The Watchful Eye

I wonder what this story is going to be about. I usually don't read any reviews before watching at least one episode but in this saga I have seen two. I, however, don't know what to think about what I've seen so far and quickly looked at the rating, which is way above I think it is worth right now. Scenes take so long to get moving, but we get some eerie music to accompany someone walking through creepy passages for no reason as nothing happens. Perhaps I am impatient and must watch some more episodes. I don't know what other viewers think, but I will read these after I have submitted this review.

Let's start with the TERRIBLE initial premise - a girl and her boyfriend want to steal a gem so they can "be rich and escape", which is bland at best and just plain boring at worst, they could have done SO much more with just the initial concept, but someone went for the lowest common denominator

Mix in some GREAT actors, and some who are monotone, bland and couldn't show emotion if you put a gun to their head (the main actress is a classic example for this) - the story also spins way out into different directions that would have made a MUCH better main premise, but alas, the side stories don't seem fleshed out enough (yet)

The main character, a nanny to a rich guy, seems to swing by on luck, supposed charm and her looks - anyone with two brain cells to rub together would see through her flimsy as paper explanations, but the other characters seem to swallow it hook, line & sinker, her boyfriend turns out to be a police detective with a good job, so why would he need to "run away"??? - she also (without explanation of how) gets a friend a job as the doorman... he literally shows up in one episode & they say she got him the job, no further detail

Add in some mistery in the basement where some secret information is held, no explanation of how they managed to find out about this "lost" info, but she manages to work it out, being the greatest detective in the world (think Sherlock, but female and no personality)

Some sex gets added as a teenage resident "falls in love" with the new doorman (wow, she goes to school with other rich guys, but thinks a poor latino guy is her "perfect match"), the other nannies pair off - a boy nanny and a girl one, and 2 of the female ones, where we see more kissing than ANY interaction of the straight couples - it's almost as though the director has a kink for seeing teen girls kissing :P

Overall, so far (7 episodes in) there's no explanation of how she gets 99% of her information, and her "deductive skills" appear to be only evident when she finds things, not when she's talking or explaining things to others - it's like they couldn't find a way to progress the "mistery" without her being able to pull information out of the air!!!

Overall, this is a concept that could have been exceoptional, but bad writing, bad casting, followed by bad acting just drag it down - I have it on as "background" while I'm trying to do other things - there are maybe a couple of points where it tries to grab your attention, but then it just loses it

Should you watch this? If you're doing nothing else, why not... Should you go out of your way to watch it, don't bother, unless you like bad acting & bad writing.

On the Acting:

Amy Acker pulls the beating heart from the characters she portrays and puts it on full display. Even characters that might seem unlikable on paper become people who are easy to empathize with and even love through her portrayal. Tory Ayres is no exception.

I seem to be in the minority with this one, but Mariel Molino does a great job of portraying Elena. The flattened affect seems to be consequence of Elena's upbringing and I found her believable, and easy to like and empathize with.

Kelly Bishop is as usual a delight to watch, I found Warren Christie's character compelling, and I think in general the actors portraying the older adults did well and were believable/ interesting to watch. The actors playing the kids also did well. Unfortunately the "young adult" group had acting that I can best describe as rough and I'll leave it at that.

On the Plot/Characters:

It's mostly typical freeform fare: there's a lot of YA drama and cheesy relationships which aren't my jam, but that's to be expected with my being in my mid-twenties and decidedly not the target audience here. Most of the side-plots involving the nanny group weren't all that interesting, and seemed shoehorned in at times.

That being said, there *were* some really interesting characters and plot threads to be found.

The Santos's family dynamics were really well done, and it's clear that the writers really thought about the kind of people who would come out of that kind of situation. And the parallels to the Ayres family are super neat to have. You have a parent who has done and continues to do awful things, and two children: one trying desperately to protect that parent and the other running as far as they can in the other direction.

The truth of Tory's character is slowly unfurled through the series and by the finale, you're on her side. Even if you didn't like her in the pilot, you don't want anything else bad to happen to her. How both Tory and Dick felt about their marital situation, and the beliefs they held with respect to themselves and each other made sense and informed what happened in the finale, making it as believable as it was horrifying and tragic.

The supernatural element of the ghost was not too overdone, and through how mad it drives Elena we understand Charlotte more as a character.

And overall the series' exploration of grief was well done, with the birthday episode being a real gem in that regard.

I would say that where this series shines is not in the investigation plot, but in the believable and compelling ways that character dynamics are fleshed out. The background we learn informs the characters' actions and emotions, and that is where it matters.

I agree with many of the reviewers here, the show had an interesting premise but it is confusing and poorly written. The main character is really annoying, especially her interactions with her employer, she tries to come off older than she is and the dialogue between the two is not very realistic. The other nannies are so much better as characters. Nothing much happens during the episodes and the plot is thin, I usually end up falling asleep before the show is finished. I wish there was more time spent on the back stories of the other characters and less time was spent on the lead. A lot of potential for more mystery or supernatural themes. The set is atmospheric..and the actress who plays Mrs. Ivey is a treasure.

I'm through episode 7 of this show and what started out as an interesting creepy premise is just going nowhere. There are long drawn out scenes where nothing happens, just a lot of slow monotone talking with no point. It billed itself as a creepy mystery, but it's just a slow motion drama fest. It's not scary, it's not creepy, it's not funny and it's not all that entertaining. On top of this, there are no likable characters anywhere to be seen. Everyone is annoying, deceitful or just plain awful, and that includes the main character. They have to have a modern agenda, too, so there are as many gay or trans characters as there are straight ones, just for the heck of it. Those who gave this show anything about a 5 must not expect much.