Summary
Saint X is quite the mess, mixing multiple genres and timelines to pad out its eight-episode run. Underneath all this filler is a paper-thin mystery and some truly patronizing, weak writing.
We review the Hulu series Saint X Season 1, which does not contain spoilers.
There is something fundamentally sinister about setting a tragedy in paradise. It instantly adds another layer of suspense to the narrative. That’s why you’ll find many horror movies and thrillers in suburban utopias or idyllic beach resorts.
Hulu’s psychological drama series Saint X has decided to go with the latter, shaping its narrative around the death of an American girl in the Caribbean.
Saint X Season 1 Review and Plot Summary
The series contains multiple timelines, but it mainly focuses on that traumatic death twenty years ago at the Indigo Bay beach resort and the aftermath of that suspicious tragedy in present-day New York.
The past timeline follows the affluent Thomas family, vacationing in the Caribbean at a luxury hotel by the sea. Parents Bill (Michael Park) and Mia (Betsy Brandt) are joined by their daughters, Princeton student Alison (West Duchovny, yes, that’s David Duchovny’s daughter) and the much younger Claire (Kenlee Townsend).
Nineteen-year-old Alison soon becomes the talk of the hotel, catching the eye of every single male at the resort, whether married or single. College students and even hotel employees are all desperate to win her affection.
Alison’s attempts to orchestrate multiple holiday romances inter-cut with the escapades of two ambitious hotel employees, Edwin (Jayden Elijah) and Gogo (Josh Bonzie). These two are the lead suspects in Alison’s scandalous death, but are they the real culprits? Was it an accident, or was she killed after all?
This mystery slowly unravels in the past while Alison’s sister (Alycia Debnam-Carey) researches the possible killing in the present day, stalking the prime suspect, Gogo, who she has coincidentally crossed paths with. He now lives and works in Flatbush, Brooklyn, eager to leave his disgraced past behind him. But the sister wants answers, and she pursues Gogo relentlessly.
Is Saint X Season 1 good or bad?
Saint X is quite the misfire. A paper-thin murder mystery that stretches over eight installments and many timelines (some episodes even contain three or four at once). What starts as an intriguing setup quickly descends into needless filler and threadbare plotting.
The series makes feeble attempts to frame most guests as possible suspects and promotes embarrassingly cringe romances. There is some seriously off-kilter relationship advice and lots of dated, misogynistic views thrown into the mix as well, with Alison’s beauty seemingly forcing all the guests into a ridiculous trance as they all vie for her attention.
Within all these stretched-out subplots, the show also tries its hand at other sub-genres too, featuring some pantomime horror sequences and over-the-top theatrics.
Is Saint X Season 1 worth watching?
Saint X is not worth wasting your precious time on. A sub-par murder mystery, which extends its many subplots to fill a needlessly long, eight-hour runtime with numerous timelines, storylines, and genres.
Viewers may want to figure out the truth behind this mysterious death, but that is all that will keep audiences returning for more, if at all. It has very little else to offer.
What did you think of Saint X Season 1? Comment below.
