The first ten minutes of this episode are riveting. I'm not going to narrate the story, so just enjoy the ride. After that, the tension dips until the last five minutes.
After that first 10 minutes, the context of the story completely changes. Episode 1 was a straight morality play. Episode 2 transforms into a mystery drama with potential tragedies looming ahead.
The production company spared no expense on locations which take the viewer on a journey through evocative settings. Even so, the middle of this episode teetered on the verge of boring. However, the ending was suspenseful and we realize the mystery we're about to embark on has several levels of danger.
This episode was better than the opener. It was certainly far more believable. However, Black Earth Rising is a co-production between BBC Two and Netflix. Which means it follows the usual pacing of BBC productions, i.e. It's slow. Either you like that sort of thing or you don't. Commentators who have rated the whole story have said it grows slower and slower. However, I found this episode to be quite watchable.
Thus far, the filmmakers have skillfully avoided the common pitfall of unnecessarily complicating the story. We haven't been taken down a series of extraneous rabbit holes just to burn up screen time. I'm looking forward to episode 3.
After that first 10 minutes, the context of the story completely changes. Episode 1 was a straight morality play. Episode 2 transforms into a mystery drama with potential tragedies looming ahead.
The production company spared no expense on locations which take the viewer on a journey through evocative settings. Even so, the middle of this episode teetered on the verge of boring. However, the ending was suspenseful and we realize the mystery we're about to embark on has several levels of danger.
This episode was better than the opener. It was certainly far more believable. However, Black Earth Rising is a co-production between BBC Two and Netflix. Which means it follows the usual pacing of BBC productions, i.e. It's slow. Either you like that sort of thing or you don't. Commentators who have rated the whole story have said it grows slower and slower. However, I found this episode to be quite watchable.
Thus far, the filmmakers have skillfully avoided the common pitfall of unnecessarily complicating the story. We haven't been taken down a series of extraneous rabbit holes just to burn up screen time. I'm looking forward to episode 3.
