'The Underground Railroad' web series review: A raw, merciless and potent take on the idea of freedom

This adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel is as potent and dark as is it beautiful

The Underground Railroad

Director/Showrunner: Barry Jenkins

Cast: Thuso Mbedu, Aaron Pierre, Joel Edgerton

Score: 4 stars

"That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

The Emancipation Proclamation is perhaps one of the greatest turning points in American History. It was a day, heralded by Abraham Lincoln, that brought to the countless Black toiling in American fields a common ray of hope. Before that, though, there was the Underground Railroad.

To those not in the know, the Underground Railroad was a vast network of underground trains that ran to and fro the entire United States, ferrying runaway slaves to foreign lands like Canada or Mexico, where they hoped to get better treatment than under their White masters, toiling in cotton and indigo farms till they died.

The slavery period of America is a dark spot on the country. Widespread, deep-rooted racism was the norm, and being a decent human being to the coloured folk was considered heresy, even criminal in some states. Thus, those who ran the railroad took as much risk as those who ran away from slavery. This is the essence of 'The Underground Railroad'.

Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, the series takes the idea of the railroad to tell something that is more than a story - it relays a multitude of emotions. It is a raw, merciless representation of the times it is set in, and is all the better for it.

Primarily focussing on one Cora Randall, the series shows how freedom, taken for granted in this day and age despite several racist incidents the world over, was a woefully rare, and addictive commodity back in those days. People around the world talk a lot about 'the simpler days' with rose-tinted glasses, but in that statement, there is naivete for they forget the darker side of mankind.

To Cora, the idea of freedom is just like that: Naive, foolish. She carries a trauma about her mother, Mabel, escaping, and harbours no thoughts of doing so herself. But when she is accosted by a fellow slave, Caesar, and witnesses beyond convincing the horror upon them inflicted by the White man, she finally embraces the idea and escapes the farm that holds her.

The story of the series appeals to many facets of human emotions. Empathy and apathy, rage and peace, hate and love, despair and hope, they are all part and parcel of what makes a person, and this is shown through a great many people Cora comes in contact with during her voyage away from South Carolina. Though Cora herself remains mostly frozen in time through her story, those she comes in contact with, and those she leaves behind, offer an intimate glimpse into her persona.

Take, for example, Ridgeway. A slavecatcher by profession, he too mirrors Cora in many ways, yet is the polar opposite to her in every way possible. A firm believer in the 'American Imperative', Ridgeway hunts Cora like a bloodhound, completely unconcerned with what he topples along the way as though mocking her entire existence is the purpose of his life. Though at first, his character invokes anger, ultimately he ends up becoming something more pitiable and sad.

The series' direction and production are, for the lack of a better word, sublime and effective. Everything about it is well-researched and reproduced, from the clothing to the world and even the accents of both the coloured folk and the White, there is little to flaw in the physical world of the series.

The series also delves deep into the Black culture beyond the people and the plot. It uses music. From Marvin Gaye to Mahalia Jackson and even Childish Gambino, the series uses classic and modern songs to weave a deeper layer into the tale being told.

One of the things one could flaw about the series, however, is the lack of focus on the abolitionist movement. Yes, they are present and run the railroad, and even have well-formed characters, but there are fewer of them than one would hope for in a series involving this mass movement. Yet it is, by large, the only glaring flaw in what is otherwise a potent story being told.