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Ratings803
cyndi_fan247's rating
Reviews50
cyndi_fan247's rating
A murder at the end of the world
Decent "closed circle" mystery muddled by extraneous sub-plot that detracts from suspense.
This show is essentially two stories. One is a series of flashbacks told through a nonfiction novel that was penned by the main character, and the other story is the title of the show-a murder mystery- specifically a "closed circle" mystery in which there are a finite number of suspects, usually trapped in a location. (Think Agatha Christie "And Then There Were None")
I wouldn't have had a problem with this show having a dual plot and narrative, if they were more than barely connected. But they are really tied together by the thinnest of threads. And the plot that follows the novel is honestly quite boring and focused on romance compared to the main plot, which is the murder mystery.
The main character tracks a serial killer in the novel, and we see this through flashbacks, and her reading excerpts of the novel-which I guess is supposed to set the tone for the "actual"murder mystery. But instead, the flashbacks just break the pace of the main story and take the momentum out of the suspense, leaving you wanting to skip ahead.
It goes from one riveting scene that keeps you on the edge of your seat to a melodramatic scene in a motel room or a car that's primarily a sappy romance story and really doesn't add to the overall plot much at all.
With it being only 7 episodes, it almost feels like they didn't have enough ideas to fill the main plot so they tried to fill in some extra space with a different story.
Maybe some people will appreciate the subplot of the "flashbacks", and the minor pieces of exposition it gives, but I found it completely unnecessary and far too drawn out. They could have just bookended the story in the first and last episodes with the bits involving the novel, or alternated between episodes from the past and present.
I also felt that the last episode was far too rushed and they could have really fleshed out more of that part of the story (can't say more without revealing too much of the plot).
There are some minor plot holes/continuity issues, such as some of the characters dressing in decidedly 2023 fashion in flashbacks that supposedly happened 6 years earlier. (Notably: Bills haircut, both Darby's and Bill's clothing-the way that the motel room was obtained and stayed in for many days without them being evicted, Darby never needing to charge her phone or iPod or anything like that, etc)
The closed circle mystery aspect of the show is still worth watching for, but this could have been much better.
Decent "closed circle" mystery muddled by extraneous sub-plot that detracts from suspense.
This show is essentially two stories. One is a series of flashbacks told through a nonfiction novel that was penned by the main character, and the other story is the title of the show-a murder mystery- specifically a "closed circle" mystery in which there are a finite number of suspects, usually trapped in a location. (Think Agatha Christie "And Then There Were None")
I wouldn't have had a problem with this show having a dual plot and narrative, if they were more than barely connected. But they are really tied together by the thinnest of threads. And the plot that follows the novel is honestly quite boring and focused on romance compared to the main plot, which is the murder mystery.
The main character tracks a serial killer in the novel, and we see this through flashbacks, and her reading excerpts of the novel-which I guess is supposed to set the tone for the "actual"murder mystery. But instead, the flashbacks just break the pace of the main story and take the momentum out of the suspense, leaving you wanting to skip ahead.
It goes from one riveting scene that keeps you on the edge of your seat to a melodramatic scene in a motel room or a car that's primarily a sappy romance story and really doesn't add to the overall plot much at all.
With it being only 7 episodes, it almost feels like they didn't have enough ideas to fill the main plot so they tried to fill in some extra space with a different story.
Maybe some people will appreciate the subplot of the "flashbacks", and the minor pieces of exposition it gives, but I found it completely unnecessary and far too drawn out. They could have just bookended the story in the first and last episodes with the bits involving the novel, or alternated between episodes from the past and present.
I also felt that the last episode was far too rushed and they could have really fleshed out more of that part of the story (can't say more without revealing too much of the plot).
There are some minor plot holes/continuity issues, such as some of the characters dressing in decidedly 2023 fashion in flashbacks that supposedly happened 6 years earlier. (Notably: Bills haircut, both Darby's and Bill's clothing-the way that the motel room was obtained and stayed in for many days without them being evicted, Darby never needing to charge her phone or iPod or anything like that, etc)
The closed circle mystery aspect of the show is still worth watching for, but this could have been much better.
