Taboo review: Tom Hardy can do it all in this show that ends up being convoluted, yet enjoyable for his die-hard fans

3/5

Story: James Delaney returns to England in 1814 after having spent a long time in Africa. He returns to inherit valuable land following his father's death. A man of many abilities, James returns with a few plans in mind, and starts putting them to action. 

Review: Would you love to see Tom Hardy occupy the screen for eight long episodes, doing all things one expects Tom Hardy to do? Taboo would be the perfect place to be in that case, if it wasn’t convoluted and pointless, with the writers not giving us a grip of what's happening and the show just feeling absolutely random. 

Taboo, which as you guessed, stars Tom Hardy as a brooding, gritty, and apparently magical James Delaney, who returns to England after a long time with aspirations to take down the East India Company. The writers want us to believe that James Delaney is the protagonist in the show, but it really is just Tom Hardy. To start off with, the man who returns from “Africa”, just walks around with menace in his thoughts and attitude, doing random stuff. How random you ask? James Delaney is seen nursing wounds, blackmailing people, swallowing an entire egg, speaking an African language and even doing some sort of magic. 

How does he know to do all the things, nobody tells us. Why is he so mercurial, with people practically following everything he says, nobody knows. They just do. And this is the biggest flaw of Taboo because we never really know what's happening, but we like it, because it's Tom Hardy playing a half Englishman in the Queen’s land. 

One of the biggest positives of the show is how they are able to transport our screens into the dark streets of old England, where pubs and prostitutes and rather ominous people just trod about. The world building is visually very appealing, and a part of you, if not all of it, want to see Tom Hardy doing random things there. 

In a show that features everything from slaves, gunpowder, an exorcism, astral projection, black magic, incest and more, the story ends up being convoluted and nobody would blame you if you lose interest in watching it or trying to focus on what’s happening. But the show has some good performances from the supporting cast as well. Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary, Jessie Buckley as Lorna Delaney and Tom Hollander as Dr George are just to name a few. While we still aren't sure what powers James Delaney has over them, we just roll with it, thanks to some good performances. 

The show, however, succeeds in still keeping the viewer watching till the very last episode. Amidst all the things the protagonist does, from the weird things like throwing mud on his body or paying off debts, there is a show that has a lead who seemingly is fighting for the middle class in an era and establishment that is suitable only for the extremely higher class. But with a white man trying to play the game with elements such as slavey involved, questions still could be asked. At the end of the day, the show is a gritty, and often surprising story of a man who comes to England after his father’s demise, with a direction of anarchy in his head. And to top it all, it has a lot of Tom Hardy, which is without doubt, the biggest positive of the series. 

Verdict: If you love Tom Hardy, the show is a must watch. Even otherwise, the show has the power to keep you rooted without any drag. Tom Hardy is in his full form, with strong backing by the supporting cast. The show's ability to take the viewer to 19th century England is also something that helps it to be an enjoyable, yet often confusing show.