Critique: The Order, Series 1 (Netflix Series) 1/2

Okay, so this might be my favourite tv series ever. Fantasy? Check. Continually hilarious? Check? Detailed world-building? Check. Non-tacky special effects? Check. Consistent characters? Check.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Jack Morton is accepted into Belgrave University and joins two secret societies: the Order of the Blue Rose (magic) and the Knights of St. Christopher (werewolves). He walks a fine line between the former (to get what he needs) and the latter (to learn how to be a werewolf safely). Meanwhile he has the needs of his grandfather Pops (to take down Coventree for killing Jack’s mother) and himself (to be a normal young person) to contend with.

Randall is the best character. Episode One was clearly his episode, even if he wasn’t the main focus. He says he’ll have to report Jack if he breaks any rules so ‘”Don’t let me catch you.”’ He hands Jack a beer, asks if he’s twenty-one, then says, ‘”I don’t give a shit.”’ And then he walks up to Jack and Alyssa and says, ‘”Will you two sleep together already.”’ No Randall, even after ten episodes they do not.

Gabrielle DuPrie is, to be blunt, a self-centred drama queen. Not the kind of person I’d like in real life (her character is believable, even if OTT) but in this show she’s perfect. Someone is killed when and where Gabrielle was planning to jog. On telling her ethics class this so they won’t talk about it and calling him selfish for being glad it wasn’t him, Professor Clarke says not as selfish as making yourself the centre of attention.

This show had a habit of throwing jokes in our faces. Not in that it was unwanted but rather the timing and/or quality of the humour catches you by surprise.

When Alyssa asked if it’s another spell to de-stabilise the Argentine economy and Argentina hadn’t been mentioned so that threw me off guard.

At start jack at mums grave and when finds out got into Belgrave he shouts fucking a. Two old people look at him and he instantly become sombre and says sorry for your loss, making me laugh.

We even got some slapstick (Jack lifts a shovel over his shoulders to hit a werewolf right where Kyle was running) which I haven’t seen done in a non-cringey manner for years.

When Jack called Lilith ‘Killith’ I lost my shit. Best bit.

 

Lore

The consistency in this programme’s world-building was superb. No major issues came to light amongst its intense detail.

It’s established that magic is everywhere, including the air, so anyone could use it. This gives magic grounding in the real world, something tangible. To be used, magic requires a sacrifice or an offering. If the practitioner doesn’t pay for it, someone else will. A whole episode is dedicated to this so it’ll play an important role in future series, to be sure.

For a spell to stop, it needs to either complete its intended purpose or the heart of the practitioner/carrier is eaten. If not, it finds a new, weakened path towards its intended purpose (so a death spell becomes an injury spell). This is known as magical decay/ the magical half-life. Block the path often enough and the spell weakens into nothing, meaning no more carriers (innocents unwillingly carrying out the path of the magic) like Prof Benson have to die.

The Knights of St. Christopher

The Knights are werewolves who fight bad magic. We have Randall, the cocktail-loving Hamish and the killing-loving Lilith.

In an intriguing twist, these werewolves aren’t created via a bite but rather a wolf fur coat (its hide) fusing with a person. Each hide has its own name and personality (Jack has Silverback, for example).

Knights know when magic’s used because they hear a ringing (that no one else does). To me, this matches a dog whistle: no one but a dog (or dog-like senses) can hear it.

In fighting bad magic, the Knights are opposed to the Order. This is why Hamish and especially Lilith don’t trust Jack. Randall suggests that may be the reason why Silverback chose Jack.

Randall makes a big speech about beer pong being the wrong way to decide if Jack lives or dies because the Knights are good and protect the weak. Yet when Lilith suggests 2/3, Randall agrees with a smile and enthusiasm. Made me chuckle.

Are the Knights the only werewolves or are there more? Legends of werewolves span centuries before Christianity but these ones are the knights of a Christian saint. Though if Order members aren’t the only ones who can use magic, then it’s reasonable that the Knights aren’t the only ones who can transform. Also, the Chancellor Vera Stone (leader of the Order’s Belgrave Chapter) said that werewolves can be born or cursed so this would imply other werewolves exist.

Lilith and Randall are both students and they live with Hamish, a lecturer, in the Den. Doesn’t this bother the authorities? Or do they have an official address elsewhere? But if that’s the case, how can they afford rent in two places? Belgrave University is full of rich kids so I suppose money isn’t that much of an issue.

Lilith likes to kill people. (Kilith.)

Yet when she escapes from Gabrielle and Gnostic Councillor Kepler after they tortured her, Lilith didn’t kill them. So this would seem out of character. Mind you, being tortured would leave you weak and disorientated, and she did have to go save the world. Lilith wouldn’t have the time or energy to spare for killing, perhaps.

But an earlier answer gives definitive answer. Jack told the Knights that he wanted to kill Coventree for killing his mother. Lilith’s the one who tells Jack that the Knights ‘don’t do revenge’. So if even Lilith doesn’t approve of revenge, and killing Gabrielle/Kepler wouldn’t achieve anything, Lilith wouldn’t have the incentive to do so.