Netflix's Frontier: EW review

Poor Jason Momoa. The man deserves better than this.

Once upon a time, he was a towering warrior — a god amongst men! That was back when he played the fierce Horse Lord Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, when he instilled fear in the hearts of men on both sides of the Narrow Sea.

Oh, how things have changed. Now Momoa is… a fur trapper. The actor’s post-Thrones career hasn’t been full of hits (to say the least), and settling for a far lesser show about fur trappers in 18th-century Canada. Momoa plays Declan Harp, a half-Irish, half-Native American trapper who must stand his ground against the cutthroat, monopolistic Hudson’s Bay Company (yes, the same one that makes those striped blankets you love).

The actor may be known for his strength, but not even he can overpower the cliché-riddled dialogue and dull plotting. There are about four to five different half-interesting stories here smashed into one quasi-intriguing period piece that, in a way, could almost be described as the North American (and far more boring) counterpart to Taboo, the FX show where Tom Hardy plays a wild rebel at odds with the East India Company. Yet even Hardy’s most unintelligible grunt is better than much of the dialogue on Frontier.

Of course, none of this is really Momoa’s fault — he does his best to rise above the material. It doesn’t work out in this case, but hey — this just sets Aquaman up to be his big comeback. C

Frontier debuts on Netflix Friday, Jan. 20.