Noughts and Crosses- SPOILER thread

[englishmummyinwales]

For anyone who has binge watched and wants to discuss!

I’m so so relieved that neither died (and I nearly gave myself an ulcer with the tension in the last episode) but if I was Sephy, I’m not sure I’d have ever have truly forgiven Callum! He may have recovered it by the end but it was such a terrible betrayal.

Did Jude die? Or Dorn?

I loved it but felt it could have been better with one or two more episodes. Their relationship went from 0-60 in a few minutes and I’d have liked to see it build more slowly, with a few more happy scenes before the problems began. They had lots of chemistry but it would have made the strength of their connection more credible.

Likewise Callum’s switch to the LM. I’d have liked to have seen him waiver for longer and not be so easily swayed.

And where do you think Yaro had grown up? Did Kamal flee to Aprica with his white lover in the way he portrayed the future to Callum? I felt that we didn’t know enough to really feel connected to Yaro. He was a diversion rather than integral to the plot.

Anyway I really enjoyed it. Very thought provoking and a great cast. I wonder if there will be a Series 2? I’ve now read the synopsis of the book on Wikipedia and know it didn’t end there. But perhaps it should, I’m not sure I can take the actual ending!

Great, I have many things to ask too!

Why is it so sunny in London!
Does Aprica mean something different than Africa?
Loved the bond and optimism that Meggie and Jasmine have, But is Jas not a bit hypocritical about Yaro when she’s been having a string of affairs? Or cos they weren’t real love is that different?

It’s sunny because it was filmed in Cape Town! You wouldn’t get Kamal’s house in London, not even in Hampstead!

I thought that Jas was more angry that Kamal had rejected his son, rather than the betrayal. You’re right, the latter would have been hypocritical.

I felt so much for Meggie. Helen Baxendale played her so well. To lose your husband, possibly one son and then to know you’ll probably never see the other again. Yet she still showed such compassion rather than anger.

I loved the show.

It is really different to the book, but the spirit is definitely the same so I can see why Malorie Blackman was fine with the changes.

It's all the small details that got me. How uncomfortable the braids look on the nought cadets. The fashion, the nought christianity being more Celtic and ritualistic... I thought it was a bit odd initially that they didn't film it in london, but it does make sense, in terms of trying to get the right architectural look to have done it in Africa.

I do agree it would have been nice to have at least one more episode to see more of Callum being sucked into the LM and that attitude.

The cast was fantastic too. The guy that played Lekan was brilliant.

Yes I liked all the detail too. All the things which had never occurred to me as a white person - the trying, perhaps unconsciously, to fit in with hair styles and clothing. When Ryan moaned about having to wear a suit to Callum’s passing out, he wore a brightly coloured, open necked shirt and light suit which I associate with Caribbean men, particularly with his trilby hat. I had instinctively presumed he was going to get into a dark, business suit. It really made me realise how much I don’t notice. I liked that it made me sit up and take notice.

Callum did seem to finish his training in a weekend, mind!

At the start I thought Lekan was a bit one dimensional and a stereotypical baddie but he was a bit more fleshed out by the end. I think he was more in love with Kamal than with either of his daughters!

I watched this with my teenagers; we've read the books. Really enjoyed it. The 'look' of everything was really well done. Not sure how they'd do another series when the ending was different. My daughter described it as being "more hopeful" as an ending rather than how the first book ended.

Those who've read the books, do the little blue tattoos on some noughts have any significance? I was trying to make out whether they were words or just symbols.

I think they are reference to celtic religion, I think the idea is that the noughts religion is a much more tribal early celtic christian mash up, that the crosses don't take seriously. Like the blue faces when they are celebrating midsummer.

Does anyone know why they've made it so it's always sunny in London in this? I'm not sure if I've missed the bit where they explain that!

It hasn’t been “explained” as such, but much of the filming took place in South Africa.

In my head I put it down to climate change. Is there a year or date it’s supposed to be?

I just think the sunshine we notice when watching it is just a consequence of them choosing to film in S.Africa to get the Aprica look and feel culturally. The TV show differs in that it mentions 700 years of rule BUT the books have food and historical references we understand but no actual date/timeline. For example Jack the Ripper is mentioned in the latest book.