In case you just like the aesthetic vibes of colonial gothic horror tales akin to Jamaica Inn and Broad Sargasso Sea, new Sky TV supernatural thriller Possession is unquestionably for you. Nonetheless, a phrase of warning — the story goes to the touch a way more trendy nerve.
We’re set to observe Claudia (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked), an bold bi-racial lawyer who travels to Jamaica to problem an inheritance declare made by an area man in opposition to a rich white aristocrat.
Nonetheless, she arrives to search out the disputed property is a former plantation that has lengthy haunted her desires. Cue a terrifying slew of 1800s flashbacks, curses, and misunderstood non secular connection.
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On a floor degree, you’ll be able to see why somebody would possibly discover this horrifying. The drama is not simply tense to the extent of constant soar scares, however is commonly violently disturbing in its dedication to guts and gore (assume Evil Dead ranges of supernatural horror).
However then there is a secondary layer of discomfort when you think about the position that completely different nations have performed within the historical past of colonialism and enslaved folks. Culturally and traditionally, we all know how abhorrently the Western world behaved through the Transatlantic Slave Commerce, however right here, we additionally perceive how recurrently spirituality and beliefs have been misunderstood and chastised.
With such a definite 2026 twist, Possession left me shaken within the totally reverse method to what I anticipated. However in line with star Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked, it isn’t the forged and crew’s job to make the uncomfortable comfy.
‘The facility of drama is posing these lofty topics in an accessible manner’
“I do not assume it is our job to make the viewers comfy… I believe in all probability it is extra our job to take you on a journey,” Mbatha-Uncooked tells me once I ask her if it is potential to make the uncomfortable comfy.
“Claudia goes on this large journey and it is a quest to search out out about her identification. She’s coping with justice and legacy. However though there’s some weighty themes within the present across the legacy of colonialism and the complexity of reparations, I believe that that is the facility of drama. Pose these lofty topics, however in a extra accessible manner.”
“I do not know that ‘comfy’ is the phrase. I believe that we have fun discomfort on this style, and I believe that that is okay. It is okay to have troublesome conversations and to not draw back from uncomfortable material. I believe there’s a spot for that in drama and in society.”
She continues, “Good tales a spot for discovery, and I believe we would like folks to lean in and be like, ‘whoa, take a look at this lush, attention-grabbing, wealthy, vibrant world.’ As soon as they’re in, they grapple with some arduous truths.”
It is actually an apt manner of describing the extraordinary viewing journey that unfolds over simply 5 episodes, every being beneath an hour lengthy. Merely put, Possession is the form of TV present that sits with you for days and weeks afterward, leaving you with the form of inside dialog that unpicks the issues that you simply assume you already know.
That is a lot for anyone to tackle, significantly while you’ve merely sat right down to unwind with some TV of a night. However what’s artwork when it does not problem us? In order for you my recommendation: Possession is greater than value a watch — and in case you’re left feeling disturbed, then that is all the higher.
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