Under the Bridge: El asesinato de Reena Virk

So I want to start this review out by saying- if you are really into true crime docs and podcasts and that is your main pull to this series, it may not be the show for you. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of that- but they don't take the often exploitative approach that the true crime genre often takes. For me, this has been an incredible series- from the screenplay, to casting, to acting and sequence of episodes. I am usually seeped in emotions throughout the show, ranging from anger to sadness to sympathy and empathy- bc this is a story about kids, some of them deeply failed by the adults in their life, others just not in a place they can appreciate it yet (like most teenagers). So I would not say watch this for a comfort show, but if you find comfort in connecting deeply through characters on screen, then maybe it's for you. I also really appreciate that they used age-appropriate actors for the kids. It feels more genuine and able to recognize, that these were all effing kids, which is mind blowing.

When I heard about this show I was very intrigued. I was the same age as Reena and growing up in Victoria at the same time. I have connections to this story that I don't want to make public but to say the least I was very interest in how this story would come to be on the screen. It's that time honored tradition of be careful when something is "based" on a true story.

Fair warning I couldn't finish the second episode because everything around the murder is heighted for television drama. When your main character is the author of a book about the crime written after the fact but somehow the show puts her there as the murder is going on is beyond me. All this does it take the focus of the real victim Reena Virk.

Not to mention in the real world Victoria is the 12th largest city in Canada and not some rural run town poor town like in the show. I had to laugh because the real Craigflower bridge is right by the Old Island Highway and one of the busiest intersections in the city and not surrounded by nothing like the show. When in reality this all went down in such a high traffic area is more shocking than this show where the population of 200 live miles from everyone and everywhere.

We owe it to the memory of Reena Virk to remember her story and the tragic details and not some fantasy made up to celebrate a writer with a tangential connection to the murder. From what I've seen from these first two episodes the show is more interested in the murders (truly awful people that got away way to lightly if you read the truth and not watch this show) than the victim herself. More interested in creating false narratives that work for TV but have nothing to do with real life.

Victoria and the family of Reena Virk deserve better, the scum involved in the actual crime deserve worse.

I started this show for Lily, Riley, and Archie, and while I'm only in episode 4, it's hard for me to want to continue because the content is really hard to watch. The acting is superb. The young actresses as well as the adults are wonderful but the girls' cruelty makes it really challenging. I may continue eventually, because it is well done and I imagine the story will go in great directions. Riley is always so strong and natural. And the Indian parents are heartbreakingly kind and loving. It also feels authentically 90s. Hoping it gets a good viewership for people less triggered by this kind of story because it feels honest and real.

As someone who was a 16 year old girl living in Vancouver, BC, Canada when this happened this is a really hard watch.

Knowing how brutal teenage girls can be as someone who was beat up for being poor.

This story should be told because Reena deserved justice that I believe she was never given. Everyone need to remember her not the scumbags who did this.

This show is shot, written and acted great it but hits too close to home knowing the real story.

RIP Reena you deserved so much more than the short life you got. They robbed you and your family in so many ways.

I think about you and my friend Brandy who were killed so brutally for just being.

My complaints about the show ( quality of)

• First few episodes are a little too slow and boring. I thought the episode when Reenas parents meet was unnecessary, I get they wanted to paint a picture of her dad, but it didn't need an entire boring episode.

• some of the characters seemed 2 dimensional

• seemed like they were trying to paint the ppl that committed these crimes as more of a victim than the actual victim . I have a feeling it's because this is based on Rebecca G. Book.

• acting wasn't great in the beginning, but it does get better toward the end.

My complaints about the characters ( I won't hold this against the show because they are playing real people)

I absolutely couldn't stand this Rebecca character.

Her relationship with these young kids is "cringe" and I rarely use that word, but it's true. As someone that has worked with kids before, the way she acts around them like they are best friends makes me lose respect for her, even if her goal is to write a book. Again , but if this is how the story actually went down, then she clearly didn't care about Reena. Her goal was to write about how ppl can make mistakes and are still good ppl no matter what, just because she had her own issues. And if this show is accurate to what really happened, I really think she had a crush on this boy, apparently she described him as " boyish good looks, a hearthrob" in her book. She cared more about him than about Reena. If they went of her book then I have a hard time believing any of the acting that was portrayed for Warren, obviously her pov is warped.

I can't imagine how Reenas family feels. It's one thing to acknowledge that ppl make mistakes, but it's another to feel more sorry for the ppl that are not the actual victims.