Crá

I have only watched the first episode and am not sure I'll watch more. It's good, could even be great. Setting, plot, location, most main characters all worth watching. But, but, but, the journalist might make this completely unwatchable. I know the character is supposed to be determined, trying for a big story etc etc but as she is played she is so incredibly unlikable and annoying it gets in the way. I like strong female characters but she is not strong she is cloying, unethical, and so unlikable. Director should have given actress more notes on how to play the character so she doesn't kill every scene.

Having seen just about every Nordic, Welsh, Scottish noir type murder mystery series out there, I was really excited to see this Irish offering.

I had a hard time at first trying to place the series politically- was it taking place in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland? I needed to look it up on google maps - if it takes place in Donegal, then it's the Republic but right next to Northern Ireland.

Basic requirements of the genre are met - scenery was suitably bleak, people insular and non communicative, lazy provincial police work, speaking in native language.

I watched it all in one sitting but the acting of the old man playing the father, the 3 police officers (from the town, not the hamlet) and that Janine butcher lookalike who played the reporter was so bad I thought I'd have to switch it off.

The main actor was very good and his expressive glare spoke volumes about his current state of mind.

I'll start by saying the scenery was beautiful. The atmosphere was perfect but the story disappointed me. I won't criticize the acting but some actors were much better than others. I didn't guess who the murderer was right away but it was so clumsy with the suspects. You know who didn't do it but it try's to make the characters suspects which is tedious. Characters are so stereotypical. The renegade, the clown, the dumb pair that insist they know who is it and refuse to investigate anyone else, The journalist was not likeable. I could label each character. It's an easy watch for sure. I enjoyed the language. I loved the gorgeous scenery.

I loved the setting and the idea of the murder being set in an insular, inward-looking community. However, the series was marred by somewhat wooden acting and implausibilities.

As always, we have to ignore the person the episodes were strongly signalling was the guilty one. It was completely obvious from episode three who we were meant to imagine had "dunnit". So we had to look elsewhere. I must admit I didn't guess who the real assassin was partly because it was such an improbable plot twist. There were other irreconcilable anomalies too. Martin was a thoroughly unpleasant character but why he should have been singled out for a beating by Connall is a mystery to me. We were meant to work out the reason why but I don't know what it was about (not a spoiler - this is the very first scene in the series).

Barry's involvement in passing on information didn't ring true either. He was such a wimp and jobsworth that I found it hard to believe in this facet of the story.

I watched it all. The final fifteen minutes were disappointing. The fate of Conall's dad is unknown but with court cases pending, would such extreme measures have been taken? And the decision to keep quiet about the conclusion of the case and leave an innocent reputation sullied didn't ring true either.

After reading back over the review, I've downgraded to a four from five stars.

But there was so much wrong with the dialogue, the miscasting, the endless red herrings and misbehaving cops who would have been fired in any other police force.

Cop shows like these need to be believable.

Now I am Irish by birth and I positively adore movies when they're in Gaeilge.

But there were so many tropes in this I lost track. The rogue cop. Endless staring at oceans and waves, finding others on beaches and houses when you need them, cops missing major clues (cell phone, laptop) the saucy irritating young reporter with seedy access to everything the cops missed.

The scenery was stunning though.

But the ending was cringe worthy, a total disasterama.

What an absolute waste of time for this incredulous viewer.

4/0 Acorn.