Boy Swallows Universe

Being a kid from Queensland has always given me such an affinity for things that are made here, no matter it being up north or down to the south-east, I am a Queenslander through and through.

I honestly thought this would be about something completely different. I mean “looming dangers” could mean anything. Once finding out it was about drugs, I got cozy in my bed and was just glad it wasn’t about the universe exploding.

Once I started to watch this show, I was overjoyed at how just crazily Australian it was, the houses, the language, the accent, it made me feel so at home. Queensland is my home, and seeing a place so close to where I grew up being on a fucking Netflix show gave me nothing but joy. Seeing those bag racks outside of Eli’s classrooms brought me back to school, it felt crazy nostalgic.

The show itself is brilliantly done and as much as I shed a shit ton of tears, I absolutely loved the story and was hooked on it, as much as I hated Lyle in the beginning for doing what he did to Frankie, he eventually grew on me a lot. The way he loved everyone unconditionally and did nothing but the best for his family even though he’s just Gus and Eli’s stepdad.

Frankie did her absolute best as a mother and I have absolutely nothing to say except bless her fucking soul. She went through so much bullshit that absolutely no one should have to go through and I’m so happy about her growth in this show.

Robert was the alcoholic dad who made no attempts to see his kids after almost killing Eli, but his growth was very admirable. Doing whatever he could for his kids despite his agoraphobia. He changed his drinking habits for his kids and in the end even saved Eli from potentially dying, which almost made me sob because I did NOT want his ass dying. Shout out to him having the one “cunt” in the entire show, it really made it something that came from Australia.

Slim. Fucking Slim. He was my favourite character for sure. And after episode four I had to stop watching because I cried for 20 minutes and just could not control my emotions. Unfortunately he is what you get when you smoke one too many cigarettes.

Gus the mute brother who spoke with air words… Nothing like autism fr. His paintings that told the future, and when we got reminded of those pictures once they happened, my mouth always ended up being wide open. His relationship with Eli was my favourite, and I adored seeing them together, seeing what they’d get up to next.

Eli Eli Eli, always trying to get into mess that he didn’t need to be getting into at the ripe age of 13. Seeing him start to get into the drug business scared me, he’s just 13 for fuck’s sake. It hurt my heart watching Eli go through everything that he did and him being the main character obviously made me focus on him a lot more, so I have a lot to say about this damn kid.

This kid had trauma for days and he still kept going and going, he had bullies for days and his ass kept getting back up. I am so sure he had autism, because he did not understand a single social cue the entire time he was 13 and doing drug deals with his stepdad, and when bullies were bullying him. It was apart of his charm though.

Throughout the entire show he did nothing but do what he thought was the best for his family and especially his mother and I admire that. Him breaking into prison just to see his mother for Christmas was prime example of that.

The show was a lot more gory than i was expecting too. Fingers, heads, legs and faces all being cut off, a foot being almost sliced in half, a neck being sliced and just so much more happening.

Every character was written well and each had well fleshed out stories that were easy to follow. I loved seeing where the story would be going next.

Eli falling in love with Caitlyn felt a bit off to me because it seemed like she was an actual adult even when Eli was 13, but what can you do. Shelly and Gus had a more subtle relationship, but I adored seeing them grow that much closer to each other.

Ivan Kroll definitely felt like the big bad guy right until the very end, not scared to kill someone, or hurt someone for his own, or someone else’s gain (even a damn 13 year old). He felt like a horror game character, kinda like Nemesis or Mr. X from the Resident Evil series, always following you around, showing up when you least expected it. I loved him as a villain, definitely insane.

By the end I had fallen in love with every single character in their own little way. Hell, even Darren had some redeeming qualities about him that I liked. Obviously I will hate characters like Ivan and Teddy, but they were well written and their actors did so well bringing them to life.

Highly recommend this show to anyone looking to feel every single emotion out there, because it really made me feel so many different ways and I will always love that about this show.

Also shout out to them being Eels fans, because who else were you a fan of in 1980s Brisbane. Rip. And fuck this show being a limited series, that just hurts my soul.

The book was awesome and this tv adaptation doesn’t disappoint. Grotesque, gut-wrenching, sad and beautiful. Amazing actors, a fantastic period drama

A little too saccharine for my tastes, but pretty good still. It's kind of a fable in terms of tone, and it's really, really heartwarming. Not my cup of tea, well done.

The show suffers from an identity crisis.

Beautiful TV show. Amazing actors. So much of life seen through the eyes of young boy. Drugs, violence, abuse. But above all, friendship, love and hope will always win.

The first five episodes were great, the final two weaker and a bit rushed. Still worth a watch but couldn’t help feel there was a missed opportunity here.

Dunno what accent that is, but I could barely understand 10% of the dialogues. Quit at the 15 minute mark.