The Great Khan of Khans

Marco Polo - Netflix Original TV show 

I have just finished watching the Netflix original show of Marco Polo. The show consists of 10 episodes and is based during the rule of Kublai Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan)

The story is about when Marco Polo is left as tribute to the Khan by his father (a travelling merchant) Marco is taken in and throughout the show he is taught the culture, the lifestyle and how to fight like a Mongol. There are ups and downs for him in the care of the Khan and traditions that he must abide by he finds himself in jail a few times. But the Khan seems to have a soft spot for Marco as he describes scenes to the Khan in colourful language. 

One thing I did notice throughout the show was Marco's accent was very weak sometimes and at others very strong. He is meant to be from Venice (and he is Italian) he should have a very strong Italian accent but this did not translate very well. Other than that I felt Lorenzo Richelmy's performance was very strong. He held his character well, he acted as a recluse when needed and strong when needed. Benedict Wong (Kublai Khan) was also an excellent character, he was a bit of a softy really but he also had a mean streak and this translated very well in the show. The supporting actors were just as good as the main characters such as Hundred Eyes (Tom Wu), Empress Chabi (Joan Chen) and Prince Jingim (Remy Hii) to name a few, there were no characters in the show that I thought were pointless to the story each had their own merit and reason. 

The show similarly to Game of Thrones did not hold back on things like fighting or sex, it used these as part of the culture. For example, Kublai Khan had many lovers from the whore house and it showed this as Game of Thrones how the whores would act and wear. I like shows like this when they don't hold back and are true to their material.

Speaking of being true to the material, the costumes, design and landscape was excellent and reflected ancient China, admittedly I am not a scholar on this time period at all however, it looks as though they did their research about the Yuan Dynasty and Kublai's reign. 

It is an interesting concept for Netflix to focus on, it seems they are definitely reaching out and becoming extremely versatile. The second season of Marco Polo looks to be set for December 2015. Will definitely be watching that when it comes out. 

Even if you are not interested in the time period this show still appeals to you. The story is fully explained they are not expecting you to know anything about the time period. The characters and story are both strong and well versed. You are interested throughout the episodes there are no lulls in the story. Each episode lasts for approximately 58-60 minutes but they don't feel this long which I like. 

9/10 

It was definitely one of the best short TV shows I have seen in a long time and  I will definitely be watching the second season.