Warning: I’m just figuring out what’s been obvious to most for… Well… For a really long time. Expect no novel thoughts.
We started watching The Diplomat some time ago. It’s a pretty good show. The characters are interesting, there’s lots of tension between the main two characters (both acted well), and it’s actually quite funny in places.
It got pretty bogged down in the first part of season 2. Plenty of drama, but a bit for my old noggin to sort out: quite a few seemingly but parts moving around at once.
In the 2nd half they pull it back together and paint a clear picture of what’s going on. And it changes on every single episode.
I think this is what Palace Intrigue shows are all about:
Oh Dear Reader: here is the hidden truth of how it all works. Except It Doesn’t. Fade to black.
The diplomat pulls this stunt in what feels like every episode of the last half of season 2, each episode is a mini-cliff hanger, each cliff a little bigger.
It reminds me of The Killing – one of the first shows I ever binge watched. And I also think about more classic Mystery shows (for some reason I am really hooked on the 1974 Murder on the Orient Express). They pull the same truck, but usually just once.
The difference is: mysteries maintain tension by not letting on who dun it. Palace Intrigue shows seem to sell you who dun it, then pull a big switch-a-roo, over and over again.
Honestly, I haven’t spent much time with proper Palace Intrigue shows – the Tudors, The Crown… So I’m probably way off base. But I do wonder if this switch-a-roo per episode (or chapter) is a recent invention, or does it go back much farther. (It’s almost always the latter, isn’t it).
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