#charles walker

Medium- (lol) TV series, DailyMotion, good quality but a lot of ads. 1x15 here, 2x12 here, 3x4 here.

Entirety or episode?- Just these episodes, but it’s a neat mini character arc.

Overall verdict- Medium is exccellent. It’s imaginative, topical and well observed. The writing is very good and the acting is all top-notch. It is, however (at least this arc) dark AF in a way that actually surprised me, given that the tone otherwise is pretty light. It feels, particularly the first two episodes in this arc, like a family procedural drama which has sudden bursts of gore and, more disturbingly, pretty graphic paedo-fantasy which I found very unsettling. People might want to exercise caution if they are sensitive to topics of abuse and assault. The third episode of this arc, however, really impressed me. The writing is excellent, the storyline and twists are surprising and I found myself enthusiastically relaying the plot to my partner after I’d watched it. I loved the notion of it taking Charles years to insinuate himself into a suitably suggestible target’s mind. The notions that he had to ‘adapt or die’ when women started going to female doctors, and that potential host women tended to listen to his suggestions less than men were really interesting and sinister. Then they bring on the backstory and the constant twists in the third episode. Colour me impressed. The kids are really good actors in this, too. I very much enjoyed it, subject discomfort aside. The only criticism I’d make is that the ending seemed a tiny bit anticlimactic after how brilliant ep 3 was, but I like how they leave it open – we never know if Charles is really gone or not.

Screen time- Hardly anything in 1x15 but you need to watch for context. Main character in 2x12 and 3x4.

Accent- English and American

Mark’s character- This is probably the most impressed I’ve been at Mark’s acting since Crowley. He’s good in the second episode, but he is incredible in the third, where he plays not only evil spook Charles Walker, but his suffering descendent Jack Walker too. Charles is a completely repellent, evil monster, until he isn’t, entirely… the backstory, oh man. It absolutely doesn’t change how repulsive this character is, but it certainly makes things even more uncomfortable and grey. There’s a lot to think about with this character. Jack is almost even more fascinating, and the storyline that he’s spent his whole life as a functioning alcoholic in order to keep ‘the voices’ at bay is utterly heartbreaking and it’s really difficult to not think of Mr S’s personal experiences with addiction that he’s spoken about so eloquently on numerous occasions. The plot twist with Charles purposefully ensuring Jack will be in custody for 72 hours just so he’ll be cut off from alcohol so Charles can get in is just brutal (and ingenious). That’s one of things that really struck me about Charles – he’s clever. I noted down ‘why would he phone and warn Alison that Ariel’s at the party?’ but then it turns out he’s playing her again and… yeah. TBH my notes for this show are all just caps ranting of stuff like ‘GROSS’ ‘SHUDDER’ ‘UNSAVOURY’ ‘FUCK THIS IS CRUEL’ ‘OH GOD POOR JACK’. I’m reading my notes now and laughing a bit. Verbatim: “Oh my God Charles is talking to the girl!!! Twist! He planned it all along! Holy shit he’s gonna make her kill HERSELF!” I basically identified way too much with Jack and got the full force of protective outrage over him. Anyway, suffice to say I have more feelings about Charles and Jack than I can really write up here, but Mr S is stellar in this. These two identical characters are believably different people. It’s almost unsettling how he can go from dead-eyed stare to creepy, lust-drunk murder-face, to such convincing anguish that you just want to hug him. It’s weirdly distressing to see Jack (and actually, Charles) so convincingly upset and this dual performance is hypnotic. It really proves what Mark S can do when he’s given good material (FILM MAKERS, GIVE HIM MORE GOOD MATERIAL!!!) I will also add a side note to this that Charles’s costumes are all really awesome.

Highlight- “Maths is about STUPID.” – In this moment, Ariel is me. “Think about icecream, or cake… chocolate works good… Mommy, I’m hungry.” – In this moment, Bridget is me. “I have nothing but time” Shudder, shudder… did not expect him possessing Alicia. All the super repellent objectification and “Put it in her!” are hideous but effective and well-played. “Stop crying! Nothing happened!” – I guilty-laughed at that, but it effectively sums up Charles’s thought process and how psychopathic he is. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved” – and there we have it :\ Charles being dragged away to his lynching screaming “I. WILL. NOT. GO.” Creepy because he’s a baddie etc but heck, I admire his determination. The sheer twists in episode 3. Jack’s emotional wrangling with whether to confess, as he’s being pushed to do, to a crime he can’t remember committing.

Rewatch?- It’s seriously good, but it seriously skeeved me out – I’d rewatch ep 3 but probably not the first two.

(Apologies for twelvety billion screencaps)

Possibly the worst facial composite sketch I’ve ever seen.

Bowl of fingers, there.

There it is.

Stop crying! Nothing happened!

;__;

Sorry I had to.

This outfit works.

Bless you Jack. Come here and let me hug you.

Puppy Eyes Level: Extreme.