christianamdavis

I was surprised at how quickly I became obsessed with this show. It can be tricky to not get too "tropey" when flipping the damsel in distress narrative but I rather enjoyed the arch's of just about every character. The chemistry between the lead actors is.... Sizzling and also romantic and believable. They didn't have to emasculate Guilford in order to present Jane as a strong woman. I was only going to watch one episode (ep 5) last night and I ended up staying up to finish the season. I am also obsessed with the twist of the fantasy aspect of this world as well. The mother character really spoke to me bc she's not evil and she's learned to play the game to survive but sometimes she's the WORSSSST.

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.