Muted Season 1 Review

 

 

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Meet Camille Severin, a young witch who, after turning 21, must undergo a ritual to continue her family line of prosperity. Unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps), it goes terribly wrong which leads her down a rabbit hole of secrets about herself and the rest of her pedigree.

 

My Thoughts: Well, it looks like this has become my new favorite ongoing webtoon series so far.

Story (5/5) – Taking place in the South, it features some Southern Gothic supernatural elements alongside light fantasy ones which makes for some riveting worldbuilding.

Characters and Themes (5/5) – This might easily be the best parts of the series. Much of the cast is what I would deem psychologically complex, multi-layered personalities dealing with some sort of internal struggle between their individuality and tradition. This is especially true with the main protagonist Camille who is dealing with trauma after suffering years of toxic pressure at the hands of her rather abusive aunt Athalie, an austere matriarch of draconian standards. However, throughout the webtoon, there is a nuanced difference at display between the abuse directed at Camille and her cousin Avaline. As mentioned, the former is forced to hold up to a high pedestal due to her skill while the latter is held in utter disregard and shame due to her lack of magical prowess. Despite their seemingly indelible bond, the two characters drift further apart from each other as their life direction diverges, serving as a somewhat tragic contrast. Camille attempts to break away from her repressive upbringing in various ways such as moving out of Athalie’s home, creating a safe space for herself in a garden where she learns to harness her powers on her terms, and eventually discovers her budding queerness. Meanwhile, Avaline shows the other side of an abuse victim, one that has become so used to it that she has internalized it as normal and cannot imagine a life where she makes decisions on her volition. This just exacerbates as she gradually succumbs to her mother’s demands shedding the remaining vestiges of her selfhood.

Art (5/5) – Miranda Mundt impeccably applies watercolor tones to beautifully represent natural backgrounds and haunting supernatural scenes. The latter is very much present during the summoning and possession sequences, adding a heightened sense of tension to the characters’ internal struggles. 

Dialogue (5/5) – Like everything else, I have nothing but praise for it. From the character interaction to harrowing scenes of emotional breakdown, all the lines felt genuine and well-paced. This quote alone might be one of the most down-to-earth truisms I’ve read in a webtoon:

"We do what we can to help the ones we love. But it shouldn't be at the expense of ourselves"

If there is any matter I need to quibble over, it would be some of the minor spelling/semantic errors, but that’s mostly the fault of Webtoon’s inept editors, so I’ll give it a swift pass.

 

Final Thoughts: Muted Season 1 is a fabulous debut that I recommend to fans of fantasy and Southern Gothic with some light queer romantic undertones. If season 2 is just as great (if not better), it just might tie Cursed Princess Club as my favorite currently running Webtoon series.

Webtoon Link: https://www.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/muted/list?title_no=1566