~Review of Part I only~

Honestly, the political drama genre is almost dead to me at this pint. I'm sick of men in suits flouncing around parliament corridors pursued by journalists. I'm also tired of the high fantasy spin on the political drama genre which ends up just being an excuse to objectify women and showcase long-winded battle scenes. So I was thankful when I started watching Arthdal Chronicles for the breath of fresh air.

Part One – the first six episodes of the series – is all about the rich world-building. You're introduced to the characters, their settings, and the key political dynamics that set up the rest of the series.

These six episodes set the key themes for the rest of the series. These revolve around empire/nation building, racialisation, and spiritual agency. The show writers have been careful in their political crafting. They haven't just opted for a simple coloniser versus colonised binary, and instead have woven in layers of nuance right from the opening scene.

The writers also don't seem too keen on didacticism. The colonising act (trying to avoid spoilers here) is certainly depicted as cruel, but at this point the audience already has sympathy for characters on both sides. Ditto in regards to Neanthal, Igutu and Saram dynamics. This way, the characters and plot are able to achieve complexity and depth – the result being a beautifully rich world.

There's also something interesting happening with how the series treats religion/spirituality that means I'm refraining from calling this a fantasy series, but I'll get to that in my review for Part Two.