If there was a "best Taboo comment of the week" I vote yours.

These AV Club reviews are a trainwreck, but I can't look away. :/ The Observer reviews are such an awesome find, thank you. The writing isn't fantastic, but it does a great job of breaking down the plot and even adding some historical context, which is the very core purpose of a review. That is why I seek out reviews,…

Paying attention to dialogue is haaaaaard

"And I'm getting a little tired of feeling the urgent need for a shower (for more reasons than one) after watching each episode."

"either slate or salon or the atlantic, can never tell those three apart"

Fantastic!! Thank you!

I've interpreted his "affectless" performance as portraying someone who is deeply traumatized, as the show laid out from the very beginning. The closeups of partygoers laughing like hyenas was a pretty clear indication of some form of PTSD, as well as his "visions" in past episodes.

You're not biased at all, this show is solid, even if it may not be to everyone's taste. This reviewer is just bound and determined to shit all over it because…I haven't figured out why. Inexperience is definitely a factor, but this is getting embarrassing for AV Club, since there is clearly no oversight whatsoever.…

I too would *love* to know where on the internets I can find decent, if not good, entertainment reviews. I am begging for recommendations from anyone. lol

"James Cameron does what James Cameron does because he is… James Cameron"

Do his mystical powers derive from his ethnicity? I didn't pick up on that, I thought his "powers" were learned first from the EIC and then from the African people he trafficked, all of which he chose to do, not from anything inherent in his bloodline.

I don't know if EIC is incapable of understanding, but they can't be bothered to try, which is kind of colonialism in a nutshell.

lol ok I was thinking along the lines of James being as one dimensionally evil as all the other characters thus far, but opinions and all

That is exactly why I love this show, it's not self righteous or preachy at all, and I think that is what makes this reviewer uncomfortable. And I think this is rooted in the lack of education I mentioned previously, but the majority of reviewers simply can't deal with this material unless they are spoonfed or beaten…

"Among the sensationalism of these would-be shameful would-be secrets, it’s the gall of exploring the horrors of slavery through a white man’s trauma (or, in James’ case, a man passing for white)"

If the "villains" are one dimensionally evil I'm curious what you would call Hardy's character.

After reading the comments here I must add one more. One of the most compelling elements of the show for me is the anticolonial undercurrents, meaning the slave trade symbology, the Salish native American references, and his David v Goliath campaign against the East India Company. These elements are not just cheap…

My take on it was that he didn't know it was a slave ship, he acquired it because it was quickly available for use in his trading company, and establishing his claim to Nootka needs to be done asap. But once he purchased the ship he realized what it had been used for, a trade which he had sworn off in his past. The…

I think a lot of folks who aren't on board with the show are missing the symbology of the slave trade and colonialism that are a very strong undercurrent of the show.

Well duh, setting the scene is a boring waste of time. /s