My favourite epithet about my favourite TV series was the headline in a review by the Irish Times: ‘Gomorrah. Where characters die before they become characters.’
The review appeared to suggest that this was a bad thing. But I disagree. What made Game of Thrones so original and compelling, especially in the early seasons, was its refreshing willingness to break convention by murdering key players at the drop of a hat. Gomorrah (Sky Atlantic) merely pushes that troubling edginess a step further: whether you’re the head of the Neapolitan mob, an adorable, cute child, or just some random, decent civilian briefly introduced in vignette, there is never a guarantee that you’ll survive the episode. So, just like in the brutal, amoral mob universe of the Camorra it depicts, you the viewer can never feel comfortable or safe.
Some of the killings — often preceded by torture — are so heartbreaking you half-wonder how decency could possibly allow such horror as TV entertainment.
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