Station Eleven

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Been holding off on reviewing this one because it blew me away and I didn't know how to review it. I have not read the book so I went in completely blind, and I was consistently moved by each episode. My Underground Railroad for this year, which is high praise, and probably too soon because it is only January, but still.

I will say I was not sold on the first episode. It's a pandemic episode, and see news of infection leak into the world was not what I wanted to watch. But as the season went on and diverged from that story in delightful ways, I was always drawn back to that first episode, a clueless knight on a quest to get the young princess home. The thought of both their arcs makes me tear up just writing this, and I thought this core relationship was handled perfectly.

Also, its been the winter of Shakespeare for me! Tragedy of Macbeth, West Side Story, and now this. 20 years after the pandemic we follow a troupe of actors keeping Shakespeare alive around the great lakes, and I thought this was such a cool idea, preserving art after the world has ended. I don't know much about the stories we get to see them perform, but it was effective every time. This idea of a masterpiece, art interpretation, and the vitality of storytelling are also present in the titular Station 11 book. I loved how we never get any details into the in-universe text, and only understand it through the different interpretations characters have around it. It is also the force that ultimately brings people together, which is super cool.

The finale wrecked me, and I was aching for a reunion that finally happened and left me in tears. There was a moment when I was convinced the reunion wouldn't happen and I felt heart broken, but it also felt right, and I think the rollercoaster of emotions is what made this show so powerful for me. I couldn't have anticipated most of it, but it all felt right.

Another thing I loved was all the space stuff. So many rooms designed to look like the cockpit of a shuttle exploring this new world, constantly bringing us back to Station 11 and what the book means.

I could go on and on, and I still don't really know why this show connected so well with me. It feels like the perfect show for the time we are living in, even though their pandemic kills 99% of the planet and ours showed us that lots of people are crazy. It reminded me of Lost and The Leftovers, not only in content, but in the time jumps and connectivity of the characters. Revealed character connections can often be forced and convenient, and these all felt truly genuine and hopeful.

I will read the book, but this show will always be my first and most pure Station Eleven experience.