Set in the late 18th century, Frontier follows the ruthless and complex fur trade in Canada and the Northern United States. The main plot follows a bitter frontiersman, Declan Harp (Jason Momoa) with a huge chip on his shoulder. He’s after a nasty British navy man, Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong) who murdered his wife and child. And if you thought an ordinary lovesick man out for blood was sexy, your ovaries have no idea what Jason Momoa can do with a passion for vengeance.
Two words: Jason Momoa.
Let’s start with the most attractive aspect of this Netflix newbie, Jason Momoa. Khal Drogo. Aquaman. Future father of my children. Other than in that Sylvester Stallone movie that our dads like to watch, most of us have only seen Momoa in full Dothraki garb. When I saw the trailer for Frontier, I thought we would have the same brooding, practically speechless Momoa that we saw in Game of Thrones. I was pleasantly surprised. We see the compassionate and honorable side of Momoa that we caught a glimpse of when he called Daenerys the “moon of his life.” Momoa’s character truly cares for the people who follow him, and he’s really just a stand-up guy trying to bring everyone together.
I was initially put off by the idea of the fur trade as the basis of the show, but other than the word “pelts” being thrown around a few times an episode, there is so much else going on that you really forget about the whole skinning animals thing.
There’s some serious #GirlPower going on.
In a time when women were thrown around like pests by the crazy men in their life, Frontier features some seriously bad*** women. These women also have familiar faces, in the form of Matthew Crawley’s-almost-wife from Downton Abbey who died of the Spanish Influenza and Lena Luther from Supergirl. Zoe Boyle (Downton Abbey) plays a savvy Ale House owner who is pretty much the equivalent of Lord Varys from Game of Thrones. She knows everything and I wouldn’t be surprised if she duped everyone and ended up on the Iron Throne. Wait, wrong show.
Also enter Katie McGrath (Supergirl) who takes on big meanie-weanie Samuel Grant who is trying to monopolize the fur trade for himself. And let’s not forget Sokanon (Jessica Matten), Harp’s trusty sidekick and sister-in-law who holds her own next to Jason Momoa.
As an ardent Anglophile, I can truly appreciate the accents-red-glare that are thrown around in this show. From British, to Scottish, Irish to Native American, everyone is equally represented in Frontier. Already renewed for a second season, Frontier has the potential to follow in the footsteps of other immensely popular Netflix originals like The Crown and Stranger Things. Especially if Jason Momoa keeps taking his shirt off.