Troy: Fall of a City - A Netflix/BBC television series (2018)

Troy: Fall of a City has managed to make the story of the Trojan War utterly boring. While only eight, one-hour episodes long, ... Close ArticlesPodcastInterviewsVideosPhotos SupportResourcesAudioarticlesMuseumsContact HomeAboutArchivesSeriesTagsCopyrightPrivacypolicy Close WhenitwasannouncedthattheBBCandNetflixhadjoinedforcestoproduceatelevisionseriesbasedonthestoryoftheTrojanWar,Iwasoptimistic.Afewmonthsago,heateddiscussionseruptedonTwitterabouttheshow’scastingchoices,specificallythecastingofblackactorDavidGyasiastheGreekchampionAchilles. SomepeopleclaimedthatAchillescouldn’tpossiblyhavebeenblack.Thatargument,ofcourse,isfacetious.ThestoryoftheTrojanWarisjustthat–astory.Itmighthavethatdreaded“kerneloftruth”,basedperhapsonaraidorevenanactualwarfoughtinthenorthwesterncornerofAnatoliaatsomepointintheLateBronzeAge,buttheancienttaleitselfwastwistedandchangedovertimesomuchthatbythetimeitwaswrittendown,perhapsasearlyasca.700BC,itwasessentiallyafantasy. Indeed,ancientauthorsusuallyplacethestoryoftheTrojanWarinalonglost“AgeofHeroes”or“AgeofBronze”,nottobeconfusedwiththearchaeologicalconceptoftheBronzeAge.Inastorywheregodsandothermythicalcreaturesmakeregularappearances,whocaresaboutthecolourofafictionalperson’sskin? Moreover,anargumentcanbemadethatourmainsourcesontheTrojanWar,theIliadandOdyssey,bothattributedinancienttimestoanebulousfigureknownonlyas“Homer”,havebecomepartofworldliterature,andarethereforethepropertyofhumanityasawhole.There’snoreasonwhyamodernretellingofthatstoryshouldn’tbeasdiverseasitsintendedaudience.Onlyaverynarrow-mindedpersonwouldobjecttothat. No,ifthere’sonecomplainttobemadeaboutthisshow,it’sthatithasmanagedtoaccomplishwhatIpreviouslythoughtwasinconceivable.Troy:FallofaCityhasmanagedtomakethestoryoftheTrojanWarutterlyboring.Whileonlyeight,one-hourepisodeslong,theshowfeelslikeaslogtogetthrough,andIwasrelievedwhenitwasfinallyover. ThefallofTroy Paris(LouisHunter)andHelen(BellaDayne)arethemaincharactersoftheshow,withmostoftheactioncentringonthem.Forbetterorforworse,thismeansthatmanyoftheothercharacters,especiallyontheGreekside,arebarelymorethancaricatures. Thefirstepisode,“Blackblood”,focusesonthedetailsofParis’birthandtheprophecythatforetellshewillbringaboutTroy’sdownfall.Hisparents,KingPriam(DavidThrelfall)andhiswifeHecuba(FrancesO’Connor),orderashepherdtoabandontheinfantonamountain.Buttheshepherd(DannyKeogh)takespityonhimandraiseshimashisown,givinghimthenameParis. OneelementhereisthatParisandtheshepherdherdcattlewhileridinghorses,likecowboys.WhileI’venotedthatthestoryisessentiallyafantasy,therearestillrulesthatgoodfantasyshouldadhereto,orelseitbecomesafree-for-allinwhichanythinggoes.Suspensionofdisbeliefrequiresconsistencyandlogicwithintheboundsofthestorybeingtold. WithintheepicworldoftheTrojanWar(aswellasinactualancientsociety,afterwhichtheworldofGreekmythandlegendismodelled),horsesarepartandparceloftheaccoutrementsofaristocracy:Hector,afterall,isreferredtointheIliadasa“breakerofhorses”,andtheprincesandkingsusechariotstotransportthemselves.Assuch,itseemsunlikelythathumbleshepherdsinthisfictionalworldwouldhavehadaccesstohorses.ButIdigress. Intheshow,aconvenientbirthmarkprovesthattheshepherdParisreallyisPriam’sson,Alexander.Intheoriginalsources,Pariswasnotablystronger,bigger,andmorehandsomethantheotherpeasants,markinghimasanaristocrat,withhisfosterfatherconfirminghisidentity.Inanyevent,whilechasingalostcalf,ParishappensuponZeus(playedwithrestraintandgravitasbyHakeemKae-Kazim)andthreegoddesses.Heisaskedwhichofthethreehewouldawardwithagoldenapple.WhileIappreciatetheinclusionoftheJudgementofParis,Ifeelthattoomuchwascutheretomakesenseofthissceneifyou’reunfamiliarwiththecontext.WhynotincludethemarriageofPeleusandThetis,seeingasthey’reAchilles’parents,andthuslinkthefatesofbothAchillesandParis?Asitstands,thiscrucialsceneappearsoutoftheblueandmakesmuchofwhathappensafterseemrathernonsensical. Therestoftheepisodefollowsthroughmostlyfamiliarbeats,withParisbeingrevealedatTroytobeactuallyprinceAlexander.HeisalmostimmediatelysentoutonadiplomaticmissiontoKingMenelaus(playedbyJonasArmstrong,whoissingularlyone-note),wherehenaturallyfallsinlovewithHelen,thewomanhewaspromisedbythegoddessAphrodite(LexKing)afterheawardedherwiththegoldenapple. Thesecondepisode,“Conditions”,hasPriamandHecubaacceptHelen’spresenceatTroy,whiletheGreeksassembleatAulisandpreparetosetsail.InordertoplacateArtemis(ThandoBulane-Hopa),Agamemnon(JohnnyHarris)isforcedtosacrificehisdaughterIphigenia(LaurenCoe).ThisversionofAgamemnonisperhapstheleastlikeablethathasbeenpresentedtomodernaudiencessofar.Infact,noneoftheGreeksareparticularlylikeable,withthepossibleexceptionofOdysseus(JosephMawle),whoneverthelesscausesnosmallamountofgrief. In“Siege”,theGreeksarriveatTroy.IntheIliad,it’sobviousthattheGreeksdon’treallybesiegethecity:Troyisabletoresupplyitselffreely.Intheshow,theGreekssomehowcutTroyoffcompletely,forcingtheTrojanstodigatunneltothecoastwheretheycanberesuppliedbyCilicia,thekingdomruledbyEetion(GrantSwanby),thefatherofHector’swife,Andromache(playedinaterriblyunlikeablefashionbythemiscastChloePirrie). ThesupplyfromCiliciaiscutshortin“Spoilsofwar”whenAchilles(DavidGyasi)killsEetionandsackshiscity(thankstoHelen’sbetrayal;moreonthatnonsensebelow).Duringthisraid,theGreekscaptureChryseis,thedaughterofthepriestofApollo,aswellasBriseis(AmyLouisWilson),whointhisretellingofthestoryhasbeenmystifyinglymadethesisteroftheTrojanspyDolon(MichaelMacKenzie).Intheoriginalsources,Achillesengagesinmanyraids,bothonlandandsea,buthereitseemsonlyonetownhadtosufferhiswrath. Paris(LouisHunter)andHelen(BellaDayne)arriveinTroy.Theirhappinesswouldbeshortlived,however.ThisfourthepisodealsomovestheshowintotheterritorycoveredbytheIliad.AduelisproposedbetweenMenelausandParis.Forashowthatfeaturesthegods,thefamoussceneinwhichParisisreturnedtoTroyunderthecoverofadensemistconjuredupbyAphroditehasbeencastasidebyhavingParissimplyrunawaywhenMenelausisabouttoslayhim. Thischoicemakeszerosensewithinthecontextofthestory:eventhe2004movie’ssolution–haveHectorstepinandkillMenelaus–wasabetterwaytohandleParis’cowardice.(Checkoutourpodcastonthemovie.)Meanwhile,AchilleshashadBriseistakenfromhimbyAgamemnonandsulksinhistent,havingswornthathisMyrmidonswillnolongerfightwiththeGreeks. In“Hunted”,ParisisrescuedbytheAmazons,whointheoriginalstorydon’tshowupuntilafterAchilles’defeatofHector.ThisepisodealsofeaturesPatroclus(LemogangTsipa)donningAchilles’armourtofightagainsttheTrojans,anactionthatleadstohimbeingkilledbyHector.Typicallyforthisoftentimesbadlyeditedproduction,weareonlyshownthefinalfewsecondsofthefight,followedimmediatelybyanenragedAchillescarryingthebodyofhisdeadcomrade/loveraway. Becausethewritersdon’thaveaclueonhowtohandletheirownversionoftheTrojanWar,in“Battleonthebeach”,AphroditetellsHectorandothersinTroythatbecauseParis’hearthadstoppedbriefly–don’tworry,hegotbettersomehow–thecurseisliftedandTroymightsurvivethewar,onlyforZeustolatertellherthattheycannotchangefateanyway.It’sbeenawhilesinceIlastexperiencestorytellingthissloppy. Meanwhile,ParisreturnstoTroywiththeAmazonsandAchillesdrivesouttoTroyinasceneheavilyinspiredbythe2004movieratherthantheIliad.Asinthefilm,AchillesisaloneinfrontofthegatesandshoutsoutHector’sname,thoughinthiscasehealsokillstwoofthreeprisonersthathe’sbroughtalong.Theduelthatfollowsisserviceable,butlikesomuchelseintheshowsomehow,paradoxically,feelsbothrushedaswellasincrediblydull.There’snoexcitementtobehadhere,asifeveryoneinvolvedissimplygoingthroughthemotions. Priam(DavidThrelfall)talkstoCassandra(Aimee-FfionEdwards).Intheoriginalsources,Cassandracanseethefuture,buthasbeencursedbyApollotonotbebelievedbyanyone.Intheshow,she’sportrayedasjustatroubledgirl,whichisoneofmanyunfortunatecreativedecisions.In“Twelvedays”,PriamarrivesattheGreekcampandratherpetulantlydemandstoseeAchilles,goingsofarastoorganizeaone-mansit-ininfrontoftheGreekchampion’stent.Perhapsthewritersfeltbadlyaboutrippingoffthe2004movie,sothattheytriedsomethingdifferenthere,butit’snotnearlyaseffectiveasthesuperiorfilm,whichactuallyfollowedHomerquitecloselywhenitcametoPriam’sbeggingforthereturnofHector’sbody. Inanyevent,AchillesandPriambrokeratruce.ButwhereasintheIliad(andthe2004movie)theGreeksandTrojanshonourtheagreement,heretheGreeksconspiretobreakit.OdysseusisaskedtohatchaplantoconvinceAchillestojointhesurpriseattack,atwhichpointtheyactuallykilloneoftheMyrmidonsandmakeitlookliketheTrojansdidit.WhatfollowsisperhapsthestupidestthingI’veseeninalongtime:AchillesmakingthetrekbacktoTroytochallengePriam,onlytogetshotandkilledbyParis,butnotbeforetheymakeclearthathewasbetrayedbyhisownpeople. Evenmoreinsanely,thewritersofthisshowmakeHelenultimatelyresponsiblefortheGreeksbeingabletoenterandsackTroy.In“Offering”,theshow’sfinalepisode,theGreeksseeminglyabandonthecityandleaveagiantwoodenhorseonthebeach.InadesperateneedtorationalizewhytheTrojanswoulddragthehorseintoTroy,someonestabsthebellyofthebeastonlyforgraintofallout(whichsomeTrojansproceedtoeatraw). Betrayalisamajorthemeintheshow.I’veavoideditsofar,butIguessthisisasgoodaplaceasanytobringitup.Fromthegetgo,Helenisn’ttrustedfullybytheTrojans,andespeciallynotbyAndromache,Hector’ssullenwife.Theyhavegoodcause:HelenunwittinglybetraysCiliciatoAchilleswhenthelattersneakedintothecity.Pandarus(AlexLanipekun),hereanadvisertothekingratherthanaskilledarcher,isframedasatraitorbyaGreekspytodrawattentionawayfromHelen.Evenworse,theformerSpartanqueenlaterhelpsthisGreekspyescape,goingsofarastohelpmurderaTrojanguard. Buttheworstisyettocome.ThewritersofthisshowultimatelymakeHelenresponsiblefortheGreeksbeingabletoenterandsackthecity.Whenshegoestothewoodenhorse,MenelausandOdysseuspopout.Helensaysshewillcomequitelyifnooneelsedies:MenelausandOdysseuspromptlykillafewmoreTrojanguards.Whentheyreachandopenthegates,Helenhearsthesoundsofanarmyonthemarch.Surprise!Menelaushadnointentionofkeepinghisword. Achilles(DavidGyasi)getsafewmomentstoshineintheshow,butit’snotenough.Forthemostpart,theGreekcharactersappeartohavebeenanafterthought,butthechoicesthatthewritersmadewiththeTrojansaren’tallthatmuchbetter.Thedestructionofthecityandthedeathofnearlyallitsinhabitants,saveforAeneas(AlfredEnoch)andthreeothers,ishandledinadrawnoutfashionbythemakersoftheshow.MenelausparadesHeleninfrontofParisandtellshimthatshehasbetrayedTroy.Parisprofesseshisloveforheranywayandisthenstabbed,afterwhichhediesslowlyenoughforsomeonetogetupandfixacupofcoffeeinthemeantime. Andromacheistakenawayasaslave,butnotbeforeOdysseusisorderedbythesadisticAgamemontothrowtheinfantAstyanaxfromthewalls.(Thisisactuallyconsistentwithsomeoftheancientsources.)TheshowendswithacloseupofOdysseus,lookingdistraught.Iimaginethatwasmoreorlesswhatmyfacelookedlikebythetimethatthecreditsstartedtoroll. Basically,it’srubbish Theshowisapainfulslog.Inparticular,IhatedwhatthewritersdidwiththecharacterofHelen.Theshow’ssubtitleshouldn’thavebeenFallofaCity,butratherLet’sKickHelenAroundSomeMore. WerethewritersafraidthatHelenwouldn’thaveanythingmeaningfultodo?Whynothaveherinspirethepopulationinstead?TheoriginalsourcesalsomentionthatsheandParishadchildren:milksomedramafromthatinsteadofusingherlikeapunchingbag. Troy:FallofaCityconsistsofjusteightepisodesofonehoureach,butitfeelslikeitdragsonforaneternity.Well-knownscenesarerushedthrough,whilenewscenesandevennewcharactersareinventedthatdragonforwhatseemslikeforever. Anditmightwellbeforever.It’simpossibletodetermine,basedontheepisodesalone,howmuchtimepassesbetweenscenes.Andromachebecomespregnantoneepisode,onlytogivebirthashortwhileafter,withnoindicationtotheaudiencethattherewasninemonthsbetweenthosetwoevents.Similarly,thelastfewepisodestalkaboutthewarasifithasbeengoingonforyears,butthere’slittleindicationthatthat’sactuallybeenthecase.It’sallsosloppyandlazy. Manychangesweremadetotheoriginalsourcematerial.OneofthemostmysteriousisthedecisiononthepartofthewriterstohavetheTrojansoutnumbertheGreeks.This,again,makeszerosense.IntheIliad,forexample,thecataloguesinbook2makeclearthattheGreeksoutnumbertheTrojansbyalargemargin. Thatmakessense:ifTroyhadalargerarmythanitsbesiegers,whywouldtheycowerbehindtheirwalls?Whynotpouroutofthecityandoverwhelmtheattackers?ButinTroy:FallofaCity,theutterlybafflingdecisionwasmadetohavetheGreeksbeoutnumbered.Agamemnonisnotonlyasadistandarapist(yes,thewritersincludedafewrapescenes),buthe’salsogotthestrategicalacumenofafour-year-old. Furthermore,muchwasmadeofthefactthat,unlikethe2004movie,thetelevisionshowincludedthegods.Iwasactuallylookingforwardtoseewhattheywoulddowiththem.Theanswer?Notmuch.Zeus,Hera,Athena,andAphroditeappeareveryonceinawhile,buttheydosolittlethattheymightaswellhavebeenleftentirelyonthecuttingroomfloor. Itcausesproblemsinthoseinstanceswherethewritersstudiouslyavoidusingthedeities.WhenParisisabouttobekilledbyMenelaus,AphroditeshouldhaverescuedhimandtakenhimbacktoHelen.TheGreeksandTrojanswouldhavebeenleftconfused,atwhichpointAthenashould’vewhisperedinaTrojanarcher’seartotakeashotatMenelaus,whichwouldhavecausedbothsidestoengageinafull-scalebattle. Instead,thewriterssimplyhaveParisrunaway,atwhichpointboththeGreeksandtheTrojansjuststandthere,lookingconfused.WhathappensnextisbeyondstupidandsomethingthatI’vealreadydescribedabove,soIwon’trepeatmyself.Whyintroducethegodsifyourefusetodoanythingwiththem?Likesomuchelseaboutthisshow,it’sacryingshame;anabsolutewasteofpotential. Thecoreofthisshow’sproblemisitsplotting.Toputnottoofineapointonit:it’sabsolutelyterrible.Thepacingisturgid,whileatthesametimetheshowfeelslikeit’sfallingoveritselftogetalltheexpectedstorybeatsoveranddonewithassoonaspossible.Fewscenesareallowedtobreathe;fewcharactersgetthetimenecessarytodevelopintosomethinginteresting. Closingthoughts Theproductionvaluesforthetelevisionshowarefine.Butitdoesn’tfeatureanythingoriginal.Ifyou’veseenthemovieTroyorstufflikethe2010-versionofClashoftheTitans,thesetsandcostumeswillbefamiliarenough.Callitgenericancientfantasy,completewiththosesillybracersthatallmenmustapparentlywearontheirforearms. Thereistheoddtouchhereandthereofsomething,mainlypottery,thatsuggeststhatatleastonepersonontheproductioncrewonceglancedatabookaboutthearchaeologyoftheAegeanBronzeAge,butthosemomentsarefewandfarbetween. Thecastaregenerallyokay.Likethesetsandthecostumes,they’regenerallyserviceable.Theactorsdotheirbestwithwhatlittlethescreenplayhandsthem.Butmostofthecharactersgetsolittlescreentimethatthere’snotmuchfortheviewertolatchonto.Agamemnonisabastard.Menelausisapettylittleman.Deiphobusshowsupsometimes. Thecharactersthatwedospendmoretimewitharegenerallynotmuchbetterdeveloped.Alexanderisajerkwhoeventuallygrowsaspine.Helencan’thelpbutmakeonebaddecisionafteranother.Priamisagoodking.Hecubaisadutifulwife.Cassandrais,mystifyingly,notcursedwithhavingherpropheciesnotbelievedbyanyone,butinsteadpresentedasatroubledgirlthatjustneedsherparents’attention. Ofcourse,itdoesn’thelpthatashowlikethis,whichlooksverysimilartothe2004movie,hasacastthatabsolutelypalesincomparisontoit.HowdotheseactorsstackuptothelikesofsuchpersonalitiesasBrianCox,BrendanGleeson,PeterO’Toole,SeanBean,EricBana,orBradPitt?Theansweristhattheydon’t.Butthat’snotnecessarily,ofcourse,afaultofthecastthemselves. No,themainproblemwiththeshowisitswriting.It’ssomethingIcannotstressenough.Itfeelslikeitwaswrittenbysomeonewhomaybeonce,longago,readafewsummariesofthestoryoftheTrojanWarandthenfeltconfidentenoughtocobbletogetherwhateverthiswassupposedtobe.Thefinalresultisacompleteandutterdisappointment,andboringtoboot. Whatawaste. JoshoBrouwersisaMediterraneanarchaeologistwithafocusontheAegean/Greece.HisPhDthesiswaspublishedinbookformasHenchmenofAres:WarriorsandWarfareinEarlyGreece(2013). Morebyme ↑ Backtotop