World on Fire2019

Like Season 1, there are a few times when the coincidences that put everyone in the right place at the right time can strain credibility. But somehow, the series never feels like it's trying to do too much, even when it is obviously straining VFX budgets to the limit.

Disappointing. Good production as usual, but none of the characters are terribly appealing, making it difficult for me to care what happens to them. Maybe it gets better -- I'm only 2 episodes in -- but I'm not terribly inclined to continue.

In the wrong hands, World on Fire could well be very boring – the Second World War is not exactly new narrative territory. But Bowker makes both the grand narratives and the minutiae equally vivid and stirring, and it becomes impossible not to be enraptured by at least one of them.