Despite the fact that the show is often more violent than I would like, I absolutely loved it. I think it was the dialogue that really captured and held my attention; it's witty, tense, sharp, and every character is wonderfully executed. Tom Hardy's performance as the very very very mad, bad and dangerous to know James Delaney is absolutely brilliant. Incidentally, I feel like his character is an out-of-control version of Byron; mad father, penchant for hanging around in exotic countries, incestuous relationship with his half-sister, isolated, gloomy outlook on life, though (thankfully) James Delaney is not going to be writing any poems any time soon (though his handwriting is shockingly beautiful). I also found the disjunction between the character of Delaney and Tom Hardy's public persona exceptionally amusing, because I couldn't really forget that he's a funny, voluble, sweet dog-lover, even while he's ripping out someone's throat with his teeth onscreen. Much like Tommy Shelby, the ever-present question is, is he a character utterly without moral compass? And much like Tommy Shelby, the answer turns out to be 'no', but Delaney is ruthless, violent and cruel to a shocking degree. I constantly found myself cheering him on (I mean, how could you not, when he walks swaggering impressively around the streets of London in his swishy coat and tall hat and with his handsome face?) but also very confused and full of misgivings about him. I loved the presentation of the character, he absolutely won my heart when someone asks him what the smallest thing he saw on his travels is and he, looking into the middle distance out of his dead, beautiful eyes, answers 'human kindness' in that emotionless, gravelly voice. Still, I felt that he was a bit too much of a Romantic isolated outlaw, it seems like he has no one at all he is willing to turn to (though everyone is clamouring to be his confidante, lover, companion, etc), or prefers to turn to the dead for a nice chat. I just wish he had actually talked to someone, rather than hang around his ruinous house, performing terrifying tribal rituals without trousers.
I found some of the political scheming and other machinations quite confusing at times, though this might just be me. In both this show and the miniseries Decline and Fall, I couldn't understand a word that Stephen Graham was saying, which was quite annoying and made me miss a lot of the plotting. But I definitely understood enough to feel enormous satisfaction as it turns out for the millionth time that Delaney is about five steps ahead of his enemies at every turn. I think a lot of people might find this show somewhat excessive, as Delaney stamps impressively around with his coat blowing in the wind, slaughters and outwits an endless succession of sneaks and traitors, and has bizarre visions/flashbacks, but I absolutely revelled in it and loved it (okay, maybe not the weird visions so much). I'm a little worried about the second season, because it looks from the finale like it will no longer be taking place in the wonderfully executed world of Regency London, but abroad, which I'm likely to find less interesting, and also because some of my favourite actors seem likely to not come back, such as Jonathan Pryce as the Chairman of the EIC and Tom Hollander as the rakish, witty and matter-of-fact doctor and chemist. The only thing I have to conclude is that Tom Hardy is way too good for Hollywood, and it's a shame that he's constantly off playing villain roles over there.
Unfortunately, unlike Peaky Blinders, Taboo doesn't have an awesome anachronistic soundtrack (lack of funding, maybe?), but if it had, surely this song would be on it (it's basically a good summary of the show):
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