The scene when Jasper wakes up is remarkable. His singing is so haunting and deathly throughout the episode. When Jasper and Cora are in the carriage his face looks like a death mask in the moonlight; so old it had turned to stone. His awakening is so intimate, and this singing corpse suddenly reemerges as human, but only briefly. It's one of the most enigmatic scenes and it is utterly devastating. Barry Jenkins does this all through lighting. It elevated the source material beautifully and told a story only a visual medium could.
I was excited to see one of my favorite new authors getting his first adaptation from one of my favorite new directors. The TV series did something impossible: not only did it justify its existence it enhanced the story Whitehead wrote by using a different medium. Every scene is so focused on telling these small stories, and it proves that Barry Jenkins is the best working director alongside (maybe) Bong Joon-Ho and Alfonso Cuarón. The Underground Railroad is the ideal marriage between writer and director, and I am excited for more people to become exposed to it. The Underground Railroad is possibly the greatest single series of television ever, and the scene when Jasper wakes up is evidence enough of its excellence.
I was excited to see one of my favorite new authors getting his first adaptation from one of my favorite new directors. The TV series did something impossible: not only did it justify its existence it enhanced the story Whitehead wrote by using a different medium. Every scene is so focused on telling these small stories, and it proves that Barry Jenkins is the best working director alongside (maybe) Bong Joon-Ho and Alfonso Cuarón. The Underground Railroad is the ideal marriage between writer and director, and I am excited for more people to become exposed to it. The Underground Railroad is possibly the greatest single series of television ever, and the scene when Jasper wakes up is evidence enough of its excellence.
