Man, things are getting even worse for the characters on The Pillars of the Earth. I think I forgot just how brutal things get for them in this story. It’s been a few years since I read the book; maybe it’s just seeing it on screen that brings it more to life. For those of you who haven’t read the book and are wavering at this point, perhaps are even turned off, I understand, but I think this episode really was the worst of it. I think. Maybe.
Where do you begin? Poor Jack: forced to take on the life of a monk to stay close to the cathedral (and his loved ones), all because Alfred is a jealous dolt. Poor Aliena: makes a good business decision by working with Philip on the fair only to have all her life savings burned down to the ground. Poor Tom Builder: bashed in the head by the frustratingly evil William Hamleigh.
Tom’s truly unfortunate death brings a question to mind … would it have been slightly less obvious that Tom Builder was going to die in this episode if they put a big countdown in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen? Or maybe just over his head? I mean, seriously, the amount of foreshadowing was a little over-the-top. The writing was just a little lazy. Does anyone really just get up one day and say: “This week I’m going to tie up every loose end in my life, just in case I get attacked by a crazy psychopath?” Maybe it’s because I actually knew that his death was coming, as I’ve read the book, but it still came off as a laughably obvious turn-of-plot. With all of that being said, however, it was still pretty sad and emotional; I did choke up a bit.
It was nice to see the miniseries return to the source material in this episode. Last week, both the attack on Jack and the near hanging of Prior Philip were, according to my memory, not in the novel. I imagine that they were added to create the cliffhangers, which were both quickly wrapped up at the beginning of this episode (with some lazy deus ex machina, if you ask me). Despite the (at times) lazy writing and the crushing depression, I’m still enjoying the series. I have to say, though, I am looking forward to some happier times for the characters.
Also, can we please get a new actress for Martha? Everyone else has aged 5-6 years, and she still seems like a little girl.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Aug 15, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
Poor Tom, I really liked him a lot. I wish Aliena had grabbed a sword and killed William instead of letting him set her on fire… I suppose that only happens in fantasy shows.