Change of pace here, let’s talk about what I’ve been watching instead of reading. There will be some crossover with what I’m reading, but that’s neither here nor there.
I’ve realized that my favorite type of characters are supporting characters. The type of side characters who steal the show from the protagonists and antagonists by virtue of their usefulness in the plot. They exist entirely to help or hinder the heroes on their journey, and frankly, they make the world of stories feel real. Below are two micro reviews for shows that feel like side stories, where every single character plays a supporting role to the rest of their world’s stories.
I hope everyone is watching the The Pitt. It’s one of the few shows I’ve seen in the last few years that actually feels hopeful. If you’re unaware, The Pitt (on HBO) is a medical drama following the particularly hectic 15 hour shifts at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Created by ER alumni R. Scott Gemmill, John Wells and Noah Wyle (who also stars), the Pitt plays out in real time and has been acclaimed for the accuracy and level of realism in its depictions of medical procedures.
Mostly accurate, I should say. I don’t know from experience, but I have seen reviews from medical professionals who critique some aspects of the show; notably that CPR doesn’t exactly look violent or deep enough, the number of complex cases that enter the Pitt is unrealistically high. (I refer you this this article here.)
I mean, it a drama series, the amount of complex cases will be unrealistically high for the sake of the story tension. And tension really is the word for the show. One aspect that the medical community has unequivocally praised the show for is it’s depiction of mental health struggles among ER workers and GOD does the show make you feel that. Many of the characters struggle with the stress of their job, a stress which is compounded by under funding, short staffing, administrative demands, drug addiction and yes, violence against healthcare workers. It’s sad to say that these aspects of the show have been praised as accurate too.
It’s a phenomenally well-written and acted show. Noah Wyle deserves all the praise he’s received as the lead Dr. ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, but I also want to praise Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Tracy Ifeachor, Taylor Dearden and Gerran Howell for their performances. Really the whole cast deserves praise, but I need to highlight the performances of two other guest stars, Samantha Sloyan, best known to Mike Flanagan fans as Bev Keane, and Drew Powell, best known to Gotham fans as Solomon Grundy. They play two wildly different characters, patients at the Pitt, but they leave a huge impact on series.
I also really need to praise the writers and director who managed to balance the pacing of several intense story lines pitch-perfectly. In the end, what I love about this show is that it’s story of people who care working in a system that doesn’t care at all. It’s frustrating, surprisingly cathartic, sad and uplifting at the same time. I haven’t seen anything of season 2 yet, but I’ve heard it’s more of the same, which is exactly what I need from television right now.
Here’s the crossover with my reading, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I just finished reading George R R Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, which have provided the basis for this next Game of Thrones spin off. I got to admit, I’m excited for this new series. I didn’t watch this as it aired (I kind of prefer the bingewatch model of television - it lets me multitask) but a 6 half hours episodes, it’s short enough to watch in an afternoon. I’m also surprised by just how closely the series followed the story; outside of an extended flashback in episode 5 and one major change at the end of the series, it’s practically a page for page translation.
The main theme that the Dunk and Egg novellas play with is nobility through humility. Ser Duncan the Tall is a hedge knight (knight errant) of no fixed abode or Lord. His squire, Egg, is secretly a member of House Targaryen, and is promised to one day sit up the Iron Throne, despite being 4th in line of succession. Both Dunk and Egg despise seeing nobility using their privilege to hurt the small folk of the Seven Kingdoms, and use their sub-rosa travels through Westeros to right wrongs, sing songs and learn about their country.
They're both really fun characters. Egg is the dictionary definition of “precious little scamp” while also possessing a royal bearing and great knowledge of the country they travel. Ser Duncan’s strength doesn’t come from his stature but from his humble heart. He’s certainly an ambitious character, dreaming about one day becoming a member of the Kingsguard, something that a lowly hedge knight has never done. But he’s an honest man, a kind man and he might just make it that far... if this weren’t the Song of Ice and Fire Universe, where being a decent person gets you killed. So thank the seven Ser Dunk is also a fucking berserker who has no compulsion about starting and ending fights with assholes. He’s the type of hero I love, noble and honorable and willing to throw hands with the best of them.
The TV show focuses on the first novella, The Hedge Knight, which pits the newly knighted Ser Duncan against Egg’s older brother, the haughty and vile Aerion. It’s the humble knight with his unlikely retinue of supportive friends vs the power of the Iron throne. It ends in tragedy, with one of the show’s best supporting characters dying.
We’re supposed to get a new season next year and I’m all for it. Peter Claffey as Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansel as Egg carry the show thanks to their chemistry, and the other cast members do well too. Notable standouts being Daniel Ings, Tanzyn Crawford, Bertie Carvel, and Finn Bennett. I really want to see Daniel Ings return, but his character isn’t in the other novellas, so that might not be possible.
Like I said at the start of this post, The Pitt and Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are stories about side characters. They have their main protagonists, sure, Dr. Robby and Ser Dunk would make for an interesting paring, but the stories these shows tell are not the main stories in their respective worlds.
The Pitt takes place in a world the necessitates but mistreats Healthcare workers because everyone else is just so much more important. Real things happen in the rate race outside of hospitals, and medical professionals are just the pit crew that repairs shattered people and sends them back out into the world. (Yeah, the pit crew analogy isn’t me being clever, it’s said in universe.) Meanwhile, a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is explicitly a side story to the main Song of Ice and Fire. It’s not an epic, it’s a fun little romp where no major characters from the main story will ever be hurt, and where the true heroes, the silent, noble warriors who go unpraised can finally get their due.
These respective shows are stories of side characters - the most important people in their respective worlds. Here’s to ‘em. Cheers.
What I’m reading:
Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon (It was a slow week)
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