dodoubleg1785
Toronto, Canada and New York, USA
This review may contain spoilers
Why is this rated so low?
I swear, the day I figure out how to decipher what viewers want and where they get their ratings from will never come. Was this a 10 out of 10? No. But it was certainly better than a lot of the shows I've watched that are rated 8 or higher. You'd think I'd know by now not to let myself be influenced by reviews but I am just as guilty today as I was a year (and 70 series) ago.
So far, I have seen a handful of the HIStory series though admittedly not all of them. This one reminded me a lot of the last one, HIStory 4, at least with the main couple. They have a similar storyline where one guy enlists the help of the other to seemingly get with a girl but that is just what it looks like on the surface. In this series, there is so much more going on but unfortunately, the viewer doesn't realize it until the last 2 or 3 episodes. This, in my opinion, is both a good and bad storyline choice which I will try to explain without too many spoilers.
On the one hand, without knowing the full depth of the situation, the story seems shallow for a good portion of the series and, especially for people watching week to week, it can seem boring. Binge watching this is the best way to go to keep engaged and, I promise, it will make sense later on. I guess in that respect, it's a good way to ensure that the show gets a re-watch from the same viewers because now knowing what happens in the end, I want to watch from the beginning while keeping it in mind and seeing everyone's actions under a different lens.
I don't want to pick at other people's reviews, but part of me feels like I need to defend this series because it really was a lot better than many people are painting to be. One complaint I noticed quite often was saying Johnny came off as childish. I didn't see him as such, at least not childish in a negative sense but more in the way that he is an innocent, carefree and overall positive person. But he also has moments of showing an opportunistic and cunning side. Not only is he completely out of his element (and time) but he is used to being a loner save for his grandmother. So of course he's going to be awkward and hesitant when interacting with others, especially when it's more intimate and serious.
Another complaint which I can kind of agree with is the whole "is the time travel element really necessary?" At times, I'd say it added to the show as time travel gives both the "fish out of water" vibe as well as the uncertainty of how long Johnny will be in 2022. He doesn't know what brought him there so at any point, he could vanish just as easily. Not only does it add tension but it creates the underlying idea of cherishing every moment and appreciating the small things. Nothing should be taken for granted, no matter how small, especially time. But the story had so much other stuff going on that I feel like it could have been left out. The whole thing with the department store and espionage was interesting enough that I don't feel like they needed to add time travel to the mix.
To go along with those lines, the time travel part is never really explained either. Why did he time travel in the first place? What was Fude actually trying to do that had him accidentally bring Johnny to 2022? Was he just trying to save him from flat out dying in an accident? Fude in general is never really explained or makes much sense however I do have to say the many faces of Fude are absolutely hilarious.
I do feel like I enjoyed the secondary couple's storyline more than I did the secondary couple in HIStory 4. Both couples in this series worked well and I liked how they were intertwined. While one of the main "plot twists" was pretty predictable, I was pleasantly surprised that a more minor plot twist completely took me by surprise and I have to give credit where credit is due. (Looking at you, Sam.)
Overall, I really think this was a good series. It's a shame that anything under the HIStory umbrella is destined to be compared to each other. Because as its own story, this was great. I would definitely watch it again and I'd probably come back to edit this afterwards with some additional thoughts.
So far, I have seen a handful of the HIStory series though admittedly not all of them. This one reminded me a lot of the last one, HIStory 4, at least with the main couple. They have a similar storyline where one guy enlists the help of the other to seemingly get with a girl but that is just what it looks like on the surface. In this series, there is so much more going on but unfortunately, the viewer doesn't realize it until the last 2 or 3 episodes. This, in my opinion, is both a good and bad storyline choice which I will try to explain without too many spoilers.
On the one hand, without knowing the full depth of the situation, the story seems shallow for a good portion of the series and, especially for people watching week to week, it can seem boring. Binge watching this is the best way to go to keep engaged and, I promise, it will make sense later on. I guess in that respect, it's a good way to ensure that the show gets a re-watch from the same viewers because now knowing what happens in the end, I want to watch from the beginning while keeping it in mind and seeing everyone's actions under a different lens.
I don't want to pick at other people's reviews, but part of me feels like I need to defend this series because it really was a lot better than many people are painting to be. One complaint I noticed quite often was saying Johnny came off as childish. I didn't see him as such, at least not childish in a negative sense but more in the way that he is an innocent, carefree and overall positive person. But he also has moments of showing an opportunistic and cunning side. Not only is he completely out of his element (and time) but he is used to being a loner save for his grandmother. So of course he's going to be awkward and hesitant when interacting with others, especially when it's more intimate and serious.
Another complaint which I can kind of agree with is the whole "is the time travel element really necessary?" At times, I'd say it added to the show as time travel gives both the "fish out of water" vibe as well as the uncertainty of how long Johnny will be in 2022. He doesn't know what brought him there so at any point, he could vanish just as easily. Not only does it add tension but it creates the underlying idea of cherishing every moment and appreciating the small things. Nothing should be taken for granted, no matter how small, especially time. But the story had so much other stuff going on that I feel like it could have been left out. The whole thing with the department store and espionage was interesting enough that I don't feel like they needed to add time travel to the mix.
To go along with those lines, the time travel part is never really explained either. Why did he time travel in the first place? What was Fude actually trying to do that had him accidentally bring Johnny to 2022? Was he just trying to save him from flat out dying in an accident? Fude in general is never really explained or makes much sense however I do have to say the many faces of Fude are absolutely hilarious.
I do feel like I enjoyed the secondary couple's storyline more than I did the secondary couple in HIStory 4. Both couples in this series worked well and I liked how they were intertwined. While one of the main "plot twists" was pretty predictable, I was pleasantly surprised that a more minor plot twist completely took me by surprise and I have to give credit where credit is due. (Looking at you, Sam.)
Overall, I really think this was a good series. It's a shame that anything under the HIStory umbrella is destined to be compared to each other. Because as its own story, this was great. I would definitely watch it again and I'd probably come back to edit this afterwards with some additional thoughts.
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