Obsession

The problems with Obsession are at least twofold.

One is not really the fault of the show. While it lives up to its title, and I believe that at least one of them is dangerously obsessed from very early on (I’m less convinced the other is obsessed, but definitely damaged), it’s not being reviewed that way which is a real problem. The “erotic thriller with BDSM” is absent under a very twisted, obsessive quasi-power exchange with two very broken characters at its core. What I came to watch, based on the reviews I read, is not the show I was given. That’s a problem with the reviewers not understanding what they’re seeing, or not writing what they’re seeing and, as I said, not the show’s fault. But it’s jarring.

However, within those two very broken characters and their interactions lies the second problem, and that is the fault of the writing and directing. Unless you’re here to watch this as porn (in which case you’ll get bored quickly, it’s just not porn) these characters are just so messed up that I don’t like either of them. There are shows with broken characters that I do like, it’s not that I’m just looking at broken characters and going “ugh, no”. There are shows with characters that I don’t like that I watch and enjoy, so it’s not that. But when the show revolves around the relationship dynamics between two characters, particularly between super twisted ones like this pair have, I really have to be watching with more of a sense of empathy and less of a sense of hands over my eyes and hoping the car crash isn’t too messy. From very early on it’s clear there’s going to be a car crash, it’s just a case of how many fatalities there are. (Answer: maximum messiness, of course, the title tells you it’s totally unhealthy, so the resolution is too.)

I also have a real problem with how they depict the BDSM. I understand this is a TV show and they’re not going to go into full detail. But, in essence, we see a super-simplistic contract being agreed. I could live with that, I might not be happy about it as an accurate depiction of BDSM but I could have accepted it. Then both parties break even that super-simple contract, repeatedly, on a whim, and, until the inevitable tragedy unfolds, without consequence. I would add that the tragedy doesn’t require the kink or the breaking of the boundaries, it would have come about if they only had the most vanilla sex ever. So that’s annoying. However, I’ve never been in any sort of relationship, D/s or not, where you transgress boundaries on a whim without consequences (the boundaries and consequences are just different in a D/s relationship). You don’t, as Anna does to William, demand they come away from work at no notice for a quick shag. You may organise one of course, if you meet for lunch, but you don’t demand it by text. Particularly not as the sub…! If the rules are “within this flat, total submission, outside nothing” then you don’t stalk your partner on their weekend away, then demand they come and meet you outside. Even if you’re the Dom inside the flat, you’re still bordering into stalker territory here. The list goes on. They’re not in a D/s relationship, they’re broken people in an obsessive relationship with kinky sex.

I don’t really regret watching Obsession, I think it’s important that I say that because I have so little else that’s positive to say. It’s got a central story that has some interesting elements and then a lot of, in my opinion, poor choices around that which detract from the main premise. Another episode, a bit more depth to more of the other characters, especially Anna and her friend Peggy would be great. I'd like to have a bit more time with William's family too. Apart from our central part, the rest of them remain plot tokens rather than characters. I get that can happen in TV shows (although from what I remember of Gypsy which was also broken people in a fairly obsessive relationship, you knew more about quite a few others than you learn here) but when you have two broken characters and everyone else remains a token despite being in every episode there are real problems. To just really drive this point home, for all the other characters, I can give you a physical description obviously, a relationship “Sally is William’s daughter” type of thing and mostly that’s it. I’m positive what William's job is. Ive got a decent guess at Anna's. I’ve got a clue about the level of Peggy’s but not the industry. I’ve got a decent idea about William's FIL, which is ironic because he’s hardly in it - he could and should be an extra, where he’s just sketched in, but I feel like I know more about him than most of the main cast.

The show could benefit from a bit of thought about the incriminating page that’s central to part of the story too. William's daughter finds it in his coat pocket when she puts it on. Ok, loosely plausible in general. However, Richard Armitage (William) is 1.91m tall and Sonera Angel (Sally) is 1.63m. If you prefer that in old money, she’s a foot shorter than him… and a) she can wear his coat without drowning in it, b) she can even reach the pockets let alone find a folded up piece of paper in one? It’s not like it’s a gun, where she might reasonably feel the weight tugging on her and go exploring after all.

It’s sometimes fun to watch a tragedy unfold. This ought to have that; the final disaster is inevitable so it’s a tragedy in the strict sense and it’s a up there with some of the massive Shakespearean tragedies. However, the more you pick at the details the more there is to wish they’d done better. However, they do give us a good old tragedy that gave me enough to get to the end.

Bechdel Test: Pass. In a show that’s about a central heterosexual obsessive relationship this may surprise you, but Anna talks to Peggy and her mum, Ingrid and Sally talk to each other, Sally and Anna talk to each other. Over the four episodes, they’re all covered.

Ko Test: Pass. If, as the Russo test does, there was a “meaningful” requirement on the Ko Test, this would fail. It’s not clear why Ingrid and Sally (and Jay) are British Asian, but they are. Likewise, Peggy is Black British. One of the episodes is pretty borderline, but because it’s so generally good, I’m giving it a pass.

Russo Test: Fail. Sally looks like a baby gay but her sexuality isn’t discussed. It’s implied that Anna and Peggy are in a relationship but it’s only implied and it’s also possibly two female friends defending their space against an unwelcome male visitor. Everyone else, where see it, is clearly heterosexual.