In the spirit of last week’s review, I thought I would take a similar approach here, airing out a few preliminary thoughts on the show, ahead of actually seeing episode four. Where do I think things are going or better put, where do I want to see them going?
I feel like things have gotten to the point with our heroes in Boulder that we can start showing some more glimpses at what’s going down in Vegas with our old chum, Randall Flagg. I think it’s about time for Lloyd to make a return to the forefront and this would probably be a good time to call the Trashcan Man to the stage. I think a major aspect of the book that appeals to me and is particularly relevant to the modern era is not just that it represents a clash between good and evil. That’s important to be sure but what I think the book hangs on in particular is the notion of what people do based on their devotion to or their fear of a leader who they see as larger than life. What, in the end will prevail? The love for Abigail Freemantle or the fear of Randall Flagg?
It will be interesting to see how that conflict is laid out in the show and in order to get to that point we really need to start seeing the other side of this cosmic equation.
I think we are going to see more fracturing in the community in Boulder as Nadine comes under more and more pressure, driving her closer to Harold and the cruel act which will bind the two of them together.
So how are we going to do?
Okay.
Well.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this is starting to feel very rushed. And I get it. I understand why this is the case and likely this was inevitable. It’s a massive book with a lot of characters and more scope than you can really do justice to - even in a nine episode limited series. This moment is inevitable for pretty much any fan of the book. But here we are.
I don’t feel like the rushed story is preventing me from understanding the plot - although I freely concede that I’m a terrible barometer for that issue. I’ve read the book so many times that the series could have been filmed in Dutch and I probably could still follow along. But I feel like the development of the relationships between these characters is getting short changed and that incredible landscape upon which King draws his stories is paying the price.
First off, be aware that there will be some spoilers here relating to plot points in both the book and the series. Not big ones but they’re in there. It just isn’t possible to discuss without them. So be warned.
In no particular order, here we go.
To lead off, I really don’t want to touch the issue of Judge Farris now being a woman, even though I’m sure some fans are irritated by that. This is one of those issues where all I can do is piss someone off by taking a stand on it. Most are either going to be opposed to the decision or they’re going to be poised with fists raised, ready to destroy anyone who complains. So I’m raising the issue here just to acknowledge that I’m aware of it but I really don’t have anything at stake when it comes to that argument. They did the same thing with Ralph Brentner, who is now a female character. Although in that case I think there is some ground for being annoyed, not by gender but by the fact that the character so far has been reduced to basically standing behind Mother Abigail and nodding at visitors.
As for other issues, the relationship between Nadine and Harold is just shoved in our faces like the vegetables we haven’t eaten yet. This dynamic is such a huge part of the book that it’s a shame the series hasn’t been able to really dive into it. On one hand we have Harold struggling with his own morality versus the betrayal he feels at Fran’s rejection of him and how the entire community seems against him. Of the pull he feels towards this one woman who shows desire for him. He’s in the most awkward stage of young life, growing up into an adult and trying to understand that in the middle of a world that is also struggling to define itself. Then with Nadine we see someone at war between her desire for Flagg, to be his and his alone but also she’s clearly terrified of him and it seems like all she wants is for someone to come along and knock her out of her path. The issue of her virginity being meant only for Randall Flagg is a major motivating factor that influences key moments in the book. All of that is absent so far.
​​​​​​​​
Harold and Nadine are both complex and interesting characters but in this adaptation they seem to be diminishing into little more than obligatory antagonists.
Moving on, there’s an important scene from the book in which the “committee” decides to send three spies from the free zone into Las Vegas to try and figure out what Randall Flagg is up to. Three members of the community are suggested as volunteers to be sent out on their own, unaware of the others. In the book, Nick is the one to suggest sending Tom Cullen. But in the series, Glen is the one who suggests it.
Why is that so important?
Because again, it chips away at the close relationship that’s supposed to exist between Nick and Tom, almost a psychic connection they share.
In the book, there’s something so beautifully tragic about how these two people manage to find each other at the end of the world, and of all two people it’s a deaf mute and someone who is developmentally disabled and can’t read. Their ability to understand each other causes them to be drawn closer together. Nick’s struggle to communicate with people drives a lot of his character but in the series, they shortcut around this challenge by just making Fran able to understand sign language.
Tom and Nick are on a long journey together before they even find Mother Abigail. And in a hugely important scene, Tom saves Nick from death by sensing an approaching tornado, getting the both of them to safety, just in time.
I realize this is hard to fit into the shorter time frame of the show but my point is that when Nick suggests Tom as one of the spies to send to Vegas, he does so knowing that his friend will likely die there. It is an extraordinarily profound act for him to do in light of how much he cares for Tom and it is a decision which is bitterly contested among the community’s leaders. But in the show, Glen just throws it out there and it’s barely debated. We see Nick and Tom on screen acting like they are close friends and we accept that because...well I guess we accept it because we are just told that they are close friends. I don’t feel the weight of their relationship like I do in the book.
This is all likely seeming like I’m contradicting myself. After all, I’m the guy who’s always hanging on about how movies and books are inherently different, and you can’t view them through the same lens. I do believe that and I think I’m holding true to that point. The reason why I’m holding the book and the show side by side for comparison is not to be like, “Look at how they’re ruining it!” My point is to show the difference when you have fundamentally the same story but in one case you’re leaning on character and in the other you’re leaning on plot.
I’m not saying that you can only do one or the other. But if your lean is more in the direction of plot, I think you often end up with a product that feels flat and driven more by superficialities. Leaning towards character gives your plot weight and significance and punch. The series doesn’t have to exactly replicate what happens in the book but I think there are ways for them to put character onto the center stage without sacrificing other aspects. When the characters themselves become the landscape, I don’t feel as invested in the story. And if I can slog that dead horse some more, I have to feel like this is amplified even more for viewers who have never read the book.
Basically what I’m trying to get across is this. Take a piece of fillet mignon and a piece of spam. You can cook them exactly the same but you aren’t coming out at the other end with the same product. And don’t read too much into the metaphor - I’m exaggerating to make my point. But for as much as it would have cost CBS to throw in another episode or two we could have had a tremendously larger amount of character development and this whole thing would come off as being more tight and cohesive in its dramatic weight.
Just my opinion, anyway.
And I will even lean in a more positive direction regarding the execution of the show. In the book, when the community in Boulder meets for the first time in assembly, the decision is made to ratify the constitution and the bill of rights. And at the meeting, the national anthem is sung. At first I was worried that the series was skipping over this.
Who cares, right? Can’t we just live without it? My fear was that in the divided world we live in, the knee-jerk reaction would be to dismiss such an open display of patriotism as “problematic”. The thing is, the point about that scene isn’t to be chest-thumping or pro-America. The point is seeing this community standing on the fragile ashes of the world, taking hands and coming together over what common beliefs they can find. It’s a moment that I think you need to have. As Glen says, after Stu suggests that such an action isn’t necessary as the community is made up of Americans already, “No, that’s where you’re wrong … We’re a bunch of survivors with no government at all … Government is an idea, Stu … people here are very soon going to wake up to the fact that … they can restructure society any way they want … we need to catch them before they wake up and do something nutty.”
Now as it turns out, the show doesn’t skip out on this moment. And I’ll go so far as to say that they might capture it a little more effectively by using the tools it has at its disposal. Instead of dry words on a page, they manage to capture the essence with a great sort of nod to Hendrix. It was a good button to draw things to a close in the episode and I liked that part quite a bit.
I don’t want this to sound like too much like a downer. I am still enjoying the show and of all the “made-for-television” adaptations I’ve seen of King’s work, this would be closer to the top of the pile than the bottom. Looking at this pragmatically, I think they have done a good job with taking the essential core of the book and molding the story into abbreviated form. It’s working and it’s not working.
The feeling I get when watching this series is like when you have a long conversation with an old friend that you haven’t seen in years, someone you’re so close with that a verbal shorthand has developed. You can start telling each other stories and immediately understand what the other is talking about.
It’s great for me and I enjoy it.
I just worry about the third person in the room. The one who’s grinning uncomfortably because they have no idea what we’re talking about but they also don’t really have anywhere to go.
We’re close to the halfway point and there’s still a lot of ground to cover. Still very little display of what’s going on in Vegas. Still no Trashie. Hopefully they’re coming soon. We haven’t crashed into the side of a mountain yet but our narrative is a lot closer to it than we were four weeks ago. It’s the easiest thing in the world to start a story. Bringing it all together into something cohesive is a different task, entirely.
Five more weeks to go.
My life for yours.