Streaming YA Randomnees: Locke & Key and Ragnarok
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 8:00PM 
What entirely random thing have you found yourself watching lately? With every streaming service showing content from all over the world, it's increasingly rare for everyone to be on the same viewing journey...
When I need to unwind I nearly always sample random series rather than putting in a movie. (I love movies best but they're "work" in a strange way that TV isn't... like we feel duty bound to write about them and end up feeling guilty when we don't)
First I chose Locke & Key primarily due to gay solidarity with Connor Jessup. We stan young actors brave enough to come out at the beginning of their careers when they're hot commodities and have a lot to lose. You'll recall Connor from his Emmy worthy performance in American Crime as a sexually abused high schooler. In real life Connor is apparently now dating fellow TV actor Miles Heizer (13 Reasons Why, Parenthood).
On Connor's new show he's a popular jock who loves the ladies. He's got more to contend with than just the girl he wants to impress when he and his younger siblings realize that there are magical keys in their new house and a demon that's after this same treasure. The plot is hopelessly convoluted and takes a couple of episodes to really get going but it's also a lot of fun in a YA fantasy way. Plus two of the adult actors are favourites from other things (Bill Heck from Pit Stop and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Off Broadway and gorgeous willowy Sherri Saum from The Fosters).
Afterwards I moved on to Ragnarok.
I picked the latter because it was a) from Norway where I once lived and I wanted to see if I could watch without subtitles (answer: not really) and b) I've loved mythology since I was a teeny-tiny kid. The show is absolutely ridiculous -- something about a teenager possibly being the god of thunder without realizing it and the local rich family actually being descended from the giants who battle the gods in Norse mythology. But it takes place in a high school so there's the normal mean girls / cruel jocks / gay crushes tropes mixed with the mythological wackiness of ageless baddies who strip naked to hunt live prey. How do you say "camp" in Norwegian?
How about you? What have you been watching.
Reader Comments (16)
I recently watched The Witcher which was enjoyable, but not great. I started Sex Education which is hysterical so far. The writing is whip smart. I’m planning on give Locke and Key a try soon.
My man is obsessed with BL romance series from Thailand and Taiwan etc. (BL I think is for Boy Love, but they're all adults for sure). They move very slowly, but there seem to be SO many of them. I don't really think there is an equivalent in the English speaking world. They're all on YouTube with English subtitles.
it's not random as i've been waiting nearly two years for it: the third season of 'this country', a british mockumentary about the very dull small town lives of unemployed cousins kerry and kurtan mucklowe
I love Connor Jessup, but “Locke & Key” suffers from characters making the dumbest decisions. They basically give the keys away.
I've gone back to try and finish "You're The Worst". A brilliant season 1 was followed up by a season that dealt with the personal mental and social issues of the characters which, whilst noble enough, wasn't what I tuned in to YTW for (that would be an unsentimental humourous look at a group of selfish arseholes - a bit like a grandchild of "Seinfeld"). Season 3 is somewhere in the middle of the first two seasons, so I need to try and finish it to see if I want to go the distance (5 seasons in all).
We watched season 1 of “Ragnarok”.
The last Norwegian tv series I watched was “Norsemen” with its comic venality.
“Ragnarok” had echoes of Riverdale/ Twilight.
- We felt sorry for poor Magne, with his disloyal family
- We liked the dog, and thought he should have had a more sympathetic role.
- Evil Dad was too hairy
- Norway looked like it was kind of bleakly winter all the time, and never quite spring.
I've been binging Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries again in the lead up to the release of the feature film. Such a fun show. Also watched THE PHARMACIST, which is yet another Netflix doc-series that should've been shorter and probably just a movie.
I wouldn't call it essential viewing, but I have been enjoying The Unicorn.
Few things it has going for it:
1) Walton Goggins
2) Everyone realizing how great Walton Goggins is
3) Michaela Watkins throwing 104 everytime she is on screen
4) When you expect a sitcom trope, it diverges into a more realistic, quieter scenario
I've been enjoying it. Most likely, your parents would love it.
Travis C - You must go the distance on YTW. The final season is very good and the finale is even better. Somehow they really did manage to stick the landing.
As for random stuff I've been watching... well I watch entirely too much TV so there isn't anything really too random. There's this BBC America mini-series documentary SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET that I've been watching. The nature/animal photography is gorgeous and I learn SO MUCH in one episode (which focuses on a different continent per episode). I also somehow get personally invested in some of the animal stories which isn't great since... well the animal kingdom is a effed up place.
There's also the very good EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE OKAY created by and starring Josh Thomas (PLEASE LIKE ME). It's on Freeform and can be streamed on Hulu. I keep recommending this to everyone.
@Glenn Dunks: I love Miss Fisher. Essie Davis is so great, and the costumes, the style, the straightforward political stance, total pleasure.
@Ben: I’ve been watching some episodes of The Unicorn too. I’d only ever seen Walton Goggins in a bad guy or guignol role, so it’s nice to see him play something different. I had just seen Michaela Watkins in “Brittany Runs a Marathon”, which was surprisingly satisfying. The Unicorn has a fun ensemble.
Watched Jojo Rabbit which I loved until I had a conversation with a Jewish friend about it, which led me to rethink the film - does it deny the Holocaust? But still love the movie. Also Green Book which was worthwhile and I really think Viggo Mortensen maybe deserved the Oscar. He portrays the character so flawlessly, and I think the real Viggo is a far cry from the character he plays. But Oscar doesn't seem to smile on him - I think he's lost before.
Aside from this, have fallen in love with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix which I was determined not to like, but it seduced me anyway with its very funny dialogue, and the story of how someone whose lost 15 years of the present is confused/delighted with what life has to offer. Guaranteed to make you look at modern life in a new way.
Those white twinks be twinning.
Call My Agent (France) on Netflix. Even though at its heart, it’s just a workplace comedy, the interactions between the agents (who can be ridiculous) and with their actor clients (also ridiculous) is delightful.
Giri/Haji just for John McCrea!
We must all be getting the Film Experience newsletter.
I finished and adored all that was available of “Call My Agent” and am on episode 2 of “Giri/Haji.
Santy C/Adri - Yes a million times yes to Giri/Haji, my favorite UK import to Netflix since Happy Valley.
Tiff and Rodney break my heart. I wish John McCrea could have reprised his role as Jamie New in the film adaptation but I guess he’s a little old now. Obsessed with his clips on YouTube.