The show has some of the most ambitiously creative depictions of scientists I've seen in a work of fiction. This alone qualifies for the five-star. The speech by Frank mid-season about why continuing to build the bomb was evil, right before FDR died, and the one given by Charlie in the penultimate episode as a reply, about why a demonstration of evil was necessary, are some truly powerful writing.
Some flaws:
1. The mixing of real and fictional characters can be a bit bizzare. The show did not seem to figure out what to do with the real larger-than-life character of Robert Oppenheimer. There's plenty of biographical material to make up for it now. Let's hope Christopher Nolan does a good job.
2. The character of Liza Winter, Frank's wife, is a creative failure. You can tell that the writers tried to give her story, plenty of lines, plenty of screen time, but it just didn't work. It also did not help that they cast a British actress with a half-baked American accent for the role. I have a good ear for stuff like this. More of a curse than a blessing.
3. In fact, Liza ties in to a bigger problem: although Helen Prins and Frank's daughter had some interesting moments in the show, overall the female characters were just not written well. I understand the creative choice to make women interesting in a period drama by focusing on how some are finding ways to independence and feminism, but there seems to be a lack of imagination as to what those ways can be. Mad Men has been done before, and we don't need another one.
4. For all the talk of "The Gadget," the clearly not-so-cheap set and props, the show never really showed us that many gadgets of the era. For example, the "IBM machines" they kept referring to during the first season; even the desert itself, surely could've been featured more to have some say in the broad theme of "man and nature," right? I don't know, it could be that I associate the New Mexico desert a bit too much with modern classics like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Show creator Sam Shaw did say he knows what story a third season would tell, but it also sounds like he does not expect there'll ever be a chance for it. I hope after he retires at a ripe old age, maybe he can turn it into a novel?
