When the new season started and I read the original description, my prediction was:

ABC: Marvel’s Inhumans – ABC really wants to be in the superhero game, and this is what they have to work with, so RENEWED;

That was before I really new what the new premise was for the show. I had no idea what the Inhumans were, I assumed it was X-Men / Gifted / Mutant X, etc. I had no idea the premise was a transgenic compound that gave people powers and they were now living on the moon. On the moon? Seriously?

If I had known that, I likely would have downgraded to cancelled, or at least put in some caveats. Nope, I thought it might get renewed. Ratings so far have TV Grim Reaper predicting cancellation, and I’m not surprised. I actually enjoyed the two part premiere though.

The King of the Inhumans, Black Bolt, never speaks as his power is that his voice sends powerful sound waves forward — it’s how he accidentally killed his parents, not understanding his power. So he speaks only with sign language. The King is played by Anson Mount, and since he has to do all his acting with just a look and a gesture, it’s hard to have much presence. His wife, the Queen i.e. Medusa, is played by Serinda Swan. Since she already played Aphrodite back in the Percy Jackson movie, she has some experience with god-like powers. She’s not bad in the first two parter, has a decent fight scene, but is just a little too earnest looking.

A twist in the show is that it isn’t Inhumans against humans, it is Inhumans against the brother of the king, played by a scheming Iwan Rheon. Rheon is great, but hard to see him as a serious long-term threat. Would be great as a secondary traitor, hard to see him as the man who would be king.

The supporting cast includes Ken Leung (Lost, Person of Interest), Eme Ikwuakor, and Isabelle Cornish. All three are decent, although hard to tell their potential from just two episodes. And if TV Grim Reaper is right, I may never find out. On the other hand, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is still on the air. Maybe there’s hope.