Earnest, Honest, Understated Tale
Such an earnest, honest, and understated tale. A simple, quirky little story that seemed bigger than the sum of its wonderful parts. Kudos to the actors for their sincerity and to the entire team that clearly made this with a great deal of love for the script. It shined through.
An interesting spin on vampire lore, but the vampiric element is truly incidental, I honestly felt like this tale was more of a "Coming of Age" or "coming to terms" metaphor for what happens when you cut people off from the shared history, cultural identity, and necessary information to navigate their burgeoning queerness. These vampires don't know what it means to be a vampire. An early running joke has them doing "research" about what it means- the physicality, the actuality, and the practicality- all of which they have been denied. Devouring books, films, and "urban legends" around vampirism was intelligently humorous and what led me to the conclusion that this is really a metaphor for the challenges queer youth have in coming to terms with themselves when they are bereft of reliable information and community. Left to muddle through with what scant information is available has a psychological and emotional toll and I think this series- through humor and monster archetype- illustrated this struggle with a light touch and in a non-preachy way. Even the emotional fall-out of said isolation was dealt with lightly, though sincerely, by the script and the performances.
But fundamentally, it is a simple love story and the actors' performances invest you in that story. The chemistry amongst the entire cast is palpable and the chemistry between the obvious pairings is sizzling underneath the words and actions.
As others lamented during the show's run, the episodes are short and there are only eight, and we all wanted more.
Tuck this title away for a time when you need a short story arc to soothe your weary soul. The actors, the script, and the production values are all on point. This one may not change the genre, but sometimes that's okay too. Sometimes well-done familiarity offered with sincerity and love is just what you need.
An interesting spin on vampire lore, but the vampiric element is truly incidental, I honestly felt like this tale was more of a "Coming of Age" or "coming to terms" metaphor for what happens when you cut people off from the shared history, cultural identity, and necessary information to navigate their burgeoning queerness. These vampires don't know what it means to be a vampire. An early running joke has them doing "research" about what it means- the physicality, the actuality, and the practicality- all of which they have been denied. Devouring books, films, and "urban legends" around vampirism was intelligently humorous and what led me to the conclusion that this is really a metaphor for the challenges queer youth have in coming to terms with themselves when they are bereft of reliable information and community. Left to muddle through with what scant information is available has a psychological and emotional toll and I think this series- through humor and monster archetype- illustrated this struggle with a light touch and in a non-preachy way. Even the emotional fall-out of said isolation was dealt with lightly, though sincerely, by the script and the performances.
But fundamentally, it is a simple love story and the actors' performances invest you in that story. The chemistry amongst the entire cast is palpable and the chemistry between the obvious pairings is sizzling underneath the words and actions.
As others lamented during the show's run, the episodes are short and there are only eight, and we all wanted more.
Tuck this title away for a time when you need a short story arc to soothe your weary soul. The actors, the script, and the production values are all on point. This one may not change the genre, but sometimes that's okay too. Sometimes well-done familiarity offered with sincerity and love is just what you need.
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