by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
I’m a big fan of the old school seasons of The Simpsons. If I could put together a golden age run of TV, I would put season four through 10 as one of the best runs in television history. One thing that I loved about The Simpsons is the way that there were a few instances of accidentally predicting the future. The most noteworthy example was the prediction that Donald Trump would become president. Another one was pair of circus performances that looked and sounded a lot like Siegfried and Roy getting attacked by a tiger during a performance, only for that to happen 10 years later. These instances of life imitating art can be startling, but it’s sometimes good to see when something is in need of commentary or parody.
DMZ sometimes gave me these similar vibes in a weird way.
DMZ, based on the Vertigo graphic novel, takes place in the demilitarized zone of Manhattan after the events of the second U.S. Civil War between the United States forces and the Free States forces. We follow our main character Alma (Rosario Dawson), who is searching for her son in the DMZ after fleeing during the evacuation of Manhattan during the war. She finds more than she bargained for returning to Manhattan when people from her past emerge as players in the DMZ. This miniseries is a short four episodes on HBO Max.
Dawson does great work as Alma, later being called Zee by many in the DMZ. I’m not entirely sure if I buy her entire arc, considering her original purpose for venturing into the DMZ, and what ends up happening. It seems a little sudden, and given the four episodes, we simply didn’t have enough time to give Dawson enough time to truly develop into who she becomes at the end of the series. This will be something I bring up a bunch — this series was way too short. I don’t understand how a show can feel both rushed and not accomplish a lot either, but what can you do? Benjamin Bratt plays Parco Delgado, a leader of a gang on the island and has aspirations for leadership of the DMZ. Bratt chews up scenery and looks like he’s having a blast. He plays a great villain and the stakes are high with him given how he knows Alma. The real standout here is Freddy Miyares, who plays Skel, a local mercenary for Parco. Skel is one of the characters who is given the most to do and has some truly touching moments. He experiences growth, and I found myself rooting for him. Another standout is Jordan Preston Carter, who plays Odi, a local boy in the DMZ, who befriends Alma. Odi develops into a reliable and dedicated member of the DMZ and really grows up before our eyes.
Some of the visuals in this are outstanding. The shot of Alma first walking into Manhattan is stunning as it continues to pan back to reveal a desolate New York City. The wildlife combined with the destruction of the building reminds me of what New York looked like in I Am Legend. As Alma goes through Long Island, we see various factions and how territories are divided. We see how the war has affected those in the island, and we get a sense of why some people stayed in the DMZ (some by choice, while others got left behind). There’s one main big action scene that is a brutal affair. It’s violent and rough, simply because people have to rely on things on the island like sharpening old street signs and tools as weapons.
The story is a bit of a mess. At the core, it revolves around Alma’s search for her son. This is a very personal story about family and the lengths that people will go for family. One of the messages DMZ focuses on is the memories versus realities that people have of those they love. Time and experiences warp all the previous memories of someone and those, among other things, shape who a person becomes in reality. We don’t have a good grasp of time in DMZ, at first, but we later find out how much time has passed from when Alma loses her son to the beginning of the events of the show. What I liked about the message is that we create fictions in our head about what a person is like and then when it turns out to be different from the image, we have two choices: accept the person for who they are currently, even though it may not be the person we expect, or still try to jam the fiction in our heads. I liked this discussion and how this duality becomes an opportunity for growth.
The fundamental message of DMZ revolves around leadership and what it means to lead. At the core of the show, there is an essential theme about freedom versus unity. This is where life imitating art comes into play, and it feels like a reflection of what is going on in the U.S. today. There are dueling factions of those who want unity and those who want freedom. We don’t get a lot of background about what is going on with the Second U.S. Civil War. At the end of the day, DMZ isn’t about the war. As much as I would have liked more context, for the sake of this story it doesn’t really matter. There are, however, notable parallels between freedom and unity. The DMZ is trying to organize itself and choose a leader. The two options have different notions on how to lead the DMZ. What becomes clear, though, is that as people have a thirst for power, they will do whatever it takes to keep it. This breeds conflict, which turns to all-out war. The stories paralleling one another is fascinating and something I really enjoyed.
In the end, four episodes simply wasn’t enough time to get to know everyone, learn about the nuances of the DMZ, and then tell a compelling story. I do wonder if HBO Max will look back at DMZ and see a missed opportunity with this being a miniseries versus a regular show with multiple seasons. This show is begging to be an anthology series, and the opportunity to learn more about the Civil War, in addition to developing more people in the DMZ would be great. If this is truly a standalone four episode miniseries, it left too much on the table and made me wish for another episode or two.
Score: 5/10
You can follow Mike Hilty on Twitter and Letterboxd