Opening musical numbers can set the stage tonally (e.g. the song “Alexander Hamilton” from “Hamilton”) and literally through the occasional line of dialogue thrown into break up the song (e.g. “No One Mourns the Wicked” from “Wicked”). “Hearthbound” does the same thing, but what it sets up isn’t what one anticipates listening to future episodes. For me, the first episode implies a musical with an emphasis on the music.

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The dialogue parts are few and far between. By contrast, episode two onward has more dialogue than singing, with the occasional instrumental portion sprinkled into certain episodes. In short, those expecting traditional broadway or a movie musical might take issue with the all musical prologue as it sets the wrong assumptions as to what tone “Hearthbound” uses.

Musical Challenges of a Hearthbound Journey

Once you get your bearings again, the next trial you may take is that of memorability. Out of the 10 episodes, the ones with lasting impact happened later in the story. The episode “Antigone” has a great musical number. The song is a jazz-infused show tune Blair Medina-Baldwin sings as the character Tig. From the instrumentals to the singing itself, everything about this song matched the post-apocalyptic basin where the story is set. Add the inn/bar to the mix and everything about the song slaps.

As far as the other songs go, only the opening theme and the song at the end of episode 10 caught my attention. While the Antigone episode song is the catchiest musically. The opening theme is a close second with the duet between the main character and their wife playing a different role than being a musical earworm. Instead it serves as the emotional climax. A song that if foreshadowed properly could’ve had a lot more impact.

Acting Out of Character and the Story

There are two moments which took me out of the story. One of them is obvious. The theme song at the end came at the cost of feeling immersed. The writer Jo Chiang (she or they) probably wasn’t setting off to write a fully-fleshed out world. Instead Chiang focuses on the interpersonal relationships between the character she voices—Odessa—and the people she meets on their journey back home. Even viewing this with the lens of small-scale conflict, the length of each episode isn’t enough time to immerse yourself in the characters. Just as you get your bearings, the theme music comes in to start you back at square one.

The second time was Odessa acting out of character. Someone who apologizes all the time generally isn’t the type of person to literally stab someone even if provoked. Even if the attack can be justified. They went from a -1 to a 10 in terms of anger. That said, if you knew nothing about the Odyssey the only thing you’d come away with is foreshadowing for later in the story.

The final episode and song were reminiscent of Wicked’s Act II song titled “For Good.” A track that without fail makes me cry every time. I’m a sucker for a good bromance, or whatever the female equivalent is called. Even though we don’t spend much time with Penelope until the episode right before the finale, you can feel the emotional weight behind Keren Abreu’s and Jo Chiang’s voices. The direction from Jack Towhey Calk whom I’ve seen his directing skills live in an actual theatre when he adapted an audio drama from Pendant Productions’ “Seminar” series. This was back around 2010. Shout out to the rest of the cast and crew who put in the work and managed to land “Hearthbound” safely on a high note.

Rating

Low Internally Consistent (7.75+/10 Stars)