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Writer's pictureKara Chatham

Web Series | Rex


Rex is a web series based on Arthurian Legend. It specifically looks at the lives of Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin. It was made by the same people who created the web series In Earnest which is based on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.


If the goal was for me to not like Arthur, then that was definitely achieved. I understand that in this modern world, having him go through the Foster Care system made sense, but I almost felt like it was used as an excuse for the choices he was choosing to make. I liked the angle of him having a little sister as a motive for him to want to be better than what he was, but I feel like there could have been more than just that. Having the singular motive made him seem a little flat. The whole relationship angle seemed slightly tossed in there, even though I know that the inspiration for the relationship came directly from the legends. It just didn't work for me.

I loved the Merlin and Lance storylines! Having them as brothers was definitely a different choice than I have seen with other stories that have pulled from the legends, and I think it was executed very well. Having Lance recite so many lines from great works of literature really enhanced the "lover" side of the character and it seemed very natural. Merlin as a Chemistry teacher is most definitely fitting for the all powerful wizard. The carelessness that was shared about Merlin, seemed very out of character for him though.

The character of Vera... My guess is this was meant to be Guinevere. While I think her storyline fit in with modern society, she seemed to jump around instead of having a fluid character arc. It seemed to rapidly go from peppy, grateful girl to college party girl to "I need to be on my own" far too quickly for her arc to really set in with the audience.

The other characters - Morgan Le Fey, Sonny, Gareth, Kallie, Darius - all seemed to be thrown in. They didn't seem to truly have storylines. I think there could have been so much more to these characters.

The audio was really rough at times. There were certain episodes where I had my laptop on full volume just to hear the dialogue.

Visually everything was as you would expect a vlog to look like. Some were very steady shots while others were a bit rougher as if someone were holding the camera while talking to it. I have no idea if they actually had the actors hold the camera or if someone else helped with that.

Overall this is not a terrible series to watch. The only episodes I was not super interested in were the ones that were Arthur only. But I watched the whole series in one sitting. I got the impression that this was meant to be about the forming of the Round Table, but there was a major lack in other Knights of the Round Table. Maybe this was because of resources, which I understand, but I did not get a sense that a Round Table was formed at the end of the series. It is enjoyable to watch though. If you have any kind of interest in Arthurian Legend, check it out and form your own opinions.

Until next time...

Kara

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