Miracle Workers: Dark Ages
Premise - Same cast, new story. Remember when Steve Buscemi was God and Daniel Radcliffe was an angel? Well, the tables have turned (the round tables??) in the dark ages, where DanRad is now a rich prince and Steve Buscemi a mere shitshoveler. In the medieval town of Lower Murkford, royalty prevails and the peasants are treated like the shit they pick up. But the power starts to shift when Prince Chauncley starts to fall in love with the daughter of the town's shitshoveler.
Review - Yay this show came back for a second season!! I reviewed the first season here: [http://narrativemultiverse.blogspot.com/2019/03/miracle-workers.html] and debated just adding a quick little blurb about the second season to the bottom of it. But considering it's an all new story with a new title addendum, I think it deserves its own full review.
Because the cast, creators, and sense of humor are all the same, it is impossible not to do a quick comparison of the two seasons, in which I have to admit the first season comes out on top. The humor in this one is just as great, as well as the performances. However, what makes the first season uniquely effective is its clear end in sight - doomsday. There is a very clear plot arc and each episode serves an important purpose. With this season, there were more episodes (12 vs. 8) and halfway through I still found myself asking "What is the story? What is the point?" It felt as though there was far more emphasis on the premise rather than plot, which set the show up well to continue for several seasons. But knowing this is an anthology series with a limited number of episodes, I was surprised and how much the plot felt drawn out. But yay! By episode 12, we do get a very clear ending that ties up all those loose knots and gives you a holistic story to look back on.
Last season, the punchline was Christianity/religion, which openly invited controversy. This season, the punchline is how uneducated and ignorant people were in medieval times, which theoretically allows for more universal humor. However, the show does NOT hold back from fiercely progressive overtones that make overt comparisons of the royalty to the current US political administration and Al to a social justice warrior feminist who believes in science, reason, acceptance, and progress. An earnest watch through is therefore even more touchy than the first season for how harshly it critiques conservatism. Conservatives are compared to the people who willingly pick up shit, so that's pretty aggressive. For someone like me, however, who is fiercely progressive, I found the humor to be incredibly validating and even comforting in these crazy times, because maybe history will get better.
Let's not forget that this show features Daniel Radcliffe! He plays an ignorant, but kindhearted prince who does not even know how to feed himself. By that I mean not only can he not cook, he cannot even spoon food into his mouth without the help of a royal servant. He may possess massive ignorance, and his sheer existence contributes to the misery of the peasants. But he does not have a violent bone in his body and once Al starts to educate him about the lives of the peasants, he is open for change. That's the kind of positivity we are all looking to hear! But, yeah... that change sparks war and, you know, lots of death so... change doesn't come easy.
Also, first season, DanRad's character pines over Geraldine's character for the whole season but they don't get together. After another whole season of pining, the two finally get together!!! Let's hope for a third season where they get to spend even more time together! (88/100)
Quote - "And that is how you do the Chauncley!"
What to watch for - I don't know what's better, Daniel Radcliffe as a stupid prince surrounded by ducks, or Steve Buscemi as a shitshoveler. I think Steve Buscemi's resignation to his lifestyle is played really, REALLY well though. I also found Geraldine's character (Al) in this one to be uncomfortably relatable and worth watching the entire show for.
If you liked this show, I'd recommend Norsemen! Though that show is incredibly crude so it may require one to brace themselves. It is similarly about ridiculing people of medieval times.
Created by Simon Rich
Broadcast on TBS
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