This isn’t a series that was on my radar, I found The Gryphon in the most random way – Prime Video suggested it to me. So I was not familiar with the creators of the show Sebastian Marka and Erol Yesilkaya, or the 1989 book that it’s based on “Der Greif” by Wolfgang Hohlbein and Heike Hohlbein, but growing up I’d seen some great German TV Shows and I was interested in this fantasy. Besides one or two familiar faces in the extended cast, most of the main cast consisting of Jeremias Meyer (Vampire Sisters trilogy), Zoran Pingel (The Island), Lea Drinda (We Children from Bahnhof Zoo), Samirah Breuer, Flora Li Thiemann (The Aftermath), and Yuri Völsch (Das Boot) were unknowns to me.

Premise: In 1994 in the fictional city of Krefelden, Germany, 16-year-old outcast Mark must confront his family’s dark legacy when his brother Thomas disappears after telling Mark about a parallel fantasy world called the Black Tower that has a monster, a griffin that subjugates all living beings and leads a terror regime. With their family’s history, his problems at school, puberty, and his first great love, Mark doesn’t want to join in on his brother’s potential delusions.

Review: This show got off to a great start, I really liked how mental health played a role in it. There are a lot of characters struggling with their mental health or the perception of it, bearing the stigma, and/or trying to hide its effects. The idea of his own mental health colored Mark’s perception of the fantasy side of the show. As he’s been questioning his sanity for most of his life, while everyone around him seemed to be waiting for him to break, seeing a gargoyle come to life didn’t exactly create a sense of wonder and amazement in Mark but mostly fear and doubts about his sanity. It kept the show in that is it real or has he lost in mind for a bit.

I also enjoyed the contrast that Mark’s family’s perceived poor mental health history created this dynamic with his mother – a nurse – that thought he was in the middle of a mental breakdown, which he kind of was, while to us viewers – at least to me – she started to look unstable herself. I liked how we could understand both of their P.O.V.s while knowing that their lack of communication wasn’t the big problem. Often in books and movies, most situations can be resolved if the parties communicated more, but with a history of mental health struggles in the mix, it’s now not enough to open up about what’s happening since the stigma of mental health skews how these revelations would be perceived. it doesn’t feel fair but it’s true.

Speaking of fairness, the series is a little unfair at times and it’s great. There are some F’d up thing that happens to characters who didn’t deserve that, but that’s life, it made the show more grounded, have some consequences, and drama. Some of the romantic relationships in the show could have been handled better. Sara and Ben’s storylines felt almost unnecessary until I realized that they – as long as Mark’s mother Petra – helped anchor the series into our world, adding some groundedness to what could have turned into a full-blown fantasy series. The soundtrack in the show is pretty good even if it didn’t impact me as much.

The Gryphon has great ideas and themes that are not always perfectly executed but it’s a surprising and layered show.

If you’re interested in the source material, help us by getting them from the links below: