Marco Polo Plot Summary:
Marco Polo tells the story of the eponymous character (Lorenzo Richelmy) in Kublai Khan’s (Benedict Wong) court and how he became part of it.
Marco Polo is everything a Netflix original series should be. It tells an epic story in an extravagant fashion and makes you want to come back for more.
Initially, Marco Polo starts off like any other how with nice costume, too big a budget, and too much time on its hands. Bear with it. After the first 10 minutes, the show picks up and becomes a mix of action, sex, and dubious historical accuracy. The first two things are done so well that you don’t worry about the latter. It’s historical fiction. No one should go into it expecting a docudrama.
The only problem, which admittedly is extremely minor, is that there are too many characters to keep track of their relationships to each other. Fans of Game of Thrones might be used to so many characters and trying to learn all the names, but Netflix really should have published some sort of chart to make characters easier to follow. Then again, learning the names of 20 different people can’t really be done well in 50 minutes. I’m sure, by the end of the season, I’ll have a better grasp on who’s who.
Marco Polo is binge-watch television at its finest. For some reason, the series is flying under the radar, even though it shouldn’t. Hopefully, enough people will overcome most Americans general lack of interest in Chinese history to make Netflix want to continue past the first season.
Rating: 9 out of 10
To check out Marco Polo on Netflix, click here.
http://youtu.be/hB-ltNasHVw
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Allison Lips is the Founder of Wait! What’s a Dial?, a television blog that showcases the writing of millennials. Allison graduated from Rowan University in May 2013. She has a passion for TV history, especially late night and game shows. If she could go back in time, Steve Allen would still be hosting The Tonight Show. Follow her on Twitter @waitwaitsadial.
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