The Young Pope was one of the best shows I've ever watched on television. It did a few things better than any show I've ever seen - namely its hi-light photography, its incredible music, and that insanely magnetic Jude Law performance. The show got a cult following in 2017, with most that got invested in it feeling it to be among the best, if not the outright best, show to air in 2017.
Almost immediately following that season, creator Paolo Sorrentino - most known as an Italian auteur - announced his plans to have the show return, rebranded as 'The New Pope'. About a year later, it was announced that John Malkovich would be the titular 'New Pope', but still feature Jude Law in a role. Little was released about the show, namely a release date, until it was hidden in a HBO bravado promo (the one's they do every six months or show showing clips of their hits to come in a way no other network can). The excitement was generated immediately and I counted down the days until it aired.
Now that the show finished its US HBO run (it finished on Canal+ a few weeks back), I can confidently say that while the show was not The Young Pope good, it came together brilliantly and was a great follow-up, diving deeper, more sadistic, more introspective and more nuanced. Removing Lenny from the mix for most of the season unlocked so much calm, dour brilliance.
Malkovich was brilliant, but what really made the season sing was how it placed even more prominence on Voiello, the sneaky star role player of Season 1, who became basically the co-lead, more pitiable but more beautiful than he was in teh first season. In the first season, he was seen as the anchor tying Lenny down, but in reality was the man who was trying to move the church forward. In this season, he became the true mastermind of all things Vatican, playing the popes like fiddles.
The charactor of John Brannox (Malkovich) was so well written and smart. He was never going to match the verve and pompousness of Lenny, but instaed was weirder, more vexing and more insightful. His scenes more pulsatingly slow and beautiful as ever. Yes, we didn't have the smarm of Lenny fencing with various world leaders and vatican paeans, but watching Malkovich, in that most Malkovich of accents, ploy around was fascinating.
That all said, man did the show explode the second Jude Law woke up. His lingering presence was so well played for most of the season, showing up as a living ghost and then a few finger trembles. But when he woke up, and that familiar version of 'All Along the Watchtower' started playing, you instantly remembered what was so fabulous about the show in the first place.
Law was brilliant in all three of his episodes, first when largely on the sidelines in one of the most stunningly shot episodes of TV outside of Breaking Bad's best work (and even then it probably gives it a run for Breaking Bad's money). It all started clicking though in the penultimate episode, when Lenny meets Voiello, scheming on the same side for once. The small smile that cuts on Law's face, along with the familiar EDM sounds of Recondite's 'Levo', was eveything I could have asked for from The New Pope.
The finale was dour but also ceremonial. Yes, it leaves us without Lenny again - and probably confirms the show is not coming back unless they want to dive head-first into Lenny being Jesus - but it did so much. Gave us another fantastic set piece of Lenny preaching to teh Cardinals in full regalia. It gave us a few great interactions between Lenny and John, and of course the Law speeches. The moment Esther takes off her terrorist mask and reveals herself also hit the spot, making up for the only slow, off plotline of the season.
The New Pope will likely not be my favorite show of the year, but I am so glad it was made, so glad we got to enter into this stilted, dreamy, flighty, serious world one more time. If only for the theme song, if only to see Law dressed as cartoonishly as possible, if only for John Malkovich to yell 'No' time and time again, if only for the image of the crippled boy Lenny prayed for being liberated and floating into heaven (truly an awe-inspiring shot). It was all beautiful. Not best, to be sure, but beautiful nonetheless.
Almost immediately following that season, creator Paolo Sorrentino - most known as an Italian auteur - announced his plans to have the show return, rebranded as 'The New Pope'. About a year later, it was announced that John Malkovich would be the titular 'New Pope', but still feature Jude Law in a role. Little was released about the show, namely a release date, until it was hidden in a HBO bravado promo (the one's they do every six months or show showing clips of their hits to come in a way no other network can). The excitement was generated immediately and I counted down the days until it aired.
Now that the show finished its US HBO run (it finished on Canal+ a few weeks back), I can confidently say that while the show was not The Young Pope good, it came together brilliantly and was a great follow-up, diving deeper, more sadistic, more introspective and more nuanced. Removing Lenny from the mix for most of the season unlocked so much calm, dour brilliance.
Malkovich was brilliant, but what really made the season sing was how it placed even more prominence on Voiello, the sneaky star role player of Season 1, who became basically the co-lead, more pitiable but more beautiful than he was in teh first season. In the first season, he was seen as the anchor tying Lenny down, but in reality was the man who was trying to move the church forward. In this season, he became the true mastermind of all things Vatican, playing the popes like fiddles.
The charactor of John Brannox (Malkovich) was so well written and smart. He was never going to match the verve and pompousness of Lenny, but instaed was weirder, more vexing and more insightful. His scenes more pulsatingly slow and beautiful as ever. Yes, we didn't have the smarm of Lenny fencing with various world leaders and vatican paeans, but watching Malkovich, in that most Malkovich of accents, ploy around was fascinating.
That all said, man did the show explode the second Jude Law woke up. His lingering presence was so well played for most of the season, showing up as a living ghost and then a few finger trembles. But when he woke up, and that familiar version of 'All Along the Watchtower' started playing, you instantly remembered what was so fabulous about the show in the first place.
Law was brilliant in all three of his episodes, first when largely on the sidelines in one of the most stunningly shot episodes of TV outside of Breaking Bad's best work (and even then it probably gives it a run for Breaking Bad's money). It all started clicking though in the penultimate episode, when Lenny meets Voiello, scheming on the same side for once. The small smile that cuts on Law's face, along with the familiar EDM sounds of Recondite's 'Levo', was eveything I could have asked for from The New Pope.
The finale was dour but also ceremonial. Yes, it leaves us without Lenny again - and probably confirms the show is not coming back unless they want to dive head-first into Lenny being Jesus - but it did so much. Gave us another fantastic set piece of Lenny preaching to teh Cardinals in full regalia. It gave us a few great interactions between Lenny and John, and of course the Law speeches. The moment Esther takes off her terrorist mask and reveals herself also hit the spot, making up for the only slow, off plotline of the season.
The New Pope will likely not be my favorite show of the year, but I am so glad it was made, so glad we got to enter into this stilted, dreamy, flighty, serious world one more time. If only for the theme song, if only to see Law dressed as cartoonishly as possible, if only for John Malkovich to yell 'No' time and time again, if only for the image of the crippled boy Lenny prayed for being liberated and floating into heaven (truly an awe-inspiring shot). It was all beautiful. Not best, to be sure, but beautiful nonetheless.
