Nothing about this series seems memorable or original. And it's predictable. Of course Stella didn't just kill him like logically assumed. Of course the mother has an affair. Of course Amina has something to do with it, but not in the way implied.
Yet I very much enjoyed every episode. It's got intrigue, tension and a decently believable, relatable and recognizable story. And while every twist is coming from miles ahead, they don't really try to hide it and act like a big surprise.
The casting is on point, Chris comes off exactly like the kind of guy that he's portraying and Stella looks like she could be a 19-year-old, and not a mid-20s woman playing an adolescent teen. The parents are kind of run of the mill Netflix mom and dad, but they're decent characters that you can sympathize with trying to protect their child. None of the characters are too emotional/irrational, they seem grounded though the father of course does go a bit over the line trying to protect his kid.
The pacing is also interesting. Only the last episode is set in court, and the standard flashback reveal where you see how he really died is basically during the very last scene, in a post-court epilogue showing 'what are the characters up to now'. This is great because it was finally when I got the relevance of the prologue the show begins with. Throughout the entire series, I feel the prologue wasn't essential to tell the story, but right then and there, it finally gave a narrative payoff.
To spoil it, in the prologue the mother asked repeatedly if Stella resisted the guy and because she froze instead, there was no proof to sue him. Stella internalized a regret over 'not resisting', even a sense of guilt, so ultimately with Chris she decided to 'fight back'. It's such a neat way to end a series by coming full circle, and it also gives the session in jail a purpose.
And I shouldn't forget that this show actually has a happy ending for the characters that I actually didn't find cheesy or meaningless. We see husband and wife rebuilding their marriage instead of sticking with the 'perfect family is actually dysfunctional' trope.
Yet I very much enjoyed every episode. It's got intrigue, tension and a decently believable, relatable and recognizable story. And while every twist is coming from miles ahead, they don't really try to hide it and act like a big surprise.
The casting is on point, Chris comes off exactly like the kind of guy that he's portraying and Stella looks like she could be a 19-year-old, and not a mid-20s woman playing an adolescent teen. The parents are kind of run of the mill Netflix mom and dad, but they're decent characters that you can sympathize with trying to protect their child. None of the characters are too emotional/irrational, they seem grounded though the father of course does go a bit over the line trying to protect his kid.
The pacing is also interesting. Only the last episode is set in court, and the standard flashback reveal where you see how he really died is basically during the very last scene, in a post-court epilogue showing 'what are the characters up to now'. This is great because it was finally when I got the relevance of the prologue the show begins with. Throughout the entire series, I feel the prologue wasn't essential to tell the story, but right then and there, it finally gave a narrative payoff.
To spoil it, in the prologue the mother asked repeatedly if Stella resisted the guy and because she froze instead, there was no proof to sue him. Stella internalized a regret over 'not resisting', even a sense of guilt, so ultimately with Chris she decided to 'fight back'. It's such a neat way to end a series by coming full circle, and it also gives the session in jail a purpose.
And I shouldn't forget that this show actually has a happy ending for the characters that I actually didn't find cheesy or meaningless. We see husband and wife rebuilding their marriage instead of sticking with the 'perfect family is actually dysfunctional' trope.