Watched 2 episodes. Very fascinating so far! Strangely hypnotic. Hard to take your eyes away from.
(On a side note, can you imagine HBO doing this about an Islamic religious icon? Can you said Fatwah?! Hollywood's brand of political correctness would never allow it, and it wouldn't be safe for anyone involved in the project. They might share the fate of Paris cartoonists.)
But so far the Young Pope is really worth watching. An interesting angle of the story is that an American nun may have masterminded the pope's rise from when he was an orphan. We learn that when this American orphan first meets Sister Mary, he calls her "Ma" and she orders him to only call her Sister Mary. Later, in another flash, we meet an American cardinal that's the same age as the young pope, who was also an orphan raised by Sister Mary. But his path was very different. When he first meets the nun, she instructs him to call her "Ma". He grows up to be very different in personality. He's a humble priest eager to serve the faithful, unlike the young American pope, who is ruthless and ambitious. As Sister Mary intended, it would seem. She knew that raising him in a cold and distant way would feed his ambition. His inner weaknesses and insecurities are what drive him. There are all kinds of clever clues to this.
Anyway, check it out on HBO. |