people for the arrival of the army. It is led by Tamacti Jun (Christian Camargo), tax collector and general of the witch-hunters. His arrival coincides with the birth of the twins, who are not Baba Voss's biological children, but whom Voss loves as his own. However, the arrival and the birth do not seem to be a coincidence. What Chief Alkenny still doesn't know is that the twins have the gift of sight.

Good rhythm. Only one weakness.

"See" offers viewers a searing start. A battle between blind men, fought with sticks and stones, but no less bloody or brutal than those in modern war films. Now that's what I call great art.

The series was shot in British Columbia, Canada. Impressive mountain landscapes and almost endless forests characterise the image. A rather hostile place for the blind, in fact. But Francis Lawrence, the director of "The Hunger Games", wants us to understand from the outset that nature has recovered. That she's better off without us sighted people. And that this future is so far removed from our present that the ruins of today's futuristic setting are already covered in moss and grass.

On the visual level alone, "See" is breathtakingly beautiful.

It's true that "See" bears a strong resemblance to the game "Horizon Zero Dawn". As in the game, the remaining one to two million humans have regressed into smaller tribes. Faith in the gods and their supposed will dominates their actions.

It is clear that in this world, sight is reserved for God. Or at least that's what Queen Kane constantly preaches, a sort of fanatical queen of the remaining people who hears God's voice through orgasms. It's as bizarre as it sounds. She's played by Sylvia Hoeks, who goes from angry maniac to calculated calm in a matter of seconds; like Eddie Redmayne in the wretched 'Jupiter Ascending'. To put it bluntly; no, that's not a compliment.

At no point does "See" try to make its antagonist, Queen Kane, interesting. She's just evil. That's all. And the audience simply has to hate her. Even hate her. She's not worried about the fear of the seers destroying the world again, she's worried about the fear of the seers challenging her power. But with her bizarre acting, she becomes a ridiculous character. The equivalent of King Joffrey in "Game of Thrones", without interesting villainous characters like Tywin Lannister or Ramsay Bolton, who make the opposing side exciting.

A major weakness of the series - thankfully the only one.

Most of the time we spend with Baba Voss, struggling to lead his Alkenny tribe to safety, while the witch-hunting general is always hot on their heels. Especially in the first episode, director Lawrence dictates an incredibly high tempo. In the second episode, this tempo is lost a little, but is found again in the third, which makes up for it with a brilliant fight scene. I don't want to give any more away.

It's the post-apocalypse you're after

Don't get me wrong: the potential of "See" is enormous. Mostly, because it shows itself in a post-apocalyptic universe that isn't overrun with zombies or degraded by a nuclear disaster.

Instead, the premise is so exciting that it makes you think before a second of the plot has even played out: how does a completely blind society work? Steven Knight, creator of the series and best known for "Peaky Blinders", doesn't think to give the answer in two minutes.

On the contrary. "See" literally wallows in the technical aspects of a blind population. How do you build a house? How do you communicate over long distances when nobody can read or write? How do you find food? The water supply. Locomotion on foot and horseback. Building bridges. Time and time again, I see that we have to find creative solutions to supposedly mundane problems. But that's not all. For example: How can two armies fight each other without seeing each other? Are the warriors in the front line afraid of the spears if they can't see them coming?

I can't help but be fascinated.

Also because "See" provides logical explanations for all the problems. For example, to the fact that some blind people have genetically developed extremely fine hearing over the centuries. Others sense fear. In the truest sense of the word. In this way, a society that, from a technological point of view, could at least be set in feudal times can be formed.

As a psychic, I find it hard to judge whether this is as realistic as series creator Steven Knight would have us believe. But the illusion - if it is one - works. And to bring everything closer to the viewers, director Lawrence needs very little exposition in the very first few seconds. According to the motto "show, don't tell". Because we, the viewers, understand how the world of 'See' works through actions and dialogue. Exactly as it should be.

Well done, Lawrence.

Overview: good start. Now the rest must follow.

I admit, there is a risk that "See" will, in future, rely too heavily on its premise of a blind society and become boring. But the end of the third episode opens up new possibilities with plenty of room for conflict: betrayal, a dark and secret past, forbidden love and even corruption through the gift of sight. Yes, the sequel is shaping up to be interesting.

Finally, "See" manages to create a huge apocalyptic world in a short space of time, one that attaches great importance to establishing a credible blind future society. The weak plot around Queen Kane is disappointing, but at least it doesn't spoil my enjoyment.

Or at least not yet.

"See" is streaming on Apple TV Plus. The first three episodes are already available. The remaining five will be added every Friday.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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