Summary
While In From the Cold doesn’t have the strongest of starts, it soon proves to be unmissable with great performances, strong characters, and a unique story that will keep the audience engaged.
The review of the Netflix series In From the Cold season 1 does not contain any spoilers.
In From the Cold is about Jenny Franklin (Margarita Levieva), recently separated from her husband, whose life is turned upside down whilst in Madrid after she gets exposed as a bio-engineered Russian agent.
As we’re in a world of new and original content being released all of the time, In From The Cold is surprisingly original. The backstory of Jenny is unique and definitely adds to the quality of the series as a whole. The cast are also tremendous in their roles. It’s great to see Margarita Levieva on screen again. (You may remember her from roles as Amanda Clarke in Revenge and as Abby Parker in The Deuce). And just as fantastic are her fellow cast members such as Lydia Fleming, Alyona Khmelnitskaya and Stasya Miloslavskaya. Charles Brice’s performance as Chris Clark provides comic relief throughout without taking away from the serious nature of the series, whilst, Cillian O’Sullivan’s performance will have you wondering why he hasn’t been on the screen more often.
In a sense, In From the Cold features a well-rounded and complete story in the first season. Whilst saying that after the final episode finishes, you will be begging for more. In From the Cold had better get a second season! The show isn’t perfect by all means. In the first couple of episodes it’s hard to fully digest what the hell is going on. But once you get involved within the story, it becomes so binge-able. After the second episode of In From The Cold, the show improves drastically and becomes far more interesting.
There are some aspects of the show that could have been changed. The earlier episodes feel just a little too long and could have been done with 10-15 minutes less. And the storyline featuring Jenny’s daughter Becca (Lydia Fleming) could have been reduced.
In the early episodes of In From the Cold the flashbacks are definitely one of the weaker storylines. In fact, at times, the tension is taken away when the show cuts from a tension-filled present-day scene to a less worthy flashback scene. But furthermore, not only do the flashback live up to the standard of the present-day scenes, but they become just as interesting. By the conclusion of the first season, it’s clear that these flashbacks had a clear purpose!
If In From the Cold could be compared to anything, it would be Nikita, Sense8, and Revenge all rolled up into one, with a soapy hint of The Americans. The spy element clearly borrows from Nikita, whilst the sci-fi feels like something that wouldn’t be out of place in Sense8. And whether it’s because leading Margarita Levieva, In From The Cold Season 1 could easily be described as a sci-fi entry of the Revenge universe.
What did you think of Netflix’s In From the Cold season 1? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.
