The Changeling - Sombras de Nova York

I've read the book so I think I know where this is going.

What I can't understand, 7 episodes in, is how they managed to get the pacing so badly wrong The first three episodes are pretty good. They actually go faster than the book (which has it's own problems with pace and genre hopping transitions) and set out the stall of magic realism/folk horror from the start, but they've stretched the middle part if the story beyond breaking point, adding in backstory which was not in the books and which killed the pace completely.

I will watch the denouement but my fear is that having wasted two episodes (6 & 7) telling us nothing we needed to know, the ending will be rushed, confused or worse still delayed until a second season.

I really wanted to like this show . Because i like what Apple usually produces and also because of the cast. Dina is amazing and Lakeith is a special talent. But honestly 5 episodes in out of 8 episodes and the viewer has absolutely no idea what he/she is watching, a lot of flashbacks which i totally understand if they somehow bring the story forward and reveal new elements but nope it's like watching an anime/manga 20 flashback in one episode just to repeatedly tell you what you already know. What's the point of this show ?

Is it a Drama or an Horror/Fantasy!? .. At this point there is no compelling story or compelling character to keep you hooked. I may give it one more try because i still hope that the next episode will bring us something new .. For now it's just an over the head mess.

... because you will find the characters likable and become invested in what happens to them.

But this turns out to be a terrible investment to make. You will at no point in the last several episodes be glad that you subjected yourself to this show. But it will be too late for you because you watched the first episode and became invested.

If you disregard this advice and watch the first episode, know this: Nothing that you want from the rest of this series will be given to you. Nothing. Fill in the blank: "I want to watch more episodes to at least ________." Whatever you filled in that blank will not be given to you whether you watch the rest or not. You cannot have that. And the situation that you now want it could have been avoided if you had listened to my advice.

It felt more complimentary; not to be spoon fed the whole bowl of porridge and instead puzzle along the pieces of each episode.

Lakeith Stanfield shines in his ability to portray a character that feels grounded and complex. While Adina Porter brings a graceful presence and Malcom Barret provides a warm sprinkling of comedic relief to the uncertain horror.

This series opens with the classic line "Once upon a time" over a ship battling stormy seas. Narration reels the viewer through a flowing multi-current of journeys. Embarking on two similar and (perhaps not obvious) related stories of boy-meets-girl. The progression of both couples relationships is well distinguished by utilising the shifting time periods through sound and visual affect.

The sweet and airy nature of the initial pacing twists itself into a spiral as (Clark Backo's character) Emmy, finds herself caught in a questionable darkness amid a crescendo of unsettling and tense scoring.

I found it neither slow or boring while character connections were established. The light start is littered with breadcrumbs of skillful shots from the director to develop the backstory and engage the viewer.

Kudos to the wardrobe, SFX and set teams as they seem to have been passionate in their work. They complimented the directors storytelling and added differentiating hints of nostalgia and colour theory.

So far it has left me wishing for more.

I love the cinematography displayed here. The acting is spot on but just like everyone else has said, the story is just all over the place. It's slow paced and goodness gracious, boring. It's what you get when you take a 'not so great' book and try to turn it into a series. I guess you can call this a thriller, because it's not scary at all.

Just finished watching episodes 1-3 and sadly I am really not excited to continue watching. But affer reading a couple of great reviews here, am kinda curious to see what they talking about. And I truly want to be wrong so am gonna try and watch 4 and see.

Look out for my updated review afterwards.

Update: Nuuh, not for me, episode 4 was just as boring and ridiculous as the first 3. It quickly went from supernatural to just plain old nonsense. Am done.