From the creator of Peaky Blinders and Locke, Taboo concerns James Keziah Delaney, played by Tom Hardy at his creepy-weirdo best, who returns to 1814 London in order to claim a legacy left by his father after a mysterious 10 year absence spend in Africa. He finds himself at odds with the greedy East India Company, who want the land that Delaney has inherited, amid a war between the British and the Americans.
Episode 1 had an enigmatic and eerie atmosphere, personified by the spooky James Delaney who brings with him not only shovels and keys but a mysterious past. The question on all the characters' lips are "Is it true?" in references to numerous, freaky rumours about his activity in Africa. He's a most intriguing character who is shown to be haunted by actions he committed whilst working in the British army and in his time in Africa but is also well informed of the political climate and unwilling to let go of his inheritance. Heads are turned and knives are being sharpened by not only the East India Company but by Delaney's own half sister and her husband, a man who wants the contents of the will for himself. It is also revealed that James and his sister had adulterous relations.
Delaney works fast. Within the first episode he has already made a few enemies for himself and discovered that his father was poisoned into madness. Now he seeks revenge.
Al in all, I found the opener to this series to be very engaging and I'll definitely be continuing the series. Just one thing I want to talk about is the special effects and the cinematography. I thought the CGI was terrific. There's a lot of landscape and background shots of buildings and ships that don't stick out at all and they genuinely look real. They also don't draw attention to themselves; there's no cheap zooming-in of the CGI, which would only serve to distract the viewer and ruin immersion. Shows like Game of Thrones could learn from this.
Episode 1 had an enigmatic and eerie atmosphere, personified by the spooky James Delaney who brings with him not only shovels and keys but a mysterious past. The question on all the characters' lips are "Is it true?" in references to numerous, freaky rumours about his activity in Africa. He's a most intriguing character who is shown to be haunted by actions he committed whilst working in the British army and in his time in Africa but is also well informed of the political climate and unwilling to let go of his inheritance. Heads are turned and knives are being sharpened by not only the East India Company but by Delaney's own half sister and her husband, a man who wants the contents of the will for himself. It is also revealed that James and his sister had adulterous relations.
Delaney works fast. Within the first episode he has already made a few enemies for himself and discovered that his father was poisoned into madness. Now he seeks revenge.
Al in all, I found the opener to this series to be very engaging and I'll definitely be continuing the series. Just one thing I want to talk about is the special effects and the cinematography. I thought the CGI was terrific. There's a lot of landscape and background shots of buildings and ships that don't stick out at all and they genuinely look real. They also don't draw attention to themselves; there's no cheap zooming-in of the CGI, which would only serve to distract the viewer and ruin immersion. Shows like Game of Thrones could learn from this.