I don’t know man, Netflix is starting to kick some serious tail. TV show wise they are making a name for themselves. It’ll be interesting to see how their Marvel shows go.
Anyway, their new joint is Marco Polo. It’s basically the adventures of the white man in Kublai Khan’s court. Those of you who don’t know, Marco Polo was a Venetian who visited China around the time William Wallace lived. Other Europeans were there a little before him but none of the others wrote a book. So as far as the West was concerned for half a millennia, he literally wrote the book on China.
Marco is very young when he meets his father for the first time (returning from 18 or so years in the East) and stows away on his dad’s return trip. Their destination is Kublai Khan’s court. This is because they want his permission to trade on the silk road and the Khan’s writ extends from the Pacific Ocean to fucking Kiev. If you want to do business in Asia it’s by his say so. You might have heard of his grandfather, Genghis. These people conquered some shit. At the point when Marco and his dad make it over, Kublai is attempting to finish his conquest of Southern China. Marco’s dad manages to piss the Khan off and uses his son as payment for a trading license. Not sure how historically accurate that is but it’s a great kick in the nuts on the show and makes for good watching.
So Marco’s stuck alone in Mongol held China. Shit. This show is about his adventures. Of which there are many. Again not sure if this is accurate, never read Polo’s book. But it sure makes for some quality entertainment.
One of the best parts of the show is when the Khan instructs that Marco be trained in the ways of the Mongolian court. This mostly consists of various combat training and some calligraphy. His blind swordsman instructor is known as Hundred Eyes and is a hugely entertaining character. The diversity of the lands and people at play make for a huge variety of other problems to deal with. Everything from Russians to the cult of Hashashin.
Lots of fight scenes. Really good fight scenes. To compare with say Game of Thrones; I’m not going to say it’s a better show but it has better fight scenes. There are no actors you’ve ever heard of. The only guy I recognized was the bad guy from the original Fast and Furious. The guy that plays Kublai reminds me of an Asian Robert Baratheon closer to his prime. Not in his prime, but closer. Maybe a bit smarter. But he’s fairly charming in that whores and wine way.
Folks, this is mandatory viewing.