The Young Pope

[Falvlun]

With its religious theme, I was wondering if anyone here caught the Young Pope.

It was excruciatingly slow, filled with artsy videography, and in most episodes nothing happened except some philosophical or emotional whining. But I kept watching. I needed to know how a man who may or may not believe in god, had little inate charm besides his good looks, and a dubious moral compass could perform the functions of Pope.

The series was compelling and infuriating. I'll probably watch the next season.

Whatcha think?

 

[Kirran]

I thought it was great.

 

[BSM1]

Couldn't make it through the first 15 minutes (mostly for the reasons you cited).

 

[Kemosloby]

Dubious moral compass huh? What did he do, sit on a golden throne trying to figure out how to help the poor?

 

[Falvlun]

Dubious moral compass huh? What did he do, sit on a golden throne trying to figure out how to help the poor?

Ha ha.

Actually, I think Lenny, aka Pope Pius the XIII could give a rat's rear end for the poor. He was extraordinarily self-absorbed, selfish, and whatever the opposite of humble is. He is utterly uninterested in the needs of humanity (except for a rare handful of people he cares about): only the needs of God matter. Which you can argue makes sense for a Pope, but Lenny's own doubts regarding God make his decisions seem less about God's wishes and more his own personal whims.

 

[Kirran]

Ha ha.

Actually, I think Lenny, aka Pope Pius the XIII could give a rat's rear end for the poor. He was extraordinarily self-absorbed, selfish, and whatever the opposite of humble is. He is utterly uninterested in the needs of humanity (except for a rare handful of people he cares about): only the needs of God matter. Which you can argue makes sense for a Pope, but Lenny's own doubts regarding God make his decisions seem less about God's wishes and more his own personal whims.

You haven't watched the whole series, have you?

 

[Falvlun]

I thought it was great.

I thought it had the possibility of greatness. The concept was definitely interesting: a young, hard-core conservative Pope with little allegiance to the Vatican beauracracy, and personal doubts.

The attention to detail was remarkable. Seeing the inner workings of the Vatican were as fascinating as the story.

But ultimately, I think it meandered a bit too much without having enough of a payoff. The story wasn't so much a story with a direction as it was "a day in the life of this Pope" and then "another day in the life of this Pope". I needed a bit more resolution, both in terms of where the story was going and innwhat sort of person Lenny is. After an entire season he's still a mystery-- which is ok, but it's almost like they make him whatever they need him to be at any particular moment. He has to have some continuity.

 

[Kirran]

I thought it had the possibility of greatness. The concept was definitely interesting: a young, hard-core conservative Pope with little allegiance to the Vatican beauracracy, and personal doubts.

The attention to detail was remarkable. Seeing the inner workings of the Vatican were as fascinating as the story.

But ultimately, I think it meandered a bit too much without having enough of a payoff. The story wasn't so much a story with a direction as it was "a day in the life of this Pope" and then "another day in the life of this Pope". I needed a bit more resolution, both in terms of where the story was going and innwhat sort of person Lenny is. After an entire season he's still a mystery-- which is ok, but it's almost like they make him whatever they need him to be at any particular moment. He has to have some continuity.

I suppose I see what you mean, but to be honest I think it did show really character development over the course of the season.

I watched the entire series the day before an exam though, so it may colour my perception.

 

[Chickaboom]

I love this show, have watched and rewatched this show a rediculous number of times and have seen something new each time. I thought the somewhat chaotic development of Pius XIII's moral character was fascinating. Let's face it, the guy is a hot mess, but what a glorious hot mess. He emerges from the conclave a roaring Nemean lion, terrifying, clawing, devouring. He trusts no one except Sister Mary, and it seems he was for the most part right to distrust everyone, and his despotism was necessary in order to regain control over the church. I loved the Kangaroo that he let loose on the grounds. For most of the season I took it to symbolize the Cardinals becuase he kept trying to make it jump. But later I identified it with his shadow, especially after it died with some injury to its heart. Guess they couldn't have let a lion loose in the grounds. I thought the way they portrayed the terrible consequences of his stance on homosexuals was realistic. When Voiello and Sister Mary conspired to "get the church back on track," he could have retaliated against them, but instead he came to accept their actions and did not seek to undo it. I think the show did an amazing job of showing why homosexuality should not be lumped together with sexual perversions such as Pedophilia. I suspect that it was Pius's intention all along to force people to prove this to him, to bring things to a head so that they could be lanced one way or the other. We shall see if the same is ultimately true for abortion. Very sad case in the news this week of a mother of 7 killing herself after she found out that she was pregnant and decided not to get an abortion on moral grounds, but could not live with that decision. So now the children are without a mother and the baby is also dead. Very sad.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

The understated humor in the show is top-notch. It's well-acted, excellently shot, and is an all-around solid show. Like many contemporary shows, the themes and subtext take some work to understand and appreciate and, like many good shows, tends to have slow pacing and meander a bit. However, this style of meditative story-telling seems to suit such subject matter really well. I'm just glad we have so many deep, rich television shows these days, as the movie industry seems to have completely given up on anything that isn't a children's movie or a mega-budget retelling/sequel.

 

[metis]

Dubious moral compass huh? What did he do, sit on a golden throne trying to figure out how to help the poor?

Is that why the CC is the single largest charitable organization in the world?