Raising Dion – A Discussion
Raising Dion is a brand new comic adaptation that hit Netflix earlier this month. The 9 part series stars Alisha Wainwright (Shadowhunters) as a single mother who finds out her son (Ja’Siah Young) has superpowers. It co-stars Michael B Jordan (gen:LOCK), who also executive produced the series, Jason Ritter (Gravity Falls) and Dierdre Lovejoy (The Wire).
After a couple of the FANdemonium Network girls binged the show, we had a little chat about what we thought of the show.
What was the thing that caught your attention and made you want to watch Raising Dion?
Purple Brina: A friend of mine told me to watch it, that I would love it. She was right. It helps that Michael B Jordan is in it. Cause he is easy on the eyes.
Clare: 2 things for me. First, obviously as a Shadowhunter fan, Alisha Wainwright playing the adult lead was a big deal. Second – Michael B Jordan, and the fact he was involved behind the camera as well as in front of it.
Did you know anything about it going in or was it all new?
PB: All I knew was that it was a show about a single mom and her son had super powers. I actually thought it was a movie, not a series.
C: Ditto, I knew about Alisha being in it as a mom of a kid with superpowers and that MBJ was in it, and that was about it. I only found out AFTER watching that it’s actually a comic, so I think I will have to track that down.
There were some interesting twists along the way, such as the revelations about what happened in Iceland, Mark’s relationship to Charlotte and obviously those two HUGE twists at the end. Did you see any of them coming or did they catch you unaware?
PB: I knew something was up with Mark from the beginning. He just gave me such a strange vibe. But I wasn’t expecting that little twist at the end.
C: Definitely never picked the identity of the Crooked Man until it was WAY too late.
Did you feel there were some characters or plot elements that were built up to be something that never paid off?
PB: No I felt like they gave everyone that we needed to know about now enough screen time.
C: I feel like built up a couple of the secondary characters in a way that felt like it was going somewhere but didn’t. Like I was SURE they were setting something up with Jonathan and all the talk about his dad that never went anywhere. That was kinda weird. Apart from that though I think it tied up pretty neatly but still left it open for season 2.
What was your favourite of all the superpowers we saw?
PB: I loved the teleporting was pretty cool. So was the healing but what I thought was really awesome was that one that made stuff grow. I mean what a cool superpower to have.
C: YES, I loved that guy, wish we’d seen more of him.
What did you think of the ending? Like do you think his dad and the others are dead or do think one day they will come back?
C: I do think that we will see Mark and the others alive again, like he said, energy doesn’t die, it just changes, and they were absorbed for their energy. I think Dion and his superhero sidekicks of Esperanza and Jonathan will figure it out!
Overall feelings? Looking forward to a 2nd season?
PB: This show touched me in so many ways. And all of the emotions of being a single mom myself it really hit home. Also the racial issues that were brought up really got me too. I really hope they do another season.
C: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I really appreciated that it dealt with important issues like race, sexuality and disabilities but in such a way that it felt totally natural (as these things are). Some shows these days make such a big deal it comes off as preachy, but Raising Dion didn’t do that at all! Can’t wait for season 2 to see how things play out!
If you want to check it out for yourself, Raising Dion is streaming now on Netflix.
