[In this small-screen adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel, a
21st-century woman has to protect her slave-owning ancestor]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

KINDRED REVIEW: COMPELLING FX DRAMA TAKES A MODERN-DAY LOOK AT THE
HORRORS OF ANTEBELLUM LIFE  
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Quinci LeGardye
December 8, 2022
AV Club
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_ In this small-screen adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel, a
21st-century woman has to protect her slave-owning ancestor _

Mallori Johnson as Dana and Austin Smith as Luke, Photo: Richard
Ducree/FX

 

Depictions of slavery on TV have come a long way since _Roots_ first
brought America’s original sin to our sets. In recent years, series
like _Underground_, _The Underground Railroad_
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and _The Good Lord Bird_
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the antebellum period and the complexities of the lives of enslaved
people, correcting a long history of African-American ancestors being
written as mindless servants and racist caricatures
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The new FX series _Kindred_
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exclusively on Hulu next week, continues this wave, as the
long-awaited adaptation of the Octavia Butler novel examines the
often-unspoken legacy of slavery on modern-day society.

The series centers on Dana (Mallori Johnson), an aspiring television
writer newly arrived in L.A. after the seemingly impulsive sale of her
late grandmother’s Brooklyn brownstone. Dana’s parents passed away
when she was young, and her remaining family disapproves of her
choices, so she finds comfort in Kevin (Micah Stock), a musician and
waiter. Amid the move-in, the 26-year-old has also been experiencing
troubling visions; in the first, she finds herself in a nursery, where
she helps a baby in imminent peril before encountering her deceased
mother. The second trip cannot be written off as a dream; she’s
transported to the bank of a river, where she rescues a red-haired boy
from drowning. It’s clear that she’s been transported through
space and time, and though it sounds impossible, she knows something
real and dangerous is happening.

Kindred (Season 1) [[link removed]]

2022

Drama/Fantasy/Mystery

Grade

A-

CAST

Mallori Johnson

Dana James

Micah Stock

Kevin Franklin

Ryan Kwanten

Thomas Weylin

Gayle Rankin

Margaret Weylin

Austin Smith

Luke

David Alexander Kaplan

Rufus Weylin

CREATORS

Matthew Shire, Octavia Butler, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Those familiar with the genre-bending novel know that Dana has been
sucked into a time-bending symbiotic relationship with the red-haired
boy, who is actually her ancestor, Rufus Weylin (David Alexander
Kaplan). Rufe is the son of a Maryland plantation owner in the 1800s,
and Dana is the direct descendant of the child he will have with one
of his slaves. In order for Dana to ensure her own bloodline, she’ll
have to protect the boy long enough for him to father her ancestor,
while surviving the horrors of slavery and the whims of the boy’s
cruel father Tom (Ryan Kwanten) and possessive mother Margaret (Gayle
Rankin).

The premise itself is engrossing enough to propel an eight-episode
season, and showrunner Branden Jacob-Jenkins expands on the book’s
plot to include subplots and characters that enhance the show’s main
quandary: How would a modern-day Black woman withstand the abuse of
slavery? Jacob-Jenkins deftly intertwines past and present, showing
why Dana and Kevin (who also time-traveled to the 1800s) can’t
shake off what they’ve experienced once they return to the modern
day. The looming tension surrounding the Weylin plantation continues
in scenes in which the pair has to deal with the surveillance of
Dana’s “helpful” neighbors, who militantly try to keep the peace
on their Silver Lake block with NextDoor surveillance and threats to
call the police. Meanwhile, a new storyline involving Dana’s mother
Olivia (Sheria Irving) nods to the legacy of lost histories of
African-American families, while also adding an intriguing layer to
the overall mystery.

An important question for any piece of art about slavery produced in
2022 is whether the work gives an honest portrayal of the practice
that honors what the enslaved survived, or if the depiction just
revels in the time’s cruelty, presenting human misery as mere
spectacle
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the former, as Dana serves as the audience surrogate learning the
dynamics of the plantation. The series doesn’t flinch away from the
injustice of antebellum society, but it doesn’t use unrelenting gory
violence or copious racial slurs
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make its point. Instead, it respects the audience’s intelligence,
understanding that an offhand remark or a dismissive gesture is enough
to establish the social structure of the time.

Despite its stellar examination of the dynamics between the enslaver
and the enslaved, this debut season of _Kindred_ doesn’t spend
much time exploring the most compelling dynamic in the book. The
show’s entire premise is based on the supernatural tie between Dana
and Rufus, but they aren’t around each other that often. Instead,
the series elevates the relationship between Dana and Kevin, which
takes up a large chunk of the show’s runtime. Like in the book,
Kevin also spends time in the 1800s, and at one point, he (a white
man) is shocked that the Weylins think Dana is his slave, to which she
responds, “That’s not surprising.” While Dana works, Kevin
ingratiates himself with the Weylins to ensure they’re welcome on
the plantation. But as Kevin’s dealings with Tom and Margaret get
more attention later in the season, it made me question whether the
time would be better spent building Dana and Rufus’ connection.
It’s a lot of agency to give a white man within a story about the
horrors of slavery, and though a general (white) audience probably
won’t mind Kevin’s upgrade to a co-lead, book fans may be left
annoyed.

Kindred | Official Trailer | FX

If the average liberal-minded person living today were asked whether
they could get used to slavery, they would likely say no, be they
Black or white. _Kindred_ is a show that challenges the many
assumptions within that answer, presenting a compelling,
thought-provoking scenario in a well-written and expertly directed
package. (The pilot, helmed by _Zola_
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a particular standout.) The eight-episode run is unflinching without
being cruel, and the show has undeniable potential for another season
when considering the scale of the source material. The genre-bending
living nightmare may not be an easy watch, but that doesn’t make it
any less necessary.

_KINDRED _PREMIERES DECEMBER 13 ON HULU.

* kindred
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* Octavia Butler
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* slavery
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* antebellum
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* Black History
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* African American literature
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