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Game of Thrones: The Lion and the Rose (2014)
What Game of Thrones was supposed to be
This episode best represents why season four is - in my opinion - the best season of GoT.
The royal wedding is of course the main topic in this episode and it is very long, for "just" one pay-off at the end. But that that works is what makes it great. The attention to detail is amazing, for example Maes speeding up, as to appear as he randomly ran into Tywin and Olenna, only to be rejected immediately, always a treat to watch. Just in general there are so many great character interactions that do so much to build the world and the characters, so that it doesn't get boring, even on the 10th watch. The best is the dialogue (or quatrologue?) between Oberyn, Ellaria, Tywin and Cersei, the tension between them, while remaining surface-level polite is just superb.
Finally, after the great dwarf play, there is the big shocker of the episode. Similar to the red wedding, the tension is increased in the build up, by having Joffrey and Tyrion nearly come to blows. Even tho this is only indirectly connected to the actual catastrophe, it sets the viewer in the right mood for it. The make up in the scene is amazing, and be honest, we all enjoyed watching Joffrey suffer such a gruesome death. But also kudos that they didn't skim over the reaction of the people around him, which showed people like Jaime how they really are in such a moment, where they don't put up an act. Very nice and I think this is the moment I theorized the most about in the entire show, that easily took more time than watching the actual episode, that's how intrigued I was by the world building at that point.
But it is not even the best moment in the episode because that title goes to Tyrion breaking up with Shae. George RR Martin himself said that the show managed to improve the character of Shae and I 100% agree but it needed this scene because only with this does the end of their relationship work and it is great, it makes total sense and it is just tragic to see what happiness could be possible for those likable characters, if it wasn't for the messed up reality. A great job by both actors, Sibel Kekilli and Peter Dinklage, who carried this scene and again nice attention to detail: Shae always tries to establish eye-contact, while Tyrion evades her.
Overall I can say that this episode has the death of one of the most despised characters in TV history (which is of course a testimony to how well he was written and portrayed) but even more than that it is exemplary for prime Game of Thrones like not many other. It doesn't need epic shots of dragons or big armies. Of course I am a fan of that too but episodes like "The Lion and the Rose" are the backbone of the show and all I need: It amazes for an hour with world building, character building and storytelling and if one is willing to make a deep dive with theorizing and stuff, it does so for much longer than just the run time of the episode.
Game of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere (2013)
New emotional grounds for fiction
What an episode! Amazing from start to finish in all story arcs included but I will focus on the big thing, which is of course: The red wedding.
Because that is just great. It made me experience emotions on a level that I didn't know fiction was able to do. I don't want to make this review too personal but just one anecdote: After watching I honestly couldn't sit still for two days because my heart would just start racing uncontrollably again.
There are several reasons why the red wedding worked so much better than similar attempts in other productions. For one GoT was willing to take the necessary time to maximize the emotional attachment to the characters and the world. Many people were waiting for the big battle between Robb and Tywin back in season 1 but their conflict played out for two more seasons, making the moment it finally got resolved much more powerful.
The way the plot twist was built up to is also important. It is easy to have a plot twist happen out of the blue. But even if it is not a plot hole they don't work very well, I call them jump-scare-plot-twists because they are effective in shocking on the first watch because obviously no one saw them coming but on the second watch they already feel cheap because the writers just used their god-powers to let something shocking happen instead of crafting a compelling story that lets that happen naturally. If the plot twist is negative, like the red wedding, there is a good chance that the audience will feel betrayed too. In this episode GoT shows how it is done. We see the northerners the most happy since the very first episode, leaving us on a high point before the fall but despite the seemingly good situation there is always the feeling of dread, that something is not right, after a tense situation was cautiously built up to in the previous episodes. The feeling of dread is increased as the episode plays out but not to a point where it would spoil the twist. It hits the sweet spot of being shocking in the moment but also feeling inevitable in retrospect.
Finally, I admire the conclusiveness of it all. The show didn't mess around with back doors that mitigate the effect of the murder. They are dead and the good-guy family in Westeros is not wiped out but neutralized in the game of thrones, at least for now, since no one of the surviving Starks is in any position to fill the vacant leadership role. The outro being completely silent fits perfectly with that theme. This is not a tragedy that ultimately proves to have been necessary because it set the main character on his or her journey, this is nothing but a deep blow and I respect them for that.
I don't know whether George RR Martin knew what a masterpiece he was writing but he absolutely did and the adaptation in the show is great too. They created imo the best moment in the history of fiction and therefore it is only logical that I call this episode the best in television history.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
A wonderful goodbye
As the last film of the Guardians trilogy GotG3 is the farewell that the team of crazy and equally loveable super heroes deserves. Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista stated they are done with the MCU now, so the movie is also a farewell to them, especially Bautistas Drax is at his best in the trilogy. Even more prominently is the departure of director James Gunn from Marvel. If this were sports, his transfer to DC would be called a blockbuster deal because he is responsible for much of the best super hero content recently: The suicide squad, Peacemaker and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, that is an impressive track record in a struggling genre.
And GotG3 really is a very good movie, imo the best MCU-entry post Endgame. The Guardians always were the funny movies and unlike so many other Marvel movies that really struggle due to the need of shoving a quippy remark in every line, it works for the Guardians. Granted there are still one or two moments I wish would have been played out longer before the comic relief but overall that is not a huge deal. And the movie manages to combine good comedy with surprising darkness and emotionality. There is certainly no lack of that especially in Rocket's back story, which plays a significant role and is so well done. Despite being predictable at times it really got me. It says a lot about the MCU that the movie with the music-addict, the walking tree and the talking racoon is the one that finally works on the emotional level again. The characters are handled very well and get nice developments. I already mentioned Drax and Rocket who is really the heart of the movie but it is also true for the others, Groot and Mantis especially. Star-Lord almost feels like playing second fiddle after being the focus of the previous movies but he and most others still end up making a journey we did not know we wanted but needed.
On the villain side we have Adam Warlock who feels a bit tacked on tbh. His introduction is very strong but after that it at times seems like he is only in it because they teased him in GotG2. It does not really bother me but he is not the movie's strong suit either especially when compared to the other villain. Because the high evolutionary is amazing. His utopian motivation is not revolutionary for a movie-villain but that doesn't make it bad. He is so despicable, has just the right amount of power and is beautifully played by Chukwudi Iwuji. Kick the dog is a classic writing advice and means to let the villain do something that will immediately make everyone in the audience dislike him and this technique works here, you just hate this guy, without it turning completely ridiculous and unreasonable. The best MCU villain since Thanos.
Aside from that the CGI looks good and the soundtrack once again is a big strength of the Guardians movies. The story is not particularly intricate, McGuffin quests play a significant role but they set the ground for the interactions between and development of the characters, which works and mostly carries the movie. The length is not a problem, I am fully on board with seeing those flawed but loveable characters interact for 150 minutes, it never felt stretched for me. The film largely stands on its own and is not occupied with setting up dozens of storylines for the MCU at large, which helps the individual movie a lot. Lastly I want to say that the movie is helped by the fact that it is the last of the trilogy, so the characters could die, making several scenes a lot more tense.
Overall a really strong movie that serves as a reminder of better MCU-times. The question is whether it signals a return to strength for Marvel or whether it will prove to be a final and wonderful goodbye for the MCUs golden era.
Game of Thrones: Blackwater (2012)
That's how a battle episode is done
Game of Thrones waited until its 19th episode for a big battle and it is so worth the wait. It was built up over the entire season, giving it a lot of weight and it is handled beautifully. A lot of set ups from earlier episodes get their pay off here, tipping the scales every time, of which you btw can always keep track of, it is not just two massive soulless armies clashing and when it is over, you just have to accept that one side won, there is always a sense of who is winning and cause and effect of specific actions are clear, making it very immersive.
The visuals are great and could hold their own against many cinema productions. The whole battle takes place at night but the darkness just adds to the epicness and is never a problem for visibility, this should not be worth mentioning but people who have seen the entire show know that it unfortunately is. Apart from the fighting there are great dialogues especially one between Bronn and the Hound. Granted it is a bit forced but I still like it very much because it shows the conflicts people might have, even when they are on the same side. The character development by the Hound in this episode overall is especially good.
The final resolve of a battle can be a pitfall for the writers but I think it works here and "The battle is over. We have won", is such a simple line on paper but it comes off very epic to close the episode, great job by the actor!
Dark (2017)
Please give it a chance
This show is very good, imo it is easily the best Netflix-production yet and will probably remain that for a very long time. In fact it is so good, that I believe there are only three groups of people in regards to this series:
a) The ones who have never seen it. This is the biggest group because Netflix barely markets this gem, more on that later
b) The ones who stopped watching after a couple of episodes. This is due to the start being the weakest part of the series. It is by no means something terrible you have to stand trough to get to the good parts, it is already good but it does not seem like GOAT-material yet
c) The ones who have seen it all, loved it and are now desperately trying to get people from the 1st group to watch it
I belong to the 3rd group and I really can't praise the show high enough. It is a mystery show and the mystery is so well crafted. The reveals and plot twists are coming at exactly the right pace and they are mind-twisting. But they always make sense, I have watched the show multiple times and a lot of theory videos on YouTube and it really seems like there is no plot hole in this thing. How the show runners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar crafted such a complicated script so well is beyond me, massive respect towards these guys.
The setting at the start is a small town in Germany. The setting expands continuously tho and I often thought that they have surely overdone it now but I was always wrong, they kept all the strings together for the entire show. It is obvious that this was planned out and they stuck to it, no BS, just telling the story as it is supposed to be, happens way too little.
Another thing that is not commonly mentioned in reviews but absolutely deserves a shoutout here is the casting. I can't say why it is so great because that would be a spoiler but if there was an award for the best casting, DARK would have taken that. This is even more impressive when considering that it is a German production, limiting them to German speaking actors which is a comparatively small group.
I go as far as to call DARK the best TV-series I have ever watched but it is not that popular, why? Is it because it is German? That probably does not help but "Money heist", "Squid Game" or even the German "All quiet on the Western front" made big impacts internationally, so that does not satisfy as an explanation.
I think it is because Netflix barely markets it and, I am speculating now, I think they are doing that because DARK could hurt their flagship Stranger Things, since both shows share similarities and DARK is just better. This is not meant as an insult to ST which is a very good show but DARK is on another level. Btw with similarities I am not speaking of rip off, not even close, but there are thematic overlaps, especially in the first episode. Netflix indeed did not want Friese and Odar to do a show like this, they hired them to do a series about hacking but they did this, putting Netflix into a dilemma. They couldn't cancel it because of the headlines canceling the first German Netflix original would have brought in Germany but it also must not become the next big thing because that would hurt ST. So they released it but limited the marketing to the bare minimum. Again: this is pure speculation, there is no proof, other than Netflix having ordered a hacking-show initially. It is just the only logical reason I can think of, to explain Netflix disregard for the best series they have. Whatever the reason may be: Don't be like Netflix's marketing team apparently wants you to be and give this show a go.
Game of Thrones: You Win or You Die (2011)
The most under appreciated episode
This episode imo deserves to be in every conversation about the best episode of GoT but I don't think it is, which is why I am writing this review twelve years later.
The whole episode is like a giant countdown towards the climax at the end - the confrontation in the throne room and Littlefingers betrayal of Ned. Every noteworthy character in Kings Landing is there and the atmosphere is so tense. I can still feel my heart racing every time I rewatch the episode, which shows how well it is crafted and doesn't rely on cheap shock value, that loses its magic already on the second watch.
Prior to the final confrontation all the little plays and dialogues are very good. The dialogues get long time to breathe but it never gets boring in the slightest, they make sure that there is always just enough development of the situation at court going on, so that one is just glued to the screen.
And all of this is achieved without any fantasy-element at all. They are very rare in all of season one, this episode for example could almost feature in a historical-fiction series as well. The white walkers, dragons or big battles are nice of course but THIS is the backbone of GoT: The scheming and the politics. 10/10 perfect episode. It is difficult to come up with a solid ranking of the GoT-episodes but I think it ranks at least as #3 for me and the competition is very fierce.
Glass Onion (2022)
A mystery that won't make you theorize
Knives out, the predecessor, was not perfect or anything but it was a fun movie - Agatha Christie in the 21st century, I liked it. Glass Onion however never gave me that Agatha Christie vibe, which is a shame, at times it doesn't even really feel like a mystery you can keep guessing along at all.
Director Ryan Jonsons is infamous for his work in Star Wars - The last Jedi in which his "Subverting the audience expectation" was very overused. The murder mystery genre makes this technique almost a necessity and showing something wrong or misleading can be done for example when we "see" the memory of a particular character, his memory can be flawed or manipulated but it should not happen when we are live in the action.
Look at the scene in which Helen gets supposedly shot: We see her getting shot and falling and the next time we see her she lies on the floor, not moving with a red liquid on her. There is no reason for not showing that she actually survived and the red liquid is a sauce and not blood, other than leaving the audience in the dark but I consider it almost cheating to simply leave out a scene the audience is not supposed to know yet. There should be a reason why the character we are following at the moment does not know yet himself or there should be at least a hint for the audience that what is being shown might not be completely true. But here there is no reason to suspect that she might not be dead after all, so when we see the truth it is not a "Oh! How could I miss this?" kind of twist but more a "Oh... so that was fake?" kind of twist.
The ending seems to be getting the most criticism here and I 100% agree. It didn't make much sense to start. I don't buy that Miles is so safe as long as the disruptors back him in court, they are all financially dependent on him and therefore obviously compromised. The witness account by Blanc who is trusted and has no self-interest in the case should put Miles in serious trouble. But somehow Helen needs to bring them all to turn on Miles by destroying his property. Why does this work? I don't know. He killed two friends of theirs but his power over them was strong enough to pressure them to do as he wished but destroying some glass statues did it. Not really the television I like to watch, just destroy until you get your way.
I don't think the ending is rewarding either. A man of color, three white women and a woman of color who takes the lead are rising up against the tyrannical white man. The symbolism here is pretty clear and obviously there is nothing inherently wrong with it but because most of them are rich and privileged anyways and only brought the white man into his powerful position by lying in court for him, this doesn't work for me.
Oh, also the Mona Lisa gets destroyed. To take down one man, which at that point would have worked even without destroying the painting, all of humanity gets irreversibly robbed of arguably the greatest work of art it ever produced. That doesn't sit right with me at all. I honestly consider this a bad ending, not a good one but I don't think that is what the movie makers wanted to do.
It is visible that the people behind this movie are generally competent, as are the actors. That is why I rate it 4 points but there is really nothing I could specifically point to as a positive.
House of the Dragon: The Green Council (2022)
Trust the books!
The season was great but there are three moments in it that seriously bother me and the two worst are in this episode, making it by far the low point of the series so far.
1) The first thing I disliked was the whole "where-is-Aegon-sequence". I didn't even get the premise of it. Apparently it is of utmost importance whether Alicent or Otto get Aegon first. Alicent wants to send Rhaenyra an honest peace offer, while Otto wants to kill her but how is this connected? Aegon can speak to both of them before making a decision. Speaking to him first may give a slight advantage but he has a mind of his own, just remember Joffrey in season one of GoT, everyone was telling him to spare Ned Starks life but he didn't do it. They spent about a third of the episode searching for Aegon but I am not convinced at all that the search decides how Rhaenyra is delt with. And even if: We are watching a show, obviously it is not going to end with Alicent finding Aegon, him agreeing to send a peace offer to Rhaenyra, her accepting it and everyone living in peace.
The whole thing is without tension, boring and pointless but that's not all. Eventually we find out that Mysaria has Aegon and she tells Otto where to find him, if he promises to end the exploitation of children in the city. So Mysaria, who is presented as a pretty good schemer, gives up the most valuable hostage she could ever have for a sack of gold and a promise? If she knows rich people half as much as we are made to believe, she would know that Otto will forget his promise immediately. And why is she even that interested in ending the exploitation of children? It was never established that she had any philanthropic motivations. Her motivation was security, so that she could live without fear, completely reasonable for a character with her backstory. Now she reveals herself to the hand of the king and gets on the wrong side of him and the future king, which is the opposite of what was established, she wanted.
And as if it were not enough, while they speak in the open, the faction, searching for Alicent, runs into them by chance. In a city of close to a million inhabitants. That is a major plot convenience and just bad writing.
2) The second big oof in this episode is the ending with Rhaenys bursting through the floor.
First of all it is questionable how she got to her dragon. If they were guarded she should have been stopped and if they were not then it doesn't make sense, they are the most valuable thing in the world and tens of thousands of people are directly above them, they have to be guarded.
Somehow she manages to do it and bursts through the floor, killing hundreds of people at least but when she has the opportunity to wipe out the greens and make up for her massacre by avoiding the much bigger disaster of war, she does not do it. At first I thought it was just because Alicent was standing in front of Aegon and because she kind of liked her after their little talk earlier, that she did not want to kill her, I would have absolutely hated that but in episode ten it is revealed that Rhaenys didn't think it was her dispute and not her responsibility to start or decide the war. I am cool with that but it also means that she never planned anything but to flee, so she could have easily waited until the ceremony is over and flee without conducting any bloodshed.
The massaker is never addressed, even the infamous season eight of GoT did better in this aspect. For me that is throwing out consistency and logic for a spectacular moment and I think that is a very bad choice.
I have learned since, that these scenes are not from the books, which hurts even more. They had a convincing storyline and swapped it for stuff like that. Adaptations of good source material should stop trying to be super smart and change everything, changing for the worse should never happen.
To do more than complain: The opening sequence is great, the sleeping red keep, in which the news of the king's passing slowly spreads was really well done and the music was great. Ewan Mitchell as Aemond continued to impress and Olivia Cookes Alicent was good as well, to see her character been torn between wanting her son on the throne and wanting to honor her husband's last wish but also wanting to spare her friend Rhaenyra, at the same time she has to deal with the grief for her husband was great. I also liked Aegons coronation until the massacre, again with great music. Give Ramin Djawadi and order OK?
House of the Dragon: The Lord of the Tides (2022)
I bend the knee for Paddy Considine
Seriously, I am in awe of his performance as Viserys. It was great all season, he really delivered as the king who was not terrible at his job but below average and more concerned with making everyone happy because actually he is just a nice guy who wants the people close to him to get along. This is very relatable and Considine aced this role. In episode eight however he outshines his earlier performance and the rest of the cast, which says a lot because all the actors are great. The way Considine portrays a man dying in terrible pain who steps up one last time, trying to ensure his legacy and fixing the effects of his action gives goosebumps and people who have seen a person in a similar state will be able to relate. Just wow. He better wins an Emmy for this.
The rest of the episode also rules, I think it is among the best in the season. It is clever to have a question of succession over a minor throne but the answer to this, answers the question on who shall sit on the iron throne in large parts as well. Vaemond Velaryon could be described as the villain of this episode but in typical GoT-fashion one can sympathise with him and his motivation is not just pure greed. As a second born he does not have a lot of opportunities to leave a legacy of his own, so he has to cling onto the legacy of his bloodline, which survived so many great crises, seeing it die out because his nephew couldn't father a child must hurt him a lot.
Rhaenys could have been a bit more hostile towards Rheanyra if you ask me. I mean, she suspects her of murdering her son. But I can forgive that.
And once more: The acting in this episode is fantastic, not just by Paddy Considine. Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy or Ewan Mitchell as Aemond are fantastic as well but Paddy Considine is the king and not just because he played one.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Westeros is back in force!
House of the Dragon dives back into the world of ice and fire, around 150 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones, when the Targaryen dynasty was still strong with an abundance of dragons at their disposal. But an unclear succession might endanger all of that...
Let me put this straight: The show is great and I am so happy about that.
It is a brave show to make too because a lot of time jumps forces it to almost restart several times, which is not easy to pull off but the show runners succeeded. After the biggest time jump it took me some time to get back into it but generally I never lost track or interest, nevertheless I hope (and think) that this will no longer be the case in season 2.
Of course there is a crisis looming but we can see the height of a dynasty and a realm in order, where things like court proceedings happen as they are supposed to and not in crisis-mode. In GoT we only saw glimpses of that in season 1, so that is a relatively new perspective, which I liked.
Generally I liked almost everything: The characters, the story, the dialogues, the music by the great Ramin Djawadi, who returned from GoT and the visuals. I try to avoid trailers and other press material but from the little bit I saw, I was worried about the look of some Targaryens, which seemed a bit fake but either my vision was skewed or they ramped it up in post production because this was absolutely no issue.
I especially want to point out what I think the biggest strength of the show is: The very human side of it. This was already the best part of GoT and I am happy that they again layed a focus there. All characters have understandable motivations and no one is overly evil or perfect, all the interhuman relationships feel natural, dynamic and important to the story. In one aspect it even surpases GoT imo and that is the contradiction of human and political relations. Let me explain what I mean by that: All to often in shows like this the characters are simply embodiments of their position, the shady advisor is always plotting, the overlooked heir is constantly sabotaging the current king etc. But it should not be forgotten that a court is a pretty enclosed circle of people who form relationships, which might not fit with their political one. In HotD this is done beautifully, there are people who should act cooperatively or at least peacefully but because they personally detest each other this is hard for them to do, as well as people who have a kind of friendship between them but the reality of their political situation pits them against each other. The strains and dilemmas the persons are left with because of that are amazing in this season.
Not everything is perfect tho, I especially missed propper consequences sometimes. For breaking the codes of chivalry or other things that are morally ambiguous at best, consequences are lacking or are only half-backed more than once. Sometimes the explanation that it wore off over the course of the latest time jump works semi-satisfying but at other times it does not.
There was also one irrational decision bothering that has to be made so the plot can happen. They come up with an explanation for it later, which was very important for the show and I think the explanation largely works but it is still not ideal.
HotD is different from GoT because it is much more focused on one main plot with subplots instead of having what felt like dozens of plots going on at the same time but that does not make it less worthwhile in any way and I felt back at home in Westeros. In GoT I was even more captivated after season one, which, in combination with the small issues I described, prevents HotD from netting the full points but they are well deserved nine points and if you are unsure whether you should trust the world of ice and fire again after the ending of GoT, I think that you should, the show is great.
Im Westen nichts Neues (2022)
Efficte anti-war movie but historical inaccuracies bother me
The newest adaptation of one of the most important pieces of anti-war literature is a really good movie, despite numerous deviations from the source material.
It avoids many of the typical pitfalls of WWI-movies. Like in the book the story is told from the German perspective and neither side is dehumanized or vilified, as it sometimes happened in movies like this. At its core it is a very human story, about normal humans on either side who are rolled over by the machinery of an inhumane and senseless war. Thankfully there is also no heroism depicted, so there is absolutely no danger of coming out of this thinking that war is ,cool'. Instead it shows several human tragedies in the last days of the war, while peace negotiations are already going on, making them even more avoidable.
The contrast of the troops, fighting and dying in the dirt and the higher ups who are still living in luxury, negotiating and wasting time with disregard for their dying man was very well done.
Generally the movie gets the gist of trench warfare with a very oppressive atmosphere. I am bothered by two things tho.
First: When the protagonists are getting called up to war in 1917 they are really excited about that and I doubt that this is realistic so late into the war. Even the best propaganda could not have hidden the fact that the war had been going on for three years without noticeable gains on the Western front for almost as long. Young conscripts may have been determined to do their duty but I simply cannot imagine them being totally enthusiastic, after everyone had already lost loved ones in the war.
Second: In the time between the signing of the armistice and the time it went into effect, the Germans launch a great attack. In reality the Germans were in no position to go onto the offensive anymore, that is unrealistic. In fact it were the allies who launched those dead-rubber-attacks.
This doesn't destroy the movie but I don't get why they made those decisions because people are going to believe it. In general tho the movie gets its anti-war message across without becoming overly preachy, by showing the horrors of the war machinery. Even tho it could have been shortened a bit around the middle.
On an unrelated note: The German General in the movie looks like Dr. Eggman from Sonic. Obviously this does not affect my rating at all but it didn't help me taking him seriously.
1899 (2022)
Amazing setting, lackluster plot
1899 is a mystery show set on a voyage of people from plenty of nationalities from Europe to America in 1899 by German creators Jantje Friese and Baran Bo Odar. But this show is international with everyone speaking their native language, so if you are a dubbing guy normally, maybe make an exception here and use the subtitles, otherwise you might miss out on some things.
DARK, the first work on Netflix by the two creators was amazing, so I had high expectations going into this, which weren't fully met unfortunately. I was hooked in the beginning, the setting, characters, costumes and the prospect of the show playing with the different nationalities and language barrier were really enticing.
At around the midpoint of the season however the plot fell short imo. I have heard people complain about it being too slow paced and I agree but only partially. The slow pacing alone is not a problem, I even prefer slow burners over shows that cowardly force a highlight every other episode, just to appeal to the short attention span of the audience. The issue for me is how 1899 uses its time. DARK was also slow but every second was important for the characters and us to untangle the mysteries. In 1899 we have either flashbacks, which are alright but I didn't really care for them. Most episodes start with one, focussing on the different characters but they all feel pretty much the same. Or the characters run around the ship or are exploring their memory but all of that turns out to be pointless. The solution in the end is down to one character only and, cut together, is accomplished in max. 20 minutes, basically unconnected to everything else. Honestly this could have been a movie of two hours and nothing valuable would be lost.
I also struggle to grasp the rules the story tries to follow. There is a lot of plugging and unplugging and using some ominous god-devices and at those moments the writers can just decide what happens and when. Obviously this is always the case but a good show makes you forget that, 1899 didn't, at least not for me.
This may sound more negative than I really feel. I still liked watching it and I will watch a season 2 but with this amazing setting it should have been more but mainly the two issues I described hold it back, which is a shame.