Marvel's Inhumans, or simply Inhumans, is an American television series created for ABC by Scott Buck, based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The series is a Marvel and IMAX Entertainment project, produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television in association with Devilina Productions. Buck serves as showrunner.
The series is centered on Black Bolt, portrayed by Anson Mount, and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family. Serinda Swan, Ken Leung, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Ellen Woglom, and Iwan Rheon also star. Marvel Studios announced an Inhumans film in 2014 as part of their Phase Three slate of films, with the species first introduced to the MCU in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The film was removed from Marvel Studios' slate in April 2016, and the Inhumans series was announced that November, to be partly filmed using IMAX cameras. Buck joined the series in October, and Mount was cast in February 2017. Filming took place from March to June 2017, at the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point airfield in Kalaeloa, Hawaii and various locations on the island of Oahu.
Inhumans debuted on IMAX screens on September 1, 2017 to unfavorable reviews, the first live-action television series to debut in IMAX. The theatrical run lasted two weeks, before the series premiered on ABC on September 29, and is scheduled to run for eight episodes.
Premise
After a military coup, the Inhuman Royal Family escape to Hawaii where they must save themselves and the world.
Cast and characters
Main
Anson Mount as Black Bolt:
The Head of the Inhuman Royal Family and King of Attilan, whose voice can cause destruction with the slightest whisper. Black Bolt went through the Terrigenesis process when he was 14. Showrunner Scott Buck said it was "a little bit difficult" to write for the character since he "does not speak, but yet he is our hero and the center of the show, so it does certainly present challenges in how you tell his story." Buck specifically ruled out the series using voice over, with Black Bolt instead seen communicating via sign language. Mount created his own sign system since the character is not from Earth and would not know Earth-based systems such as American Sign Language (ASL), and also studied orchestra conductors. Premiere director Roel Reiné told Mount to just use 15 or 16 signs, but Mount was intent on putting in the extra time to create an actual language, and borrowed the underlying rules of ASL but then "double-check[ed] my signs against ASL to make sure there is no overlap." This led to Mount creating a document for his language with over 50 pages to stay consistent. Sometimes the script would not include any specific lines for the character, and Mount would develop what he was signing himself. Mount felt that if he could develop the language over several seasons, it could become a full conlang equivalent to Klingon or Dothraki. Buck called Black Bolt enigmatic and fascinating because "a lot of times, we don't know what he's thinking." Lofton Shaw portrays a young Black Bolt.
Serinda Swan as Medusa:
The wife of Black Bolt and Queen of Attilan, who has the ability to control and move her hair. Swan described "an immense codependence between" Medusa and Black Bolt, with Medusa helping Black Bolt create his sign language and forming a connection together that creates "this symbiosis that keeps them intertwined". Swan took extra care to act alongside the character's hair as an additional appendage, before CGI was added to augment the 4 pounds (1.8 kg) wig she wore on set. Swan said that Medusa's hair would "have moods" as in the comics, and that it would move and react differently in various situations, such as being more restrained in public so as to not be distracting to others. V.I.P. portrays a young Medusa.
Ken Leung as Karnak:
Black Bolt's cousin and closest adviser, who can "see the fault in all things", avoiding errors, and acts as the Royal Family's strategist and philosopher. Executive producer Jeph Loeb explained that because of Karnak's ability, "everything he sees is flawed, so nothing is quite good enough for him. It’s at the point where the glass isn’t half empty, it’s shattered."
Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon: Black Bolt's cousin and leader of Attilan's Royal Guard, who can generate seismic waves with his cattle-like hooves. Ikwuakor described Gorgon as "the guy who kind of acts before he thinks."
Isabelle Cornish as Crystal:
Medusa's sister and the youngest member of the Royal Family, who has the ability to control the elements. Cornish said Crystal is "really coming of age" and is going on "the journey of really coming into her adulthood and discovering more of her powers and things like that."
Ellen Woglom as Louise:
A human from Earth who works at Callisto Aerospace Control Center with a personal passion for space and things related to the Moon, and has been exposed to the Terrigen Mist. Woglom described Louise as "incredibly smart, incredibly focused" and a "fun", "quirky" character. She added that Louise "sort of has blinders on" about her love of space and the Moon, which "can sometimes cause her to maybe not pick up on social cues all the time, or maybe say things without thinking about them first." Buck noted Woglom's character was not from the comic books, but rather created for the series.
Iwan Rheon as Maximus:
Black Bolt's brother, who has a strong devotion to the people of Attilan and a desire to be king himself. Maximus lost the Inhuman gene when going through the Terrigenesis process, which led to the character being looked down on by other Inhumans. Rheon said Maximus is the "runt of the family which is kind of hard for him. Without his brother he'd be working down in the mines ... because he's the King's brother, he got pity, basically." Buck called Rheon's version of the character "a different, more complicated, more real, and more compelling version" than the comic counterpart as the writers "didn't want to create just a simple villain who's evil for the sake of being evil",with Rheon adding that "there are no villains ... It's not black and white. It's a lot of shades to the characters." He also compared the relationship between Maximus and Black Bolt to that of Loki and Thor in the MCU films. Rheon, who is Welsh, gave Maximus "an America-ish twang", but felt "it would be an incredible coincidence if everyone on the Moon had American accents" and so also kept the accent "a bit Moon-ish". Aidan Fiske portrays a young Maximus.
Crystal's 2,000-pound (910 kg) teleporting canine companion Lockjaw also appears in the series, created through CGI. Reiné stated that "nobody has done a full CG character on a TV series before. So Lockjaw is the first. It's a big responsibility for all of us." Mount called Lockjaw the "goofy sidekick", but felt that he had been integrated into the plot rather than just used as comic relief. Buck felt Lockjaw's storylines would "always [be] fairly simple" as a way to ensure the writers "don’t try to pretend that he’s anything other than" a dog and pull focus from the other characters.
Recurring
Sonya Balmores as Auran: A compatriot of Maximus, who becomes the new Head of the Royal Guards on Attilan during his coup. Balmores described Auran as "tough", "no nonsense" and someone who "get[s] the job done, whatever the job might be."
Henry Ian Cusick as Evan Declan: A geneticist who has been testing Inhumans on Earth.
Guest
Mike Moh as Triton: Black Bolt's cousin, who has the ability to live underwater. It took Moh three to five hours every day to have his makeup applied.
Nicola Peltz as a human recently transformed into an Inhuman on Earth.
Marco Rodriguez as Kitang: The head of the Genetic Council.
Tom Wright: The head of the Callisto Aerospace Control Center.
Michael Buie as Agon: Black Bolt and Maximus' father and former king of Attilan.
Tanya Clarke as Rynda: Black Bolt and Maximus' mother and former queen of Attilan.
Ari Dalbert as Bronaja: A young Inhuman who has visions of the future.
Jason Quinn as Pulsus: An Inhuman with electric based powers.
Ty Quiamboa as a surfer who befriends Gorgon.
Moses Goods as Eldrac: An Inhuman "Doorway" that can teleport people anywhere.
Olo Alailima
Bridger Zadina
Sumire Matsubara
Jamie Gray Hyder
Michael Trotter
Ptolemy Slocum
Chad Buchanan
Episode Summaries:
Episode 1 - "Behold the Inhumans!"
During a mission on the island of Oahu to find a newly transformed Inhuman, Triton is attacked by a strike team, and escapes by jumping into the ocean. In Attilan, the secret city of the Inhumans on the Moon, Black Bolt, Medusa and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family learn that a recently destroyed Earth rover might reveal their society to the humans, before attending a Terrigenesis ceremony for two members of society, where they are exposed to Terrigen Mist to reveal their Inhuman powers. Later, Black Bolt's brother Maximus alerts the other members of the Royal Family to Triton's mission. Unhappy to hear Triton may be dead, Gorgon heads to Earth to find him. Maximus begins a coup on Attilan, including having the same strike team attempt to kill Gorgon on Earth. Karnak learns of what Maximus is doing, and begins to warn Medusa and her sister Crystal. Maximus attacks and shaves Medusa's head to suspend her powers. Crystal has her dog Lockjaw send Karnak to Earth for safety, and does the same with Medusa and Black Bolt.
Episode 2 - "Those Who Would Destroy Us"
Realizing they have all been stranded and separated on Earth, Karnak and Medusa begin to search for Black Bolt to reunite with him, while Gorgon waits for the fight to come to him. Crystal contacts Medusa on Earth, which is tracked by Auran. Louise investigates the missing Moon rover and learns of four strange anomalies coming from the Moon and landing in Hawaii. After his arrival on Earth, Black Bolt is arrested by the Honolulu Police. Auran finds and engages Medusa, who stabs her and escapes. Maximus addresses the people of Attilan as their new king, while Auran wakes up and is seen healing her stab wound.
Episode 3 - "Divide - And Conquer"
In flashbacks, a teenage Black Bolt (before undergoing his Terrigenesis) has no interest in the throne, which Maximus craves. After the brothers go through Terrigenesis, Kitang suggests locking Black Bolt for Attilan's protection, rejected by Agon. In the present, Black Bolt's fellow inmate Sammy is contacted by Evan Declan and given instructions to befriend the former. Louise watches the prison hoping to gain information while Medusa learns of Black Bolt's incarceration and heads there on foot. A prison riot ensues and Sammy breaks out Black Bolt, revealing himself as an Inhuman with heat powers. They board Declan's helicopter and escape. Medusa fails to reach them in time and forces a curious Louise to help her chase them. Maximus tasks Auran to kill Gorgon, sending a team, including the deadly Mordis. Her party forces Gorgon's to retreat. Crystal publicly opposes Maximus as king and escapes Attilan with Lockjaw. Maximus uses the chance to convince the Genetic Council of the Royal Family's incompetence and strengthen his position. Arriving on Earth with Crystal, Lockjaw is wounded in a car crash collision. All the while, Karnak is captured by a group of drug suppliers, who decide to keep him alive.
Episode 4 - "Make Way For... Medusa"
Declan, who is working for Maximus, takes Black Bolt and Sammy to his facility, to harvest Black Bolt's DNA for another Terrigenesis on Maximus. Maximus orders Tibor to prepare for the upcoming Terrigenesis, while his guards kill the rest of the Genetic Council. After losing the helicopter, Medusa and Louise manage to locate Declan's facility. Black Bolt and Sammy deduce Declan's malevolence and escape before being confronted by Auran's party. Medusa and Louise arrive as Mordis fires at Black Bolt, causing an explosion. Black Bolt escapes with Medusa and Louise, taking an unconscious Locus, a member of Auran's party with the power of locating people, with them to help find their family members. Meanwhile, Gorgon deserts his party in order to protect them and find Karnak, who begins to develop a romantic relationship with Jen, while Reno kills their fellow farmer. Elsewhere, Crystal meets Dave, who gets Audrey to examine and help Lockjaw.
Episode 5 - "Something Inhuman This Way Comes"
Karnak and Jen escape from Reno, who wounds her. Reno's customer kills him for his unreliability and orders his men to find the pair. Locus criticizes Black Bolt's politics, locating Karnak using her powers. Auran awakens in Declan's facility and secretly contacts Maximus, who orders her to let Declan continue researching on Black Bolt. After recapturing Sammy and learning of his powers, Mordis' party reunites with Auran, who decides to use Declan and Sammy to lure back Black Bolt. After stitching Jen's wounds, Karnak returns to the camp with her. They are later captured by the customers, only for Gorgon to arrive and rescue them. Escaping, Gorgon and Karnak are reunited with Black Bolt and Medusa. A dying Locus tells Medusa of Crystal's presence on Oahu and asks Black Bolt to reconsider his policies. Maximus decides to send more Inhumans to help Auran. Tibor encounters the opposition, who ask him to help overthrow Maximus. Audrey cures Lockjaw, who teleports Crystal and Dave away. The pair continues bonding. In flashbacks, Gorgon and Karnak scold each other for extreme behavior.
Episode 6 - "The Gentleman's Name is Gorgon"
Following a nightmare involving his family, Maximus has Eldrac send the supporting team to Declan's facility with one of them being Bronaja's father Loyolis. Auran sends the message to Medusa. Black Bolt takes Medusa and Louise to find Crystal while tasking Gorgon and Karnak to rescue Declan and Sammy. Crystal creates lightning to signal the others. Gorgon and Karnak defeat Auran's party and rescue the duo. Mordis tries to kill himself and everyone. Gorgon sacrifices himself and Mordis to save the others by collapsing the facility. Black Bolt's party reunites with Crystal and Lockjaw and go to Declan's facility. Audrey brings the police to Dave's barn to expose the Inhumans. Pretending to be Dave's girlfriend, Louise assures the police that Audrey was only being jealous. Meanwhile, Maximus figures out the assassination attempt by Tibor and the rebels. After killing Tibor and having the rebels taken away, he has Bronaja pledge his loyalty to him.
Episode 7 - "Havoc in the Hidden Land"
After Gorgon's sacrifice, Auran and her party are returned to Maximus to show good faith. She is disillusioned when she learns that Maximus' deeper agenda is a second Terrigenesis. Triton is revealed to be alive and reunites with the Royal Family, who learn that Black Bolt had predicted the coup and is prepared. The Family returns to Attilan for a parley with Maximus. Black Bolt agrees to allow Maximus to undergo Terrigenesis in exchange for reclaiming the throne. After securing Declan, Maximus violates the pact and demands the Family leave. Having learned from Declan's research, Karnak convinces Auran to give him her DNA so that he can use it to revive Gorgon through a second Terrigenesis, which seemingly fails. Triton kills Maximus’ bodyguards, captures him and sends him back to Black Bolt, who prepares to kill him before he tells Black Bolt that Attilan's survival depends on his, due to a failsafe. Gorgon awakens with a premature mind, to Declan's dismay.
Episode 8 - "...And Finally: Black Bolt"
Gorgon kills Declan and escapes. Karnak is arrested and locked in the "quiet room", later joined by Gorgon, whom he helps remember the past slightly. Maximus reveals that the failsafe needs his fingerprints once an hour to stabilize. Black Bolt plans an evacuation of the people to Earth if he can not topple Maximus. Crystal tells Eldrac of the plan. Maximus is rescued by the Royal Guards, finding Declan's body and no Terrigen crystals, which Medusa entrusts to Louise on Earth. Her boss agrees to provide settlement for the people of Attilan with help from his superiors. Karnak and Gorgon break out and join the Family. Medusa meets with Maximus and tries to reason with him, but to no avail. The Family broadcasts Attilan, revealing Maximus' preferences and offering the evacuation. Disillusioned, Auran deserts Maximus and joins the evacuation. Black Bolt confronts Maximus, who reveals that he faked the letter from Agon and Rynda involving Black Bolt's brain surgery, leading to the pair's deaths. Black Bolt locks Maximus in the bunker and leaves by Eldrac, who dies with Attilan. A cryptic message is shown on the Throne of Attilan. Now on Earth, Black Bolt and Medusa address every Inhuman present.
The Verdict:
Episode 1 - "Behold the Inhumans!"
I felt sorry for newcomers coming into this show without any prior knowledge of these characters and the MCU's treatment of Inhumans in this continuity in Agents of SHIELD up to this point. This show starts off with a lot of "assuming" that their target audience are familiar with these characters and are thrown head first into this world. Agents of SHIELD fans should be familiar with the fear of racism and discovery towards Inhumans by humankind, but to say that they have been on the dark side of the Moon (much like the comics) all of this time is a bit of a stretch after everything that has gone down in this timeline to this point without their intervention nor discovery until now, especially after the last few Inhuman-heavy storylines on Agents of SHIELD up to this point.
I was live-tweeting during this premiere during it's initial broadcast and found myself clarifying a lot of information that seemed to be glossed over in this premiere.
Black Bolt - Superhuman strength, flight, and endurance - consider him on Hulk and Thor's tier of power. His voice alone can destroy an entire city with it's destructive force.
Medusa - Black Bolt's wife. Can manipulate her hair at will to the extremes much like Mr. Fantastic's elasticity.
Maximus - Genius intellect, but suffers from the same jealousy complex that is found between Loki and Thor in this continuity. As a result, he is always plotting for his own benefit, often bending others to his will to do his bidding and attempt to overthrow his brother, Black Bolt, for the throne.
Karnak - Masterful tactician. Adept at hand to hand combat as well. He can pinpoint any weakness in structures or even any individual.
Crystal - Medusa's sister. Can control elements - lightning, fire, and ice. Her powers are a far cry from Storm's weather manipulation as she lacks Storm's control and experience.
Gorgon - Half-Man/Half-Goat appearance. His powerful hooves allow him to create shockwaves and earthquakes by stomping the ground. He has some superhuman strength and endurance as well.
Triton - Amphibious by nature. He cannot survive outside of water without special equipment crafted for him or he would perish.
This continuity seems to establish that Maximus is plotting for the better of Attilan's survival, but he is going about his plans the wrong way - another cliched theme that has been overused for the MCU up to this point.
Huge graphical oversight in this episode. When the soldiers ambush Gorgon, his feet don't have the hooved covering on them at all and he stomps the ground with NORMAL boots on to knock them to the ground. I will admit that Karnac's fight scene was pretty damn awesome along with the soundtrack for this episode.
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| Medusa's hair could have been a bit longer for my taste but what they did here works. |
I was thinking that Medusa's hair was going to look as cheesy as Spawn's cape from his film in the mid-90's but I was happy to see that it wasn't that case at all. I was expecting a bit more force from it in her fight sequence, but I'll take what we were given here as a taste of her powers. It was a damn shame that she was shaved bald and rendered powerless (something a lot of casual viewers didn't seem to understand... i.e. No hair, no powers. Simple.) in a prompt manner here in this premiere during Maximus' coup.
Until they spoke her name, I had no idea who the chick was with Maximus was until they said she was Auran. She's radically different from comic book counterpart, even down to the power set and appearance. The character debuted in the comics in 2014, so since she's a newish character anyway, I guess Marvel felt like they had some very loose liberties to change her to fit this continuity without any backlash.
Episode 2 - "Those Who Would Destroy Us"
This episode starts the first of many odd monologue sequences as the Inhumans call each other over their communication devices. I thought it was going to a one off thing, but unfortunately this continues over the course of the next few episodes. I didn't mention Crystal in the previous episode because there was nothing really to talk about with her until now. Her character immediately starts off this episode with bursts of stupidity. She could have used her powers to dispatched Maximus and the guards in Black Bolt's mediation room or merely stayed hidden, but nope she ran in there and allowed herself and Lockjaw to be captured. We're treated to more careless moments from Crystal when she used Auran's comlink without even thinking that her communications would be bugged for Maximus could tap into where the Royal Family has escaped to.
Seriously, what is up with Maximus trying to flirt with Medusa and Crystal? Medusa turned him down painfully in the premiere so he's settling for the sister? Seems pretty odd that he's chasing ass when he already has Auran painfully loyal to him.
How the fuck does Gorgon take off his boots and he's got the normal hooves in those? That shit doesn't even make sense as his posture was different and everything. Consistency, please...
This Louise character seems like a poor man's iteration of the Arrowverse's Felicity Smoak without the credentials and street cred (approved by Cisco) to boot. If I were to have foresight to what role her character would play by the end of this mini-series, I would predict that she would be the Elisa Maza for the Inhumans, much like that character was for Goliath and his clan in the Gargoyles animated series as one of the few humans that they could truly trust and rely on.
From Karnac's fall and hitting his head, I guess the viewers are supposed to assume that his powers aren't guaranteed in terms of the analytical capabilities to pinpoint the best course of action and are actually flawed to a degree. Remember that he even had to do over his calculations in the previous episode before he could develop the best strategy to avoid getting killed.
If Medusa's the queen of Attilan, then how come she's not aware of Auran's healing powers? Just seemed pretty damn odd that she'd "kill" Auran, then would leave her body there without checking to make sure she died. Better yet, chop her head off so she can't regenerate at all.
I thought it was pretty cool that Maximus used the newfound Inhuman child's foresight powers to protect his own coup and solidify his hostile takeover of Attilan while painting the picture of the Royal Family as traitors within the eyes of the Inhuman public.
It seemed like rather odd pacing on this episode to have Black Bolt go from being recognized by all of the onlookers as the guy who mysteriously popped up in the middle of town to being able to waltz into a store for a change of clothes, only to be arrested and imprisoned within the next 5 minutes. Shouldn't the police have arrested him on sight in the first case instead of allowing him to run off?
It's stuff like this that serves as my issue with this show's pacing that's preventing me from getting totally immersed into this story.
Episode 3 - "Divide - And Conquer"
Maximus and his creepy bastard vibe of continuing to hit on Crystal to her dismay is getting disturbing at this point.
Auran got some back-up from more Inhumans that Maximus sent in to assist her in disposing of the Royal Family, including Mordis who they regard as Attilan's secret weapon other than Black Bolt. Once again, this show does nothing to explain what he can do and why does he have such a reputation to be feared among his fellow Inhumans. That being said, his personality was a rather pleasant addition with his sarcasm and smart ass remarks. Also, who the fuck are the rest of these Inhumans? Why do they have to keep Locust safe? Flora seems too much of a pacifist to be on a search and destroy mission.
My only issue with Gorgon's fight scene towards the end of this episode is that Gorgon should've opened with that shockwave stomp when he caught them off-guard and have his friends in the trees pick the rest off. To say this dude is supposed to be the head of their military, his combat strategy here was piss poor. Fighting Auran in a fist fight was stupid to say that he could've just mule kicked her and curb stomped her brains out to end that promptly.
This episode does a great job of shedding light on Maximus and Black Bolt's troubled upbringing as Black Bolt's powers manifests and Maximus' doesn't develop any of his own with both of these situations complicating matters for their family. I just found it rather hard to fathom that Black Bolt would have the spur of luck to find one of his own in the prison to help him escape while Medusa happens to find her way to that very same prison at the same time as Louise.
Episode 4 - "Make Way For... Medusa"
This episode was mostly about the Inhumans each exploring their own individual relationships with the humans that they have found themselves in with the various humans that they have encountered on their various adventures thus far. We have another example of bad pacing here as just as fast as Black Bolt found a new ally in Declan, him and Sammy found themselves leaving his company after finding out that he was experimenting on Inhumans rather than helping them. On the other side of the coin, it seems that Louise proved to be a beneficial ally to Medusa in locating where Declan took Black Bolt.
I should have known that Karnak was going to get laid, given how Jen was throwing herself at him throughout the entire episode and the fact that they were playing that corny music in the background during all of their scenes together in this episode. To say Karnak is supposed to be smart, he was completely clueless that this girl was throwing herself at him when she started to undress in front of him without even being shy about it. Jen was throwing herself at Karnak like those other two guys she was with haven't touched her in years. Like good Lord boys, the girl has needs too y'know!
Auran's party was pretty damn stupid during the climax of this episode where they cornered Black Bolt and Sammy on the run. Mordis should've shot Black Bolt the second they spotted him since they knew how powerful he was. It's carelessness like this is why I wonder why in the world does Maximus has so much faith in Auran carrying out his plans. They even stood around like dumbfucks to allow Black Bolt to release that gas that would set the area off like a powder keg the moment Mordis lifted his visor. I get that Auran's power is that she's got "extra lives" (kinda like Darkanda from Power Rangers In Space) but doesn't mean she should walk into all of these situations so carelessly.
Crystal is just as bad as Auran too though. She managed to escape to Earth with Lockjaw, only to be instantly discovered by a wanderer in the area and requiring his help to treat Lockjaw. She should have known that he wasn't in any condition to be going anywhere after whatever Maximus' goons have done to him.
Episode 5 - "Something Inhuman This Way Comes"
Roughly three episodes later and they FINALLY tell us why Locust had to be protected... She can locate anything she wishes to find with her powers. If that was the case then why didn't Maximus use her in the first place or send her with Triton when Black Bolt was running his secret ops mission that kickstarted this ordeal that set the events of this mini-series into motion? Writing like this makes me wonder if Marvel Studios has the folks who have been writing the last few Netflix shows for them on payroll for this (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Defenders, etc.) in terms of not thinking this stuff all the way through.
Louise brought up a great point here - the Royal Family have been ruling Attilan just as messed up as Maximus has in his own benefit. It's just that they were thinking for the benefit for those Inhumans' abilities for their society to function rather than the desires of their people instead of catering to Maximus' own personal gain. Medusa claims that they didn't have an agenda that Black Bolt agrees to reveal in due time. Then when is a better time to reveal this so-called big secret? I mean for fuck's sake, Black Bolt is already locked away in a regular basis for everyone's protection from his own powers like a prisoner, while the people who get less than desirable powers after Terrigenesis are forced to work in the mines like slaves. From what I have seen so far, Attilan isn't a paradise nor a utopia. It's just as fucked up as the so-called sanctuary that Daisy/Skye's mother was running for Inhumans a few seasons ago on Agents of SHIELD.
I have to admit that I busted out laughing when Karnak got knocked out with another blow to the head. Maybe that guy needs to start wearing some protective headgear like his comic book counterpart to prevent his tactical prowess to be hindered in the future. It seems like he got his wits back to him again, but common sense should have told him to at least go with Jen to get proper medical treatment. Jen was doing a rather shitty job of taking care of herself up to this point anyway until him and then later Gorgon came along to save her ass anyway. She would have been in that ditch with her buddies if Karnak didn't come along when he did.
This episode ends with the Royal Family (minus Crystal) reunited. Speaking of Crystal... holy fuck she looks and acts like Kara/Supergirl from the CW show of the same name. It's to the point in their similarities that it's borderline scary.
Episodes 6-8
This is an edit to this original article as I only covered the first 5 episodes in this mini-series before it's conclusion aired. Instead of discussing each episode individually, I'm going to merely sum this up for simplicity for my sanity and yours as it's been a few months since I sat down and watched this so I'm going from memory here.
The fight between Mordis' and the opposing Royal Family (Karnak and Gorgon) was pretty much the best thing in Episode 6, which led to Gorgon's noble sacrifice. If this mini-series did anything right, it's these action sequences. The rest of the writing though? Not so much. I did enjoy the reunion between Crystal and the rest of the Royal Family with their human allies though. We did get a few good laughs from that exchange.
Gorgon's sacrifice wasn't even allowed to linger in viewers' minds as Karnak got Auran to agree to use her blood (since she's some regenerating freak in this continuity like Wolverine/Logan) and force Gorgon's body to undergo a second Terrigenesis. It works of course (after teasing that it didn't at first...), but I don't see what was the point of killing Gorgon off just to bring him immediately back. Were the writers that desperate for shock value at this point of the show? Ugh, it's this mediocre writing that pisses me off with these superhero TV dramas. It's not just limited to Marvel's television properties on ABC and Netflix either, as DC's stuff on the CW are just as guilty of lazy writing.
All of this planning and deception was merely for Maximus to undergo a second Terrigenesis. I don't see why he went through all of this when he could have seen the doctor (Declan) in private and gotten what he wanted without much hassle, especially when Black Bolt had operations (secret ones, yes, but Maximus was part of the council and still managed to have agents on Earth to target and "kill" Triton at the start of the series) going to and from Earth in place.
The series' climax in Episode 8 comes in the form of Maximus and Black Bolt having their final confrontation as Attilan is set to self-destruct all around them. What happens is pretty anti-climatic as there's no big over the top physical encounter here. Maximus just reveals that he was the one who forged the letter from his parents' alleged "betrayal" over the maturation of his powers that led to Black Bolt killing them when he was a child. After realizing that there was no redemption for Maximus, Black Bolt merely utters a word to leave his brother buried underneath the rubble and debris of the destruction in his wake of the force of his voice and left him on the moon to die while the Inhumans escaped to Earth.
The series ends with the Inhumans set to formally reveal themselves to the officials that Louise works for, similar to the same manner that we opened this series in the first episode.
Man, this was a tough sell to everyone from start to finish. I applaud anyone who stuck with this after the first two episodes without any prior knowledge about these characters because even with prior knowledge and exposure to these characters made watching this enough of a chore, I cannot fathom how newcomers felt watching this. The thing that frustrates me the most about this iteration of the Inhumans is that I get where they were going with this and I applaud what they were TRYING to do here, but it could have been done with a much better execution and narrative direction.
Characters/Casting
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| You cannot look at Crystal and not see Kara/Supergirl from the CW show of the same name. |
Most of the Royal Family I don't mind their casting outside of Crystal (Isabelle Cornish), but she comes off more annoying than she should. I guess that's the writers' way of playing up her youth. Same goes for Medusa (Serinda Swan), but that's how her comic book counterpart was, feeling like she always had something to prove as the queen of Attilan and as Black Bolt's wife. Louise's character and position in this show is a bit of an oddity as it honestly wasn't required to tell this story. To her credit, Ellen Woglom isn't a bad actress though. They could have kept this story confined within Attilan and tied the whole discovery of being within human society for the next season of Agents of SHIELD to be honest. Every time I see Auran (Sonya Balmores), I have to keep reminding myself that's not Alex Danvers aka Kara/Supergirl's lesbian sister from that CW show. She's not a bad actress, but just a little stoic in her emotions - almost the polar opposite of Misty Knight (Simone Missick)'s performance in Defenders and Luke Cage that annoys me so damn much.
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| Here, we find Maximus preparing for his millionth monologue for the local Inhumans play... |
Out of the Royal Family, Maximus (Iwan Rheon) is the best actor and character of the cast from his depth and the amount of monologues that his performance demands in this. It's just a damn shame that I think he's Toby MaGuire in Spider-Man 3 every time when I look at him.
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| That's the image that popped up in my head EVERY SINGLE TIME I looked at Maximus during the first few episodes. |
Anson Mount is doing his best that he can without speaking as Black Bolt, but I thought the lack of speech is hindering his performance rather than helping it with the MCU trying to be edgy/hipster with the use of sign language when the titular character had a form of telepathy for communication in the comics continuity.
Costumes/Action
This definitely isn't on par with the level of action that we're used to in the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's somewhere in a middle ground from what we have come to expect in terms of these fight sequences. It's definitely not up there with the effects and style that we saw in the previous season of Agents of SHIELD with the Ghost Rider, but they are at least trying to make this look good. It's a far cry from being compared to that embarrassment that goes for the action in DC's Legends of Tomorrow... If I had a minor gripe here, it is that a lot of the Inhumans' costumes could have used some better designs or some tailoring to be modernized. I was fine with Crystal's iconic look with her hair just merely being painted into her hair and Medusa's hair wasn't as long as I would desired it to be in this live-action take on these characters, but stuff like Black Bolt not wearing his full costume and Gorgon's hooves not being shown nor rendered properly annoyed me a bit.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
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| Black Bolt's expression here pretty much sums up my thoughts about this show as a whole. |
At the end of the day, it was a nice idea on paper but poorly executed. The previous season of Agents of SHIELD saw Marvel Studios repair the damage done to Ghost Rider by FOX, so I remain optimistic that if the MCU wants to do more with these characters they can be salvaged as co-stars on that series. I had a lot of hope for a well-done adaptation of the Inhumans for their MCU debut, but was skeptical right off the bat that a TV series was the right way to go. Maybe someday we'll get a better take on these characters, but right now, I'm positive that they will be taking an indefinite backseat with the X-Men and Fantastic Four underneath Marvel Studios' roof now.
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