Marco Polo (2014)

Everything I love gets cancelled. Firefly, Dollhouse, Terminator Sarah Conner Chronicles, Star-Crossed, and now Netflix's incredible and visually stunning show Marco Polo.

Marco Polo tells the tale of the titular character's journey to the Mongolian Empire and subsequent service to Kublai Khan. In the beginning Marco is a young man living in Venice after the death of his mother several years prior. His father Niccolỏ Polo returns to Venice to find his wife dead and a son he never knew about. Marco wants to travel with his father but Niccolỏ and Marco's uncle, Maffeo, refuse, causing Marco to stow aboard their ship and join them anyway. Through a montage we see the rigors of traveling across the world to the Mongolian Empire.

When Marco and his family makes it to the court of Kublai Khan, Marco is mystified by the grandeur of the Mongolian Empire. Niccolỏ and Maffeo are desperate to travel and trade along the legendary silk road, and Niccolỏ, despite displeasing the Khan for not bringing priests to Kublai, offers his son's service to the Khan in order to acquire the necessary requirements to travel the Silk Road. Marco must now navigate the dangers of Kublai's court as a Latin foreigner, unused to the customs of the Mongolian people. Marco will make friends and enemies as world's collide.

Marco Polo was an amazing show. I am a huge lover of historical shows like Vikings and now The Medici, but Marco Polo was in a different class than those aforementioned shows. Marco Polo is the explorer every kid learns about in school, he's who inspired Christopher Columbus to set sail in 1492. How many summers have countless children spent in the pool shouting "Marco" and waiting with baited breath for the return call of "Polo"? This show takes the legend and strips it down to show us the man. Marco is a scared child in the beginning, but he finds the Khan to be the father figure he has always craved and he works hard to please the Khan and make a place for himself in this strange world. This show takes you past the bloodthirsty reputation of Kublai Khan that proceeds him and shows us the cunning politician, and caring leader underneath his ruthless veneer. Other lesser know historical characters are also brought to life, The Blue Princess, Kokachin, Prince Jingham, Khutulan, and Jia Sidao to name a few.

I am extremely disappointed with Netflix's decision to cancel Marco Polo, but I am too bitter familiar with this process to believe that another network would ever pick up this show. Thankfully CW has announced that Legend's of Tomorrow is being picked up for another season so I have something to cling to whilst I cry bitter tears of resentment because the ending of Marco Polo season two left me with more questions than answers.