PLOT: The Power is our world, but for one twist of nature. Suddenly, and without warning, teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. The series features a cast of remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Eastern Europe, as the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of the power balance of the world.
REVIEW: The Power is a series I fully expect will rankle a vocal minority online who will complain about this being a series that castrates masculinity and promotes extreme points of view. Those people clearly need to watch this series for that very reason. The Power is a cautionary tale that has a global scale. Looking at the impact of a shift in the male-female dynamic offers a unique look at how we treat gender as a society and how it differs across the planet. Abiding by the adage of absolute power corrupting absolutely, The Power gives us multiple characters in different storylines and how the newfound abilities among the female population usher in a brand new era for humanity. It is a stark and sometimes shocking story that benefits from a balanced ensemble of veteran actors and newcomers, all of whom embrace this timely series.
Based on the best-selling novel by Naomi Alderman, the first season of The Power adapts and expands only a portion of the book it is based on. With new characters and expanded storylines, this series offers a distinct view of the source material that will enhance the story for fans of the book while also giving newcomers a whole world to absorb. The storylines are spread across nine episodes, eight of which were made available for this review, with some arcs taking up entire episodes while others are peppered throughout the season. Each hour-long chapter is an engrossing experience that deepens each character’s connection to the world events, some even overlapping. No single storyline is treated as the primary as they all take turns shifting the perspective, style, and approach to the individual narrative threads. It is a daunting and expansive story that is at once intimate and focused on individual characters while also complexly weaved across all the varied storylines.
At the core, the premise of The Power follows the women of the world who mysteriously develop the ability to emit electricity from their extremities. At first, it is viewed as fake news and urban legends before being treated as an epidemic and then a political threat. We first meet Margot Cleary-Lopez (Toni Collette), the mayor of Seattle, who becomes the face of the new ability. Her husband, Rob (John Leguizamo), is a medical doctor and father to their three kids Jos (Auli’i Cravalho), Matt (Gerrison Machado), and Izzy (Pietra Castro). In Nigeria, we meet Tunde (Toheeb Jimoh), an aspiring journalist who learns of the power through his friend Ndudi (Heather Agyepong). In England, Roxy Monke (Ria Zmitrowicz), the illegitimate daughter of mobster Bernie Monke (Eddie Marsan), struggles with her anger as the power manifests itself. In Romania, Tatiana Moskalev (Zrinka Cvitesic) is the wife of the totalitarian president and suffers through a prison of a marriage following a prison of a childhood. All the stories are reminiscent of realistic scenarios women have dealt with and how they change now that a supernatural power has given them an advantage.
Sometimes, The Power is a blessing and, for others, a curse. As men react, we are given a perspective as the dynamic of control shifts in places like Saudi Arabia down to simple interactions in bars and public spaces. One of the most unique arcs in this series follows Allie (Halle Bush), an orphaned girl who hears a voice in her head (the great Adina Porter) who grooms her from a meek child to a potential Messiah. It is a very intriguing mix of storylines, some of which echo great stories like Stephen King’s The Stand and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, especially in the eerie prescience of the story compared to our real world. There are plots involving LGBTQ rights and intersex characters and how the flipped dynamic of men and women does not always mean that the right people are in power. The Power addresses the trauma many of these female characters endure and presents their reaction when things shift away from their subjugators, and their decisions are not always the best choice. It is an honest and balanced portrait and a fascinating one to watch unfold.
The nine-episode first season of The Power boasts five female directors, including Ugla Hauksdóttir (Hanna), Lisa Gunning, Logan Kibens (Snowfall), Shannon Murphy (Killing Eve), and Neasa Hardiman (Jessica Jones), who visualize the panorama of geographical locations in this series beautifully. There is a starkness to the documentary style employed in the Saudia Arabia sequences and a workmanlike approach to the Seattle-based episodes. Still, all of the directors work this series into a cohesive visual story that crosses borders eloquently. The Power author Naomi Alderman scripted six episodes alongside Sarah Quintrell, Claire Wilson, Raelle Tucker, Michelle Hsu, Brennan Elizabeth Peters, Sue Chung, and Stacy Osei-Kuffour. The all-female talent behind the camera and scripts deliver a balanced approach for the male and female characters. Some of the elements of the story do come across as a bit heavy-handed, especially an online alt-right evangelist who promotes terrorism against powered women. Still, the majority of this series works far more delicately.
The Power is a timely story that subtly twists our reality into a science fiction epic that doesn’t feel like genre storytelling. The visceral nature of many of these stories makes this a challenging watch at certain points, but it promotes a conversation that is absolutely worth having. The solid writing and direction are elevated by the ensemble cast here, many of whom do not even get to share any scenes this season. With the story set to spread across even more seasons, this could be the beginning of the next big event series. The Power has the potential to be the next The Last of Us by taking stellar performances combined with top-notch drama and relevant stories to deliver a powerful show that hits very close to home.
The Power premieres on March 31st on Prime Video.
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