[BOOKS] Juliette’s Adaptation
I’ve seen posts about this topic before, but I would like to get a general consensus on how book readers feel on the show’s direction with Juliette. I’m currently halfway through the first book, with my interest reignited with the release of S3, (I never got around to watching the second), and I can’t help but be pissy about what I remember of Juliette’s adaptation in the first.
IIRC, her character seemed to do a 180. In the show’s context, it makes sense, but I don’t understand why they chose to make Juliette so broken! She is nearly nothing like her book counterpart. The way she obsesses over George’s death feels like an affront to her character to me; this change brought forth a reclusive and almost violent variant of her rather cool-headed and calculating personality we see throughout Wool — which is not to say that she can’t be “unlikeable” in her grief, but I find it hard to connect with this version of Juliette when the source material led with a strong, well-developed lead without the need for excess backstory we see in the show. The way the plot hinges on her old love interest feels like a slap in the face, despite Lukas filling the role by the end of the first book! Although I am biased in not caring for romance, I really found it unnecessary and offensive to boil Juliette’s motivations down to George’s murder.
I don’t make this post to shit on the show, because I loved it when it first came out! I actually watched it before I discovered the books. I guess I just wish it had been a more faithful adaptation, because I really enjoy book and show Juliette, respectively. I love the changes they made to Billings, Sims, and Bernard, but I just can’t get past the way they set Juliette back in a different light. Acknowledging they’re two different takes on the same story is possible for me, I’m just butthurt and wondering how everyone else feels! (It has been a long time since I watched the first season, so I might be coming on a little stronger than necessary)!