Frontier - Season 1 Review
This review of Season 1 of Frontier is spoiler-free!
Jason Mamoa quickly has become a stud of an actor. Even though he hasn't had as many crazy popular roles as some of the currently known stars, it's hard to not get excited when you see him in a role. Whether it be playing the fearless and powerful Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe, or Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, he has the look of a fierce young man. While for a time it seemed like he was unable to capture any big roles for himself, it seems like he has finally begun to hit his stride as an actor, and Frontier is a representation of that. Following the idea of a show like Peaky Blinders that manages to capture movie level actors and place them in a show with a lower episode count, Frontier gets Mamoa is a starring role that fits his talents perfectly. But, this show has critics puzzled, so I wanted to check it out for myself! Let's get into the story of Frontier.
Frontier doesn't actually follow the story of Declan Harp as much as it does follow the story of Michael Smyth. Starting as a bit of a bad apple, stealing from people throughout London. After getting caught by Lord Benton, he is sent to the free world to infiltrate Harp's camp. In doing so, things go awry when he is swayed by Harp to help him take down Lord Benton. Along the way, Harp and Smyth form a brotherly bond, and they begin their assault on the Hudson Bay Company's stranglehold on the fur trade in Canada. Truth be told, I was actually a bit surprised by the story of Frontier. I thought this show was really going to focus on Momoa's Declan Harp, but it actually appears to split time 50/50 between Harp and Smyth, who often aren't seen on screen together as their stories work together but often require different missions. Along with this, it felt like it really was trying to pull from popular film franchises, the most noticeable being Pirates of the Caribbean. There's a lot of elements that I will discuss later that made me make that connection. Overall, a so-so story, but some standout moments.
For character work, there are a lot of notable characters but there's really only a few that I felt are worth discussing. First and most important, we have Declan Harp himself. Momoa has this ability to take a character who could be one dimensional and make him feel layered. Even though I felt like we saw less than we should of from the clearly top-billed star, what he did get of Declan Harp was absolutely great. The other major character that is worth discussing is that of Landon Liboiron's Michael Smyth. Feeling like a bit of a young Harp in a sense, he's forced into this New World based on bad decisions he has made in his past. Liboiron tries his best to make this character enjoyable, and there are moments that I really liked, but overall the story manages to betray him.
Speaking of issues with Frontier's first season, let's discuss the major issues that plagued the majority of season 1. First and foremost, Declan Harp was not the main character. Splitting time with Smyth meant that Harp would often get shelved for the majority of episodes that made some episodes overall not that exciting. The other major problem that Frontier has is that it promises to be an action-packed and almost Game of Thrones level of depth style show, but it has neither. It essentially feels like the story of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films was change around and made into a TV show. With Michael Smyth acting as a proto-William Turner, it felt like we were really just watching a story be retold in a worse manner. Don't get me wrong though, Frontier does have some time to shine when all of its stories come together near the end of the season.
As a whole, Frontier felt like a bit of a disappointment. Whether it be the misuse of Momoa's stellar star power or the overall feeling of familiarity it has with other franchises, there's a lot of issues. But, that doesn't mean I don't see the potential in Frontier. As I stated, near the end of the season a lot of the storylines began to connect and work together in a way that was pleasing. The build-up felt unnecessary and almost as if this was a primer for the real meat of the story in Season 2. Moving forward, I hope we really get to see more of the relationship between Smyth and Harp, as I can imagine a world where Harp sees him as the future of their war against the Hudson Bay Company. So, Frontier has a chance to be something great, it just needs to get out of the shadow of other worlds and create something that stands on its own.
