For the passed 6 weeks on BBC One they have been showing an adaptation of the Malorie Blackman book Noughts and Crosses, which is a Romeo and Julietesque story set in an alternative modern day world where black people (Crosses) are in power and have oppressed white people (Noughts). We have the characters of Callum who is a Nought and Sephy who is Cross and they fall in love and we see what their world is like and how their loved is seen and the political problems that are there. I read these books growing up and they have stayed with me ever since so for this to be made into a show was amazing to me and the show itself was better than I could have ever imagined, so I've got a very long post that says all my thoughts and feelings of this show.
Jack Rowan as Callum was incredible he was
everything I imagined Callum to be and more. The emotion he showed as Callum meant at
no point do you blame him or hate him for what he does. The journey Callum goes on throughout these episodes means he
gets pushed into a corner where he has no choice with what his options are. Callum has always been full of
love and then what happens with his Dad being killed and it being covered up he’s
all of a sudden introduced to this feeling of anger he doesn’t know how to
control it and what to do about it. I personally think Callum in this state of
mind is so much more dangerous than his brother. You could really feel his emotions
all the time and that’s a credit to Jack’s acting.
Masali Badusa as Sephy was amazing, again she
was the perfect Sephy. She really played the innocence of Sephy
amazingly and then showing her journey as she realised everything around her
was not what she thought it was. Also her fight and belief in and for Callum was amazing as well as her trying to understand his world. Her on screen chemistry with Jack as Callum
was amazing. When they were on screen together at first it made the world stand
still and they were the were the only two that mattered in that moment. Episode
6 the whole kidnap and cell scenes between them were insane they really played
off each other and the intensity was mad. You can see that Masali and Jack gave
each other everything in every scene they just worked so well.
Pic Credit: Noughts + Crosses Twitter |
Josh Dylan as Jude was perfect, Jude is a very
angry complicated character. I feel sorry for Jude because I get the impression,
he just wants acceptance, he craves the love and attention and that pat on the
back. I guess he’s been compared to Callum and Callum is the star child and
doesn’t put a foot wrong, which I think adds to his hate of Crosses even more. These
two boys do love each other unconditionally at the end of the day, there are
some very tender moments between them. I think the LM for Jude was a place of
being accepted and wanted to do something important. This mindset made him very
vulnerable which we see play out with Danny’s death and then when planting the
bomb at the hospital. A good example of the relationship between these brothers
is in episode 6 when Jude turns to Callum and says “I bought you in here, this is
mine” something like that referring to Jude bringing Callum into the LM. In the
end Jude has sense and saves their lives, which is a pivotal moment for Jude because
he finally does the right thing
Paterson Joseph as Kamal Hadley was scary if I’m
honest, the power this man wanted and tried to emit over everyone including his
own family. I think the addition of the Yaro storyline was a good move because it
gave an extra dimension to Kamal, that he loved a Nought and has this half son.
I personally don’t think he could ever live with the decision he made so that’s
what fuels his hate for Noughts so much and he numbs his mind by being power hungry. He’s very good at talking the talk,
the whole scene where he talks to Callum about breaking up with Sephy is a massive
head mess. In his bid to becoming Prime Minister he loses a lot than he gains
because he’s left with one daughter and he’s no longer Prime Minister as he
gave into the LM demands. That whole journey he went on was it worth it really.
Helen Baxendale as Meggie was again perfect. I prefer
Meggie in the show to Meggie in the book she had a lot more to her. How Meggie
goes through what she does and doesn’t end up like her sons I don’t know. She deals
with losing her job, Ryan giving himself into the police to cover up for Jude
and then Ryan subsequently dying, then both her sons running off to join the
LM, hats off to her. What I love is her relationship with Callum especially it’s
so loving, it was heart-breaking when she tells him at one point to just be him
and don’t hate. Another lovely moment near the end of episode 4 was when she walks
in and him and Sephy are sat on the bed and she hugs them both. She’s just an
incredible woman and doesn’t deserve what she gets put through.
Bonnie Mbuli as Jasmine probably had the biggest
character development to show and she smashed it. Jasmine episode 1 to episode
6 was incredible, she goes from this show wife who was having affairs behind
her husband’s back and being a raging alcoholic, to this affirmative, confident
woman who isn’t afraid to tell Kamal what he should do and to build the guts up
to leave him. The big different between Kamal and Jasmine is that when Jasmine
faced losing everything especially after firing Meggie and trying to commit
suicide, she does something about it and makes the changes by standing on her
own two feet and giving up drinking. Her friendship with Meggie is what true
friendship should be they support each other and talk sense and honestly even with
what happens in episode 6. Like Meggie she ends up being very supportive of
Callum and Sephy.
Everyone was amazing in this show you also have
Ian Hart as Ryan who makes the biggest decision to protect his family which is
incredible and his relationship with Meggie is amazing. Jonathan Ajayi as new
character Lekan was another great addition and added to the story to complicate
it even further than it was. He portrayed jealousy so well especially episode 2
where his jealousy and paranoia get the better of him which was a bit scary. I
like how he serves as a reminder for Sephy particularly of another life and
that hate that is around. Kike Brimah as Minevera Hadley, I don’t feel we saw
much of but she was great as Minevera and her innocence and naivety to what is
going on, she likes how everything is and doesn’t want it to change and then
realises how much she misses and needs her sister. The last character is played
by Shaun Dingwall and that is LM leader Jack Dorn, wow what an absolute nutter
of a character, he’s ruthless and just horrible. The way he manipulates those around
him to believe what he thinks and gets away with it. He’s the Kamal Hadley of
the Noughts.
I loved the details that went into this show, particularly
the costumes they were gorgeous and how they were used to show emotion as well especially
with Callum. Callum at the beginning is wearing these bright, colourful clothes
like the Crosses but as you get to episode 5 and 6 he’s in the dark heavy
clothes to show where his headspace is, like how Jude wears these dark heavy
clothes throughout because he won’t conform to the normal. All the bright proper cultural dress was beautiful and really complimented the characters. Everything about this
show was beautiful, the shots they used, the landscape they used, the language.
The writers did a perfect job, yes they changed the story but added little
details in at other points, like when Meggie tells Callum about taking a train
to the country, which is different in the book but they still used it in
another capacity. Absolutely loved it.
Pic Credit: Noughts + Crosses Twitter |
Whilst we wait on news of a second series, the entire first series in on iPlayer which you can find here:
Also there is a three series podcast you can listen to on BBC sounds:
I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you enjoy Noughts + Crosses and we talk about the situations that this highlights that are going on in the world.
Stacey x
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