Marco Polo is a 2014 historical drama adventure web television series created by John Fusco, starring Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Rick Yune, Amr Waked, Zhu Zhu, and Remy Hii.  The series follows Marco Polo’s early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty.

Plot: The story mainly follows an adventurer named Marco Polo who’s inducted into the Mongol Empire. It’s an interesting story filled with emotion, political intrigue, and war. The first season mainly focuses on the conflict between the Mongol and Chinese empires. The second season focuses on the mounting civil war building in the Mongol empire. It’s great if you like a bit of historical fiction filled with varying subplots. It’s an engrossing story that’s slow, relying on the characters to progress the story. However, there’s a lot of missed opportunities when it comes to the storytelling. In the first season so much was filtered through Polo’s eyes that the story sometimes felt bland, especially with the lack of events going on in the background surrounding some of the other characters. Season two does a better job of diversifying it but it still comes off as unremarkable, even predictable. Now that’s not to say that series doesn’t have its share of twists, arcs, and character development. But unfortunately with the series’ cancellation many of the storylines that were left open will not be further explored. Still, it’s still interesting enough to get into and enjoy. (3 out of 5)

Characters: I love well-written characters and the series has a shit ton of them, from the main to the supporting. Although the main character is Marco Polo, he shares the spotlight with Kublai Kahn, Chancellor Song, Mei Lin, Thousand Eyes, and many more. Kublai is actually a pretty interesting character, diverse in his methods, but a strong and powerful figure. He shows a lot of depth in his relationship with Marco, which forms much of the character development of both. However, Polo does get sidelined by many of the other characters. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the series can keep its titular character important, which it does (to a certain extent). There are many more characters to consider but I’ll leave that to the seasonal recaps to cover. Still, if you like watching good characters then you won’t be disappointed. (4 out of 5)

Cast: The casting and performances are easily the best part of this series. Not only are the main performances good but the supporting ones show as much talent. The ensemble consist of Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Rick Yune, Amr Waked, Remy Hii, Zhu Zhu, Tom Wu, Mahesh Jadu, Olivia Cheng, Uli Latukefu, Chin Han, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ron Yuan, Claudia Kim, Jacqueline Chan, Leonard Wu, Thomas Chaanhing, Chris Pang, Gabriel Byrne, and Michelle Yeoh. (5 out of 5)

Visuals: In terms of how the series looks, it just shines well above the norm. The costume designs and set pieces make for a convincing time piece. The grandiose look of the cities and landscapes are captured brilliantly and help to paint a beautiful picture of the world. When it comes to action, it’s well shot, evenly paced, and intense. (5 out of 5)

Score: Two thumbs up to Peter Nashel and Eric V. Hachikian for the musical composition. The music is what you’d expect from a series like this. And what’s even better is that it also exceeds those expectations. It brings a great Asian vibe that doesn’t feel forced but as natural as the costume designs and set pieces. Loved the opening theme by Daniele Luppi.(4 out of 5)

Writing: There’s some debate as to whether the writing for the series is good, but that’s up your expectations of the series. If you like layered narration, well-written characters, and great worldbuilding, it does have it. But if you’re comparing it to Game of Thrones with its densely packed world and tons of layered subplots you might be disappointed. There’s a lot of straight forwardness to it that sometimes makes it too simplistic. There’s a shit ton of nudity and even a scene where a naked assassin is kicking ass. In some ways it does help the narrative and world-building. I’ve heard some complaints about the dialogue but honestly I felt that it did fit the setting. Now, there’s not a lot of action. There’s death, there’s violence, there’s sex, there’s profanity, but the action is few and far between. This isn’t Rome nor Spartacus. But it’s the political and cultural intrigue that really nails it. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Marco Polo isn’t as great a series as it could’ve been, but nevertheless is an exceptionally entertaining series. Most of the series negatives are pointed at the writing and story and it’s a damn shame that the show was cancelled. However, viewers will undoubtedly immerse themselves in the well-written world and characters. Marco Polo gets 4 out of 5.