Yeah I’m logging this thing. It’s 26 hours. I think I can claim it.

Frankly the two most impressive things are its scope which it mostly pulls off. It’s a very impressive production even today. Its other claim is that its narrative is… Functional? I can’t quite say it’s good, it’s opening is a drag, it only picks up at episode 3 and largely loses all momentum around episode 7/8. And the final 3 episodes are a chore at best and a nuisance at worse as they go full clip show territory for a full 40 minutes of its 2.5 hour finale, but the actual plot beats are functional and track clearly, which due to its sheer scope is not always a guarantee. 

I watched this with my dad between October and about 20 minutes ago, after he listened to the 50 hour audiobook and only one time in the final episode did he have to bring in the book to make something make sense. And even that was relatively minor. All it did was make what I thought was a dialogue flub, not a flub. And even that was just making it clear that two characters were great grandfather and great grandson versus grandfather and grandson. Other than that the plot was surprisingly sturdy, if glacially paced at points.

If I wasn’t a fan of intergenerational epics I’d give it a lower score, but I really can’t give it a higher one.

Yeah I’m logging this thing. It’s 26 hours. I think I can claim it.

Frankly the two most impressive things are its scope which it mostly pulls off. It’s a very impressive production even today. Its other claim is that its narrative is… Functional? I can’t quite say it’s good, it’s opening is a drag, it only picks up at episode 3 and largely loses all momentum around episode 7/8. And the final 3 episodes are a chore at best and a nuisance at worse as they go full clip show territory for a full 40 minutes of its 2.5 hour finale, but the actual plot beats are functional and track clearly, which due to its sheer scope is not always a guarantee. 

I watched this with my dad between October and about 20 minutes ago, after he listened to the 50 hour audiobook and only one time in the final episode did he have to bring in the book to make something make sense. And even that was relatively minor. All it did was make what I thought was a dialogue flub, not a flub. And even that was just making it clear that two characters were great grandfather and great grandson versus grandfather and grandson. Other than that the plot was surprisingly sturdy, if glacially paced at points.

If I wasn’t a fan of intergenerational epics I’d give it a lower score, but I really can’t give it a higher one.