Perhaps one of the most underrated shows on TV right now understands fools completely.
One of the hardest things to write is an ignorant character.
Humans are complex, and we have to understand character choices and motivations. And, sneakily, we want to see a small part of ourselves in them. But no one wants to think they’re an ignorant person.
Dense or ignorant characters can be confusing and annoying and alienate the audience when written poorly. But that’s why there’s a real miracle happening in front of us—The Righteous Gemstones is a show about many dense characters, and somehow it’s so funny, poignant, and relatable that it threads the needle.
Today I want to look at what makes Gemstones tick and pick apart how they craft characters in such a specific way that their intelligence doesn’t matter because their actions speak louder than their words.
Let’s jump in together.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
