I enjoyed the tone and mystique of the series in the first few episodes, but it started slipping gradually. I began entertaining doubts in episode 5 that were validated by the series finale. I surmised that the killer was Ray a few episodes ago. I did not foresee that Zoomer was his tangible agent, however, which was a decent twist, if it weren't for the awful writing and awful acting from the little tyke. "Mommy, mommy, mommy! Are you mad at me?" It felt like how an adult assumes a child would talk.
I was disappointed that the explanation of Ray fostering the murders was basically "Ray was trying to do the right thing." AI hasn't turned on them or gone haywire, he simply acted out based on Andy's emotional venting. The explanation was preachy, because, while Ray was the mastermind, he was simply following the programming of the broken humans. This felt like a fizzle. No one was the bad guy; it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding. Bill and Rohan's murders were intentional, but Sian? That was an accident entirely. Whoops.
The final episode takes place exclusively in the locked room of the bunker, with every character sort of meandering, not quite sure how to fill the runtime. When a trace of momentum began building, it felt like a high school stage play rehearsal with everyone reading their lines in a stilted and inorganic manner. Character motivations and behaviors are perplexing and unbelievable. There are protracted silences where it feels like actors have missed their cue.
And Darby... I loved her toward the beginning of the show, but despised her by the end. She was so annoying-channeling young Kristen Stewart by thinking that looking perplexed, aghast, or exhaling sharply amounts to good acting-and smug that I wished she would have just drowned in the pool. "Fine, then I'll ask Andy myself. Has anyone heard of... DEEPFAKES?!" This and numerous other lines made me cringe. Also, she was a terrible friend to Bill. And the entire backstory of Darby and Bill lent nothing to the story except to try and force Bill's death to mean something to her, or to prove that she is a good sleuth. And to pad the runtime.
Finally, a show that has been building up to a supposedly strong climax should feature a long and satisfying episode, paced tautly and revealing the unexpected with deftness. This 40 minute truncated showdown was disappointing and rushed and anticlimactic. The insane robots that were revealed to be building other bunkers in Iceland? Never mentioned, didn't actually matter. Nothing felt like it mattered, in fact. This could have been a 2 hour movie and should have featured Poirot or Benoit Blanc, rather than the obnoxious Darby whose repetitive indiscretions were grating, telling everyone everything and accusing everyone baselessly like a girl who cried wolf.
And then the series wrap up consisted of Lee and zoomer living in hiding and being sued by Andy. Ray really isn't a bad guy so he just continues to creepily exist. And thank God we have Darby's narration to exposit "where they are now." I love being told-rather than shown-an ending. And how nice of all those fellow partygoers who shared the trauma of Iceland to show up to Darby's reading at the mom and pop bookstore.
None of it felt believable or authentic. At times the series was great, which made the disappointing finale that much worse (Game of Thrones syndrome). I don't regret watching this show, but I won't recommend it, unless someone is bedridden for a year or two and has nothing better to do.
15 out of 21 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
