Marco Polo (series)

Marco Polo is a 2014 Netflix original series Very Loosely Based on a True Story about the titular Marco Polo. It follows in the spirit of the HBO series Game of Thrones, blending it with a kung fu movie and a historical drama.

Young Marco Polo is shocked one day when the father he has never met finally returns from many years abroad seeking his fortune. Said father makes a number of mouth-noises about how sorry he is for not being there when Marco's mother died (when Marco was six), in a way that manages to be sincere and empty at the same time. Marco's father intends to leave him alone again with nothing more than a pat on the back and a "Seeya again someday, kid", but Marco's not having it... he manages to stow away on his father's boat, and winds up going the full distance. Unfortunately his father proves his parenting bona fides again by essentially selling Marco to Kublai Khan in return for the right to trade along the Silk Road. And that's where the story really begins.

""My mantis seems slow and unresponsive. It merely lures its enemy in.""
 * Action Girl: Pretty much all of the female characters, to some extent. Mongol women are apparently expected to grow up being capable hunters, riders, and warriors and not set it aside until they become of marrying age, at which point they should focus on wifely duties... until, of course, their men are in trouble or dead, at which point they can become warriors again, if need be.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Jia Sidao is this in-universe, and it's implied that up until recently he's been cultivating that impression on purpose.


 * Face Death with Dignity: When Marco is sentenced to be executed, Kublai notes that he is doing this and urges him to continue to do so (since it won't do him any good to do otherwise).
 * Freudian Excuse: A lot of Jia Sidao's messed-up behavior is implied to be the result of essentially being raised by his (younger) sister who prostituted herself so they could survive.
 * Grey and Gray Morality: Kublai Khan is an invading, murderous warlord. Jia Sidao is a powermongering, murderous Evil Chancellor. The series keeps them both in the grey by pitting their wants and ambitions across from each other; yes, Kublai wants to conquer China, but he's perfectly willing to do so via diplomacy and with the loss of as few lives as possible, both Mongol and Chinese. Jia Sidao wants to protect his people from the Mongol invaders and secure China's longevity and peace, but is convinced that war is the only route to do so and will sacrifice any amount of Chinese lives necessary to kill as many Mongols as possible.
 * Manifest Destiny: Expressed by Kublai Khan and his grandfather Genghis long before America was around. The Khans believed they had a mandate from Heaven to unite all of Asia under their rule, and Kublai also considered that simply a stepping-stone into branching out into world domination.
 * In fact, Marco espouses the idea that this is simply a human desire. When Kublai asks him if he thinks the Mongols shouldn't try to conquer Europe, Marco says he doesn't think that at all... because it's natural for powerful people to try and take what they want, and that's always been the way of the world. He essentially says that the only thing wrong with it is that it will be far more difficult than any conquering Kublai has done so far.
 * Pet the Dog: When Jia Sidao receives a hug from the child Emperor, the look that comes over his face in the aftermath is positively... human. Considering it's probably one of the few uncoerced expressions of affection he's ever received in his life...
 * Politically-Correct History: A little bit, at least. There are no real slurs used against Asian characters, even by other Asians, save the too-generic-to-count "devils" and "savages". Various Asian characters do, however, feel free to call Marco "round-eyes".
 * Villain Protagonist: Kublai Khan. While Marco at one point says he is convinced Kublai is "a good man", the show takes pains to regularly remind us that he is in fact an invading, marauding warlord who uses cruelty and torture as weapons just as much as he does the sword and arrow. As Marco himself "loses his innocence" and becomes steadily more devoted to Kublai and the Mongol cause, he himself probably comes closer to fitting the bill as well.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Marco has some of this. Hundred Eyes counsels Marco to "Let [your father] go", and Kublai adds "I was about your age when I realized I would have to become the man I wished my father was."
 * Jingim is an interesting case of this. He has a fairly textbook example of the usual kind... he desperately wants his father Kublai's approval and to prove himself worthy of becoming Kahn someday. But his rant to Marco's father implies that he is equally desperate to have a familial relationship with his father outside of all demands of the Khanate.
 * Values Dissonance: Oh yeah. For one thing, Marco seems to have difficulty realizing that the Mongol concept of "mercy" is very different from the one he's acquainted with.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Pretty much everyone calls Niccolo out on what a shitty father he is to Marco. Even Prince Jingim, who hates Marco, at one point comes close to beating the crap out of Niccolo because of how he's treated Marco. (Though that's also due to his own "Well Done, Son" Guy issues.)