What I've Watched | You, A Discover of Witches + Snow White with the Red Hair

I'm sharing my thoughts on three very different shows I binged recently!

You

credit • available on Netflix

I was very resistant to watch You, I think because there was something about Dan Humphrey (sorry Penn Badgley, you'll always be Dan to me) playing a stalker (yet again) that rubbed me the wrong way. But as the hype around the show continued to rise, I decided to give it a shot. And wow, it completely hooked me and surpassed my expectations! It's about Joe Goldberg, a seemingly nice, ordinary guy who's a bookstore manager in New York, and how he falls in love (aka obsession) with a customer named Guinevere Beck. The way in which he gets to know her, by using the internet and other crazy means, to infiltrate her life is nothing short of terrifying. It certainly makes you wonder if this could and would happen in real life. But I expected the thriller and psychological aspect of the show, given what it's about. What I didn't anticipate was the dark humor, the clever storytelling style and how exactly Joe would be portrayed. We are constantly inside his head in a way that isn't often done on shows and it was crazy to hear how he justified and made sense of his own actions. Each episode surprised me at every turn and by the time I was finished with it, I was telling all my friends they needed to watch it too. I don't know if the producers of the show thought they'd have a season 2 when they premiered but I'm very curious to see where they'll take it next. Like, can it get any crazier?!

A Discovery of Witches

credit • available on Amazon
& soon AMC

The books by Deborah Harkness has been on my TBR for ages and I even owned the whole trilogy but it wasn't until the show came out that I decided to finally read them. I'm almost always in favor of reading the books first so I'm glad I did it that way but I will say that it made it impossible to not compare the two since I binged the books and then the show one right after the other. I had such a vivid image of how the characters should look that it was difficult to reconcile my imagination with the casting, although some were harder than others (Matthew Goode took me a while but Alex Kingston and Lindsay Duncan were instant loves). The series is a paranormal romance that focuses on Diana Bishop, a historian and unwilling witch, who discovered a bewitched manuscript in Oxford that ends up throwing her into the very world of magic that she's fought to ignore. Matthew Clairmont, a vampire and geneticist, offers to help her and it's through this alliance that we learn of the secrets and conspiracies surrounding witches, vampires, demons and more. Like the books, I loved the blend of fantasy with science and history and I thought the show did a fairly good job depicting that. My biggest grievance was probably how much they cut out from the books. To be fair, a lot does happen but I personally wanted to see it all onscreen. Overall, I was entertained by the show and I fully intend to watch the second season but unsurprisingly, the books are better.

Snow White with the Red Hair

credit • available on Hulu

I had no intention of starting another anime but during the weekend Alexa and Kristin hosted OtakuAThon, I randomly decided to google "anime like Yona of the Dawn" and one show kept popping up on all the lists: Snow White with the Red Hair. So I thought, why not try one episode? I ended up watching both seasons (aka 24 episodes) in two days! It's about Shirayuki, a herbalist from Tanbarun, who's known for her vibrant red hair. It usually attracts unwanted attention, which is how the show kicks off and also a common plot line. Prince Raj hears of her beauty and orders her to become his concubine. Rather than to submit to his wishes, she cuts off her hair and flees to the neighboring kingdom of Clarines. It's on her journey there that she meets and befriends Prince Zen and starts a new life. But it's not without its obstacles and of course, Zen and Shirayuki start to fall for one another despite their differences in social status. I think this is the first anime I've seen where the lead girl isn't immature or in need to constant taking care of. Instead she's independent, intelligent, resourceful and saves herself -- which is why Shirayuki might be my favorite anime heroine ever. I loved how her journey evolved, the secondary characters that get introduced along the way and the growing relationship between her and Zen. I don't know if I've ever swooned or grinned so much over anime couple. They way it's done is so sweet but meaningful as they push each other to be their best selves. They really did make me swoon and smile SO much.

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What have you been watching?