TV Review: Amazon Prime’s Utopia Combines Comics And Conspiracies
Part of why people LOVE comic books is that they, in some ways, play to our notions of conspiracy; with each hero uncovering that some giant organization or evil villain has been plotting against them their whole life. We find satisfaction in seeing a person discover that they were right, there were odds against them that were beyond their control, but they also didn’t know they had the power to fight them. In truth, that is everyone’s dream: to discover what is wrong and make it right. In Amazon’s Utopia the bond between conspiracies and comics are solidified through some good ol’ fashion American Capitalism.
Brutal and strangely tangible, Amazon’s Utopia feels like the creepier sister of The Boys. The sole difference is that The Boys shines through its heroes and villains with its seedy, “conspiratorial” organization being the only thing that, at times, drags the storyline. John Cusack as Dr Kevin Christie and Cory Michael Smith as Thomas Christie are so good at being a horrible “father- son duo.” They are pure evil, and the worst part is that they are fine with it. They embody the words of Donald Trump when it comes to preventable deaths: “It is what it is. “
Utopia | Official Trailer | Prime Video
John Cusack plays a biotech billionaire who has no qualms releasing a deadly virus for PR purposes. (Sound like anyone?) Meanwhile, his son Don Jr, I mean Thomas, is READY to take after daddy in ruling the world’s health and thus its wealth. The duo are absolutely fantastic in both scenes together and apart because they are constantly plotting heinous acts while meditating in parks, eating bunt cake, and having a family dinner where they cite what they are grateful for. They are the perfect picture of the “banality of evil,” and its ability to make consciously devastating decisions, like killing children, while doing yoga stretches in refined suits or eating raisins. They look corporate and THEY ARE CORRUPT! Yet, it is your very fascination with them that kind of cuts your connection with “the good guys.”
The show begins, quite shockingly, with a massacre at a “Comic-Con” esque event; it is brutal, merciless, and launches our heroes into the realization that comic books, in reality, are terrifying. In all seriousness, who wants to be chased by a government agency that is killing its own citizens? NO ONE! Yet, Wilson (Desmin Borges), Ian (Dan Byrd, Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Alice (Farrah Mackenzie), and Grant (Javon Walton) are all swept up in the world of Sasha Lane’s Jessica Hyde: a comic-book character with super-powers that turns out to be real and determined to save her brainwashed father/ acclaimed doctor, Michael Stearns (played by Rainn Wilson). She takes in these comic nerds in hopes that their fandom can decipher where is Utopia with clues left in the comic book based on her. While the premise is not exactly new, because we are living in COVID times and there is a grounded sense to Gillian Flynn’s direction, the show feels realistically sad.
Not everything is a conspiracy because it is lie…. sometimes, it is a conspiracy because it is tragically true. From the COVID cover-up to Jeffrey Epstein’s Island of child slaves or even Russia’s bounty on U.S. soldiers and elections, this entire year feels like Utopia’s 7 episodes. A part of you wants to yell, “NO WAY!” only to end up saying, “Yeah, I can see that happening.” This makes the show feel very pertinent and hypnotically sickening, but, again, its because of its villains. You are becoming a “fly” in the wall of a corporation ready to take over the world even if they have to kill its inhabitants, and while Jessica & CO are aiming to stop them, you, strangely, don’t pull for them.
Amazon Prime Video: Utopia – Official Panel | Comic Con 2020
Perhaps, it is the trick of the “banality” of evil to look charming while being dangerous, but, when you see Jessica and friends, you don’t like them as much as the villains. All the actors are fantastic, and Ashleigh LaThrop’s Becky becomes a light in the show through her sweetness, moral center, and burgeoning love with the equally kind Ian. Yet, they are overshadowed by Jessica, whom is not evil, but is extremely cold and bitter. Don’t get me wrong! If I was tortured by a government that destroyed my family, I wouldn’t exactly be a Powerpuff Girl flying through life. Yet, there is no joy or kindness to her, and she is so dominant over the others, who immediately and blindly follow her, that you want to say, “Hold Up! Why are we with her again?” These are good people trying to help someone who is not good to them, which makes them seem weak.
In essence, Lane’s Jessica may be fighting the bad guys, but she is not doing it because she is “good.” She is doing it because she wants revenge, and, in that, the show believes it has its battle between “good and evil” or “heroes and “villains” but really it is a battle between “the upset” versus “the upsetting.”Ultimately, I loved Utopia and am excited for Season 2. My only hope is that it either embraces its villains as leads or, at least, lightens up the heroes it wants to lead.
