[7.5/10] This is another one that felt more like “History’s Greatest Hits” than a more introspective character piece. It’s interesting to watch the rise of factionalism in the budding America government, the internal push between supporting France amid revolution vs. supporting England as a stabilizing force, and the other ideological skirmishes as the new nation took its first governmental steps. But for the most part, it’s nothing you haven’t already read in your high school history class, and the dramatization of it is solid as always, but pretty paint by numbers.
I’m even less interested in what’s going on within the Adams household. There’s some genuinely worthy material to cover about John’s unexpected speculating son-in-law, John Quincy resenting his appointment as ambassador to Holland, and Charles resenting his father for his long absence and choosing duty over family. But the episode’s exploration of all of these things is so glancing that it’s hard to take any of them too seriously or really latch onto them.
This episode is at its best when it’s more focused on how Adams feels about the goings on in Philadelphia and his barely-contained ambition. There’s a plain sense that he sees himself as worthy, if not outright owed, the top job in the country, that he resents his distance from the halls of power as Vice President whether at the White House or in Congress, and that as much as he respects George Washington, he covets his position and prestige.
The dovetails neatly with a couple of interesting ideas, most notably that he seems to value the stability of a quasi-monarchical system, where titles and prestige are not hereditary, but given based on merit (implicitly to him). There’s also a well-done parable inherent to “Unite or Die”, where John so clearly envied the title of President, but as his seat in a ravaged quarters and Washington’s “see who’s happier” parting words indicates, he’s apt to enjoy the idea of being President much more than actually being President. There’s a “be careful what you wish for” moral here, and it’s the best part of this one.
I’ll cop to enjoying how the early political machinations of the Congress and the Cabinet feel remarkably like high school. All the power plays, backstabbing, and even petty insults (“his rotundness the brain tree”), help take these much-mythologized men and turn them into flawed human beings they are. As dutifully if uninspiringly as this episode runs through events like the rise of political parties, the Declaration of Neutrality, and debates over a centralized government and the national debt, the human moments between them are much more compelling.
It stands out seeing the normally unflappable Washington rage at his cabinet for being unable to be civil or reach any agreement. The change Thomas Jefferson has gone through after his time in France, and how John seems genuinely hurt at the prospect that his old friend will no longer serve with him in Philadelphia, whatever their philosophical disagreements. His grasping his friend’s arm and saying they’ll “descend together” is oddly sweet. By the same token, in a post-Hamilton world, it’s striking to see the first Treasury Secretary depicted as a Machiavellian schemer rather than the noble-if-overzealous fighter.
Of course, there’s still much to be wrung from the Abigail/John relationship. Her rebuke of him over his English leanings and clear ambition in the early going gets your attention, as does his melting at it. Their relationship is the best thing about this mini-series, and its complications, realistic bumps, and lived-in dynamic keep it going. In the same way, her reminder to her husband to “count his blessings,” including his wife, puts a nice glimmer of hope onto the grimness of the final scene.
Overall, this is one of the more staid “bullet points of history” episodes rather than the better character examinations, but there’s something to communicating John Adams’s barely-restrained vanity and sense of being aggrieved here, not to mention him getting the thing he thinks he deserves, only to get the sense it will not be the pleasant experience in the halls of power he’d hoped.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-08T02:11:19Z
[7.5/10] This is another one that felt more like “History’s Greatest Hits” than a more introspective character piece. It’s interesting to watch the rise of factionalism in the budding America government, the internal push between supporting France amid revolution vs. supporting England as a stabilizing force, and the other ideological skirmishes as the new nation took its first governmental steps. But for the most part, it’s nothing you haven’t already read in your high school history class, and the dramatization of it is solid as always, but pretty paint by numbers.
I’m even less interested in what’s going on within the Adams household. There’s some genuinely worthy material to cover about John’s unexpected speculating son-in-law, John Quincy resenting his appointment as ambassador to Holland, and Charles resenting his father for his long absence and choosing duty over family. But the episode’s exploration of all of these things is so glancing that it’s hard to take any of them too seriously or really latch onto them.
This episode is at its best when it’s more focused on how Adams feels about the goings on in Philadelphia and his barely-contained ambition. There’s a plain sense that he sees himself as worthy, if not outright owed, the top job in the country, that he resents his distance from the halls of power as Vice President whether at the White House or in Congress, and that as much as he respects George Washington, he covets his position and prestige.
The dovetails neatly with a couple of interesting ideas, most notably that he seems to value the stability of a quasi-monarchical system, where titles and prestige are not hereditary, but given based on merit (implicitly to him). There’s also a well-done parable inherent to “Unite or Die”, where John so clearly envied the title of President, but as his seat in a ravaged quarters and Washington’s “see who’s happier” parting words indicates, he’s apt to enjoy the idea of being President much more than actually being President. There’s a “be careful what you wish for” moral here, and it’s the best part of this one.
I’ll cop to enjoying how the early political machinations of the Congress and the Cabinet feel remarkably like high school. All the power plays, backstabbing, and even petty insults (“his rotundness the brain tree”), help take these much-mythologized men and turn them into flawed human beings they are. As dutifully if uninspiringly as this episode runs through events like the rise of political parties, the Declaration of Neutrality, and debates over a centralized government and the national debt, the human moments between them are much more compelling.
It stands out seeing the normally unflappable Washington rage at his cabinet for being unable to be civil or reach any agreement. The change Thomas Jefferson has gone through after his time in France, and how John seems genuinely hurt at the prospect that his old friend will no longer serve with him in Philadelphia, whatever their philosophical disagreements. His grasping his friend’s arm and saying they’ll “descend together” is oddly sweet. By the same token, in a post-Hamilton world, it’s striking to see the first Treasury Secretary depicted as a Machiavellian schemer rather than the noble-if-overzealous fighter.
Of course, there’s still much to be wrung from the Abigail/John relationship. Her rebuke of him over his English leanings and clear ambition in the early going gets your attention, as does his melting at it. Their relationship is the best thing about this mini-series, and its complications, realistic bumps, and lived-in dynamic keep it going. In the same way, her reminder to her husband to “count his blessings,” including his wife, puts a nice glimmer of hope onto the grimness of the final scene.
Overall, this is one of the more staid “bullet points of history” episodes rather than the better character examinations, but there’s something to communicating John Adams’s barely-restrained vanity and sense of being aggrieved here, not to mention him getting the thing he thinks he deserves, only to get the sense it will not be the pleasant experience in the halls of power he’d hoped.