Spoiled

I watched Mudbound this weekend on Netflix. I read spoilers beforehand to assure myself that nothing horrific would happen like the Jacksons all getting massacred or raped. Oh yes, there is tragedy, but I could handle it. I think the spoilers may have diminished the impact of some moments, but I still thought it was effective, showing how Henry McAllan, though not as openly racist as his father Pappy, is still not a friendly ally to anyone. He constantly intrudes on the Jacksons with tasks, treating them like servants, when technically they're just supposed to be sharecroppers working his land. When Hap breaks his leg, Henry makes Hap rent a mule from him and get half-pay until it's paid off; it's not a request, it's an order. He sure as hell doesn't offer to lend the mule for free. Henry even drives up in the middle of the night to demand an apology, and to warn Ronsel to not flout the Jim Crow system now that he's come back from war.

Even the other McAllans, though nicer, keep imposing on the Jacksons all the time, from Laura wanting Florence to watch her kids, to Jamie constantly endangering Ronsel's life because he wants to be friends, but keeps risking them being seen together. I'm not sure what was the private place that Jamie kept taking them to, when they drank and smoked. Though Jamie does try to fight for Ronsel, and never betrays him as a friend, his carelessness is enough to get them into trouble with the KKK. The Jacksons have to navigate all these demands, though sometimes they have happy moments, such as reading Ronsel's letters from the warfront. I liked it, especially the hopeful ending. Maybe I'll watch it again after I've forgotten most of the plot, so I can see it with fresh eyes.

Meanwhile, the CW crossover "Crisis on Earth-X" goes for Nazi villains as easy bad guys. I don't know why they bothered with the masks for the Nazi doubles of the superheros, when most of the promos for the crossover spoiled the fact that there would be evil twins. It was also confusing to have two masked arrow-shooting villains fighting at the same time during the wedding. I saw no difference between the "Prometheus" guy and the Dark Arrow guy. That's why I hate these crossovers which assume you know something about the other shows, or about comic books. I hate them, and I'm not gonna watch anymore. What's the point, when I know what will happen? The superheroes will be endangered for a little while, but they'll defeat the Nazis in the end, then go home to their respective worlds. Who cares? It's not compelling like the Mirror Universe in Star Trek, where there was some grey, and some hope to change the dark world.