Review: Season 1 FRONTIER

Frontier is the first original scripted series ordered by Discovery, and will follow the struggle to "control wealth and power in the North American fur trade in the late 18th century."

Stars: Jason Momoa, Landon Liboiron, Zoe Boyle 

3 1/2 STARS

 

     Frontier was all right. I had such huge expectations for the show. I wasn't disappointed per say, but found myself raising an eyebrow or two during the season. It wasn't just one thing that stood out be as a whole.  Most of the characters were casted well but the dialogue in particular scenes left  a lot to be desired.


     Declan Harp, Jason Momoa's character, felt forced at the beginning. As the season progressed his character had a more natural edge.

     At the start of the season, Captain Chesterfield had a strong presence. Later on his character fell flat, annoying, and seemed not focused.

     Grace Emberly, Zoe Boyle, was my favorite character of the season. Composed and strong , she portrayed her character the best. She was believable! She's great in Downton Abbey. 

     Landon Liboiron, Michael Smyth, is on his way to being a great sidekick to Declan. Although he's still wet behind the ears. I'm hoping the character grows and will portray a much more mature manner. I enjoyed watching him in Hemlock Grove. 

     Lord Benton, Alun Armstrong, was superb as always. His cold demeanor added the perfect amount of tension to each of his scenes. The perfect sinister antagonist! 

     The season was passable. I was hoping for more historical tidbits alongside the attire of the times. 

 Here are the scenes that had me raising an eyebrow or two:

• Sokanon tells Declan that Michael would die for him. It seemed a bit extreme considering they had only met a handful of days before. Hero worship is all good and dandy but it did not ring true for me. 
• Declan captured not once but twice in a six episode season bugged me. 
• The continuous mention of Declan's need for revenge and how dark he had become started to get annoying.  We can see he wants the blood of his enemies and has issues. IMHO it would have served the series better if everything had been explained as Grace tends to his wounds and he has his mini break down.   
• The fact a that Captain Johnson arrived with Clenna so soon. First of all, Lord Benton would not have bothered sending the note inquiring about Clenna. That was so out of character. He would of lied and said she was safe and awaiting his return, if anything. Second, it took 2-3 weeks to cross the Atlantic in optimal conditions during this period. That means the note would have had to travel there in 2-3 weeks and Clenna return in a 2-3 week window of time.  That amount of time did not run parallel to the season's timeline of event did it?
• Captain Johnson had no backbone. Ugh! The episode where ladies from the tavern devised a plan to gather information from Johnson was laughable. 
• Declan and crew breaking into Lord Benton's house not once but twice to rescue people. You'd think after the first time the place would be surrounded by soldiers. You only see them in scenes where characters walked right up to the door. What about during the night. Where's the night watch?

I was thrilled to see Jason Momoa again. Le sigh! Fingers crossed that season two will be more attractive. Yes, I will be watching out for season two.  I would have loved for there to be more than six episodes and a tad bit more in the romance department, but these things take time.  Hopefully characters will have a better grasp of their roles and the writers will sharpen the character interactions allowing for a more believable exchange. I hope certain story threads will evolve and we learn more.