Netflix's teen fantasy series The Letter for the King feels baffingly unfinished

Mashable

"The Letter for the King on Netflix is an odd fantasy series," says Alexis Nedd of the teen fantasy based on Tonke Dragt’s 1962 book of the same name. "It barely finishes its own exposition before dumping the audience into an occasionally fun but never examined tale of adventure. What does it have to say about war? It's bad, probably. Love? Eh. Heroism? It's fine! Anything beyond that is the audience's problem. The show's got a sword fight to choreograph. It’s honestly impressive how much The Letter for the King just assumes everyone is already on board with its characters, world, and stakes before it charges forward with the story. The show introduces its main character Tiuri, played by a very charming Amir Wilson (His Dark Materials), and sets him on a postal errand without once explaining why he or anything else going on is important. It has the energy of a series in which everything will get explained in the end in some fantastic, magical reveal, but forgot to write or shoot that part entirely. That baffling, unfinished tone permeates most of The Letter for the King in a way that seems especially strange with the knowledge that the show is based on a book."

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