As a woman with a very long neglected English degree, please forgive any randomness and the odd mistake or ten ;). I am attempting to revive long dormant brain cells by doing this wee Star-Crossed project of mine. I also think I may have to do some inspired jewelry... hmm.. we'll see. One step at a time. So, when I first heard about the CW's new show Star-Crossed, the first thing that floated through my mind was... "Really? A human/alien Romeo & Juliet?" The premise made me giggle, I won't lie. But, I am the ultimate R&J sucker, I love it. I have loved it since I was too young to understand half of it, but the poetry, the passion... even as a very young girl those appealed.
What are the main themes in R&J really? Young love, of course, but also hatred. Friendship. Prejudice. Violence. The age old struggle as a young person between following your peer group/family unit/popular viewpoint versus your own beliefs. (Heck, that one doesn't always go away as you get older really, does it?) And there is also that looming "Fate" that we are warned of from the very beginning of the play... one of the things that intrigued me most about R&J when I first read it was that. You know what will happen from the beginning and yet, somehow, that doesn't make it any less painful in the end, does it? Perhaps it makes it all the more awful? Every missed opportunity, every moment you say in your head, "if only he/she hadn't... if only they had..."
Now, for the main themes of Star-Crossed as I see them so far... shockingly? They are the same! Mhmm, you read that right... apparently the same themes are thought provoking (and entertaining, of course) today. That is one of the reasons Shakespeare's work has not only survived, but thrived, his themes are still current. And will always be current, because humans (and aliens ;) ) still long for love and acceptance. All of us.
Ok, since I've already rambled terribly, let's just hit some quick things I caught in the first five episodes of Star-Crossed. (I'm clearly marking which things are from which episodes so that you can skip over SPOILERS if you want :) )
Pilot:
-- Within the first episode there was violence between the two races (actually within the first moments, quite painful, much larger scale and without the playfulness of the rivalry between the servants in R&J), there was also a big party, a balcony scene, and instant awareness between Roman and Emery.
-- My favorite scene is towards the end where Roman and Emery end up holding their palms together in this sweet moment... "palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss..." (R&J, Act I, Sc. 5).
Episode 10(2): These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends
--We get an introduction to Roman's uncle Castor, when Roman finds him with his mom... I am noting this for a couple reasons, most notably since I can't sort out whether Castor is mom's brother or his now deceased father... I have to wonder if mom's support of Castor and Roman's distrust has some Hamlet echoes in it? Hmm, must keep an eye on this situation.
-- Roman tells Emery they are from "two different worlds"... which brings to mind (for me) Juliet on her balcony asking herself or Fate or the moon... why are you Romeo? Why must you be a Montague?
-- Later on we get another lovely moment between Roman and Emery where they go palm to palm and Emery is trying to show Roman how they are not so different. "Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself, though not a Montague." Again I am seeing Juliet's earnestness in Emery... the ability to see Romeo/Roman as what he really is, a young man.
Episode 10(3): Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend
-- Most notable in this episode for our purposes are a couple of quotes I managed to scribble down (hopefully relatively accurately). "Hate doesn't take a weekend," says Grayson. There's that word, hate, and it along with the prejudice is alive and well in this episode.
-- Roman says in a speech, "Instead of going to great lengths to learn from each other, we hide the truth." And I'd say, the truth is, that for all their differences they aren't so different, hm?
-- "[It's] time I embraced my destiny," says Teri. Destiny. Fate. Dangerous words.
Episode 10(4): And Left No Friendly Drop
-- The scene that most caught my attention in this episode is when Sophia is "poisoned" by caffeine. When Emery sticks her with the epi-pen she seems dead for a few heart wrenching moments there, then she wakes. Bringing to mind the play with poisons and sleeping death in R&J.
Ok, going to leave it at those four episodes, since I've been writing this for two days now LOL. I had a bunch more I wanted to write, but my little boy is ill :). So until next time... parting is such sweet sorrow...
~Jenn
