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Okay, so, after my last rave about Slings and Arrows, I didn't like Season 3, almost at all, and here's why.
First, it's about King Lear. I don't like King Lear for very similar reasons: it is depressing as all heck. So is this season. I'm not saying it's not good stuff. It obviously is. I just don't like it.
Second, they did not sell Geoffrey to me. Every step Geoffrey took towards ruin I was like "NO, I do NOT understand why you are doing this!" ( Cut for mild spoilers. ) Also, I thought his stage fright was a little much for me. Anyway, as a result, the production is robbed for me of the resonance that the Hamlet and Macbeth performances in previous seasons had, and I felt relatively unmoved.
Other things I did not like: The romance triangle, I thought, was also seriously dumb, even by the fairly low leading-couple-romance standards I had by this time. They skirted with acknowledging the power song can have to sell the cheesiest of people/plots (yes, I have a huge weak spot for Broadway), but shied away from it. The epilogue wrapped up things way too neatly, especially Geoffrey/Ellen.
However.
There were some really nice moments. Sophie's last scene with Charles is really nice. Geoffrey's last scene (except for the neat wrap-up). The cast coming together for that one performance. The Bolivians with their rain sticks at the performance.
Also also. The one shining star in the season was Anna, who went from being a great character to being Teh Most Awesome Ever. I mean... when I think of the season as being about Anna instead of about Geoffrey, I feel much better about it. Everything she does makes sense with her character, is spectacularly fun to watch, and she is really the one character who has an important choice worth making, makes it, and sees it through to the other side. (Geoffrey, not so much. I spent most of my time watching him yelling at him and generally not understanding what was so important or hard about his choice.)
First, it's about King Lear. I don't like King Lear for very similar reasons: it is depressing as all heck. So is this season. I'm not saying it's not good stuff. It obviously is. I just don't like it.
Second, they did not sell Geoffrey to me. Every step Geoffrey took towards ruin I was like "NO, I do NOT understand why you are doing this!" ( Cut for mild spoilers. ) Also, I thought his stage fright was a little much for me. Anyway, as a result, the production is robbed for me of the resonance that the Hamlet and Macbeth performances in previous seasons had, and I felt relatively unmoved.
Other things I did not like: The romance triangle, I thought, was also seriously dumb, even by the fairly low leading-couple-romance standards I had by this time. They skirted with acknowledging the power song can have to sell the cheesiest of people/plots (yes, I have a huge weak spot for Broadway), but shied away from it. The epilogue wrapped up things way too neatly, especially Geoffrey/Ellen.
However.
There were some really nice moments. Sophie's last scene with Charles is really nice. Geoffrey's last scene (except for the neat wrap-up). The cast coming together for that one performance. The Bolivians with their rain sticks at the performance.
Also also. The one shining star in the season was Anna, who went from being a great character to being Teh Most Awesome Ever. I mean... when I think of the season as being about Anna instead of about Geoffrey, I feel much better about it. Everything she does makes sense with her character, is spectacularly fun to watch, and she is really the one character who has an important choice worth making, makes it, and sees it through to the other side. (Geoffrey, not so much. I spent most of my time watching him yelling at him and generally not understanding what was so important or hard about his choice.)
