THE STAND: A Decent Adaptation of Stephen King’s Work

No matter how new The Stand may be, one thing must be acknowledged by its creators – they perfectly aligned the theme of the series with the landscape of the pandemic crisis. It is known, however, that there is more chance than deliberate action in this – the production of the CBS series actually began back in September 2019, at a time when no one suspected that the virus from Wuhan would wreak such havoc across the world. The series itself is based on Stephen King’s famous 1978 novel, so one can only congratulate both the author – for his prophetic vision – and the creators of the new series – for their perfect timing with the spirit of the times.

For this reason, watching The Stand can give a sense of peculiar déjà vu, but appropriately exaggerated, as in the epidemic discussed, neither masks nor restrictions ultimately had any effect. Somewhere in the back of the mind, during the screening, the question inevitably arises as to whether this is what an extreme version of COVID-19 could have looked like? It starts innocently with a regular cold, which, by the way, is often underestimated by many. However, it ends in a global catastrophe. A new superflu, called Captain Trips, managed to wipe out 99 percent of the population, leaving only those who possess innate immunity to the virus. The survivors split into two camps – one, like in the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, engages in debauchery, seeing in the post-apocalyptic reality the chance for true freedom, while the other forms a commune based on law, order, and love for one’s neighbor, driven by the dream of a mythical Arcadia.

I’ve lived long enough to know that the world is not just black and white. Everything seems relative. If a thief reaches for an apple, and the law wants to cut off his hand, the fact that hunger probably drove the thief to break the rules is often overlooked. Let’s agree on one thing, though – building a culture based on dualism, understood through the traditional division of morality into good and evil, introduced order into the world, but it did not necessarily reflect what lies within the nature of all living organisms. It is choices that determine who we are. Choices can be both good and bad, but almost always, they are simply adequate to the situation, aligned with our inner selves. Let’s leave this behind and follow Stephen King’s line of thought. I think that when he wrote The Stand, his goal was to answer the key question in the dimension of our existence – is there good so vast and powerful that it can cast a healing light on each of us, and is there evil so ruthless and terrifying that just once plunging into its shadow is enough to be eternally damned? If so, which force is better to trust – the one that encourages work, building foundations, and gives the apple only when one has planted the tree, or the one that invites a quick, though fleeting pleasure, taken in a sensual burst?

Although the creators tried very hard to give the series the appropriate depth, its main problem is the brevity in relation to the book’s original. To be clear – I am not an expert on the book, as I had little contact with it, but I have been familiar enough with King’s work to know what sets it apart. And what sets it apart is the creation of atmosphere. Paradoxically, King is not so much interested in the hero’s journey’s finale and the answers he will encounter, but rather in the journey itself, its nuances, contexts, and references. Hence his love for various side plots, flashbacks, and events that expand the presented world with new perspectives. However, the creators of the TV adaptation had to trim the story to fit the pace of a ten-episode series, and this unfortunately led to the removal of what is best about King’s work. They focused on the specifics, with each episode pushing the story forward. However, one can sense that between episodes, much, much more happens.

As long as I was enjoying the screenings, I didn’t pay too much attention to how well the writers made decisions in adapting the source material. The hardest part is at the beginning, when the series slowly picks up pace, searches for its characters, and the main storyline it will follow until the end. The most interesting part is the middle act, with the climax taking place in the eighth episode, as it is then that we encounter the key intrigue, leading to the confrontation of two contrasting worlds. However, there is no clear catharsis here, no punchline encouraging us to take away anything more from the screening than a truism about white good and black evil, which does not account for any shades of gray and other nuances of human nature. I know that The Stand should be perceived primarily symbolically, after all, Flagg is the devil, and Mother Abigail is our guardian angel, and the whole story has a strong biblical foundation, yet the series is at times so blatant and simplistic in this symbolism that it robs it of its seriousness.

The viewing experience is saved by very interesting performances. It’s worth noting that the CBS series is very well cast. We get to see Whoopi Goldberg, a 90s star, back in action, who is definitely less active in the new millennium’s cinema. Here, in the role of the witch, she performs decently, but without magic. The new interpretation of Randall Flagg (new, as it is a recurring character in King’s works, and we’ve previously seen him portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in The Dark Tower) is played by Alexander Skarsgård, who, after Big Little Lies, convincingly looks the part of a tormentor and personification of evil. Amber Heard got a role suited to her abilities and life situation, as she plays a woman… clearly lost, straying onto the wrong path. The cast also includes the likable Odessa Young, solid Jovan Adepo, and the know-it-all Greg Kinnear. However, I was most drawn to the performances of actors like Owen Teague and Nat Wolff, who, despite having a much shorter acting career than the rest of the cast, managed to create the most distinctive characters, who, let’s add, are under the control of Evil.

The Stand is a decent series, well-made and well-acted. It has script problems resulting from the necessity of shortening the source material, which may give the impression that some plots were not sufficiently developed, while others end too quickly. Nevertheless, I do not regret the time spent on this production, even if it didn’t bring anything particularly groundbreaking to my life. Although at the same time, I realize that adaptations of Stephen King’s prose should be expected to offer much more. However, as shown by the example of The Dark Tower, the more extensive and important a book is to King, the harder it is to translate it into the language of film.