TV TALK

I guess it's probably moot already, since North of North has been in the top ten shows on Netflix since it's been released there, and everyone is reccing it left and right, but... I've been meaning to write this post for a while and so here it is!


North of North: Siaja is in trouble - like always ;)

North of North is a short comedy show about Siaja, an Inuk woman, living in Ice Cove, a fictional town in the far North of Canada, populated by a wonderful mix of characters, some loving, some eccentric, some traumatized. The show's humor is always on point, and even the embarrassing foot-in-mouth moments Siaja keeps stumbling into are played with so much love and charm that they don't feel squicky.

The show is produced by Inuk women, it has a wonderfully female vibe, most of the characters and all producers are women. It was shot on location in the town of Iqaluit where the lead actress Anna Lambe grew up, and most of the actors are Inuit.

Is this a rec? Yes, very much so!

Does it have a happy ending: Depends on what you expect? It's a slice-of-life show, very character-focused, no 'important' plot arc, so the question doesn't really apply? I personally found it satisfying to watch.

Where can I watch it? Netflix. If you're in Canada, it's also on CBC Gems. There are 8 episodes each about 23 minutes long.

I hope they will get a second season The show was renewed for season 2, I would love to spend more time with those characters!

more thoughts - with some spoilers

* Dang, I really wanted her and Kuuk to get together. Okay, it was obvious that he was her love interest the whole time - he was shown as desirable, so of course I'd jump on that ship. Also, he was extremely cute with those pigtails. (Is there a traditional name for that hairstyle? I couldn't find one. I tried.)

* The backstory of her mother was heartbreaking. I didn't really know anything about the Canadian First Nations' colonial trauma (the show actually contains a trauma warning in one of the episodes). I'm not surprised at what I learned (damn, colonialism, always the same shit), but I loved how the show approached it. I learned a lot. And there was never a sledgehammer or anvil in sight, different voices and different viewpoints from different characters. Very well done.

* I liked how the show played with cliches and prejudice, simply by being matter-of-fact about it. Shoot a caribou? Sure. Local football rules? Sure. White people who come to town just to fuck someone exotic? Sure. It was all in there, and the characters always made the best of the situation, going with the flow, picking what worked for them.

* I adored the goddess Siaja keeps meeting throughout the show. The goddess seems to be insulting her a lot. That's a fun way to play with religion/tradition, both of which Siaja is a bit estranged from - and none of that is ever judged. Siaja has to find her own way through that, just like through everything else.

* I loved Elder Night! I loved with how much respect the elders were shown, without them being a nondescript uniform group, while at the same time showing that Siaja doesn't speak Inuktitut (if she mentioned the actual name of the language, I missed it, sorry) well enough to really converse with all of them. Just like everything else, it was a nuanced portrayal.

* In general, how they showed life in a small community was spot on. Everyone knows everyone, and they have to help each other, and seeing that interact (I'm loathe to say clash, because that's not all it did) with Siaja's need for personal growth was great fun.

* I'm not sure what to think about the town's mayor, Helen. She seems to be white (and married to an Inuk man), and the neighboring town's mayor seems to be white, too. Is that another statement on colonialism? Both of these women were shown as power-hungry caricatures.

* We were predisposed to hate her husband, of course, but he really made it easy. :D If there's one flat character in the show, it's him. They managed to make him look good for one episode, though, and I liked that depth.

* I loved what we saw of Siaja's daughter. She doesn't have much of her own 'thing', she's mostly defined by the adults around her. But I especially liked how each of those adults brought their own unique characteristic to the way they're raising her.

and some spoiler-free screencaps here