Summary
Trashy but addictive, this miniseries opens with mystery and intrigue as Gina’s return home unearths past trauma, a web of lies, and a seedy criminal underbelly.
One of Netflix’s strengths is the ability to consistently deliver on addictive TV for viewers to binge. Echoes, the latest mystery thriller from the streaming giants, looks set to be just as entertaining as their previous output. The seven-part miniseries opens with Episode 1, “Home”, a premiere that is crammed full of twists and ambiguity, sending audiences on a deeply intricate mystery.
Echoes Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
The series introduces us to Gina McCleary, a wealthy writer, played by Michelle Monaghan (from the Mission: Impossible franchise). She is informed that her identical twin sister has gone missing and must therefore return to her childhood home, where scandal and mystery awaits her. The twins keep an online journal so they can communicate with one another, posting videos and messages in secret. Her sister, Leni, hasn’t posted in a while, which unnerves Gina and when she drives through town, missing person posters only confirm her fears.
Gina heads straight for her old home, an expansive ranch, where her family resides and Leni cared for the horses. A search party have just returned from their first day of exploring. There’s police cars, ambulances and a crowd of people on the site fresh from the hunt. Gina is quickly informed that Leni’s best friend Meg hasn’t participated and Gina is instantly suspicious of these odd circumstances. Add to this the fact that Leni’s partner Jack (Matt Bomer) is clearly hiding something and has hired a babysitter for daughter Mattie, which is a complete surprise to Auntie Gina. The daughter even mistakes Gina for her own mother in a touching moment that highlights just how identical these twins are.
The anxious sister meets with Sheriff Floss, who is leading the investigation. They have called off the search due to dwindling light and she quickly updates Gina on the facts. There was an intruder, horses were released (possibly as a distraction), the office was ransacked and Leni has gone missing. Gina believes it is a kidnapping, but the police don’t want to jump to any conclusions. Gina storms off in a huff, angered by their relaxed attitude and later Sheriff Floss clocks a suspicious stranger on the ranch. Floss informs her Deputy that the McCleary family are cursed with a wretched past, which the opening episode offers glimpses of via flashbacks.
Back at home, for the first time in years, Gina is met with both warmth and hostility from her family members. She finds a vandalized doll in her old bedroom, her father hugs her, but then proceeds to be rather argumentative. Claudia, her non-identical sister, who is wheelchair bound, is also extremely cold to Gina, so she decides to stay at a local hotel instead. She phones her husband to list her many suspicions, something is definitely amiss on the farm.
Before leaving, Gina discovers a severed doll’s arm in a tree outside her childhood home. In the doll’s grip is a charm from her childhood bracelet. This bracelet has added significance, in a flashback it is revealed that her dying mother gifted the twins one each. Further flashbacks hint at some trauma in a bathtub and a brewing conflict between the twins and Claudia.
During the second day of the search, Leni’s horse Prince returns to the ranch alone, covered in blood. They then come across a fallen horse that was shot in the head. Sheriff Floss asks Jack if he owned this horse and he is particularly guarded in his response. Stuttering a reply about this being a boarded horse and a lie that he has the paperwork back at the office. Jack is clearly hiding something and Floss thinks he’s involved in some criminal activity. Even Gina’s father hints at foul play, but struggles to elaborate further.
Gina begins her own investigation, uncovering some provocative red lingerie and another doll’s arm, this time hiding in a jewelry box at Leni’s house. As Gina exits, Jack corners her and starts to passionately kiss the twin. Gina protests, stating that she is not Leni, but he ignores her and continues with his assault anyway. When the two finally pull away, Jack apologizes and Gina flees. It’s a racy, shocking sequence that alludes to a saucy past or further mysteries we’re just desperate for answers to.
Echoes Season 1 Episode 1 Ending
In the final moments all the twists come pouring out. Gina inspects a cave behind a waterfall, one of the twin’s frequented hideout spots. Here she finds Leni’s clothes and the missing doll’s head. There’s also one of Gina’s books, titled Echoes, with notes inside. Leni’s message to her sister reads: happy birthday, you get both lives, choose. Intertwined with these scenes are flashbacks that reveal how the twins would switch lives for a year and now they are swapping once again.
Gina doesn’t even hesitate, she dons Leni’s clothes and heads back to the ranch. To make it appear plausible, she dirties her clothes and cracks a rock against her head. Stumbling back to the house, Mattie rushes to her mother’s side, but Jack doesn’t look too pleased to be reunited with his wife. Gina narrates that she is happy to live as Leni only to find out what has actually transpired here. The scene has well and truly been set. What an amazing opening installment indeed.
What do you think of Echoes season 1, episode 1? Comment below.
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