Mystery & Thriller
‘Black Doves’ Is A Fun Holiday Treat With Surprising Depth
Black Doves, Netflix’s British action-thriller series from Giri/Haji’s Joe Barton, is technically a Christmas show. The holiday has nothing to do with the plot, which...
Eva Makes A Terrible Mistake In ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 5
“Boom” is about Eva in the same way that “Person of Interest” was about Becka. This is to say that Eva’s problems are foregrounded a...
The Premiere of ‘The Agency’ Is Painfully Dull
I love a spy drama, and there’s room for all kinds of different ones. But The Agency debuts in a post-Slow Horses streaming climate where...
‘The Madness’ Is Middling… But Colman Domingo Rules As Usual
You can tell that The Madness would like to be described as “timely”, “biting”, or any number of other adjectives one would typically throw at...
‘Gangnam B-Side’ Ends With A Bit Of Ambiguity — But At Least It Ends
It took a couple too many bloated episodes to get here, but the ending of Gangnam B-Side is… okay, I guess, very much like the...
‘Before’ Implies More Connections Between Noah and Ben in Episode 7 — And Completely Loses the Plot
Episode 7 of Before, “The Power of Belief”, revolves around another unconventional therapy technique that Eli attempts on Noah, and it’s weird that we’re supposed...
‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Kicks Into Gear With Episode 4
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth start for the second season of Bad Sisters, The two-part Season 2 premiere took a while getting out of the...
‘When the Phone Rings’ Coheres A Little Better In Episode 2
Can impersonating a kidnapper save a sham marriage? I guess this is the question being floated by When the Phone Rings Episode 2, which picks...
‘Arcane’ Season 2 Ends With A Sweeping, Complex, Emotional Act 3
Well, blimey. It was virtually inevitable that Act 3 of Arcane Season 2 was going to stir some emotions, but as usual with this show,...
The Legendary Swedish Crime Behind Netflix’s ‘The Helicopter Heist’
A grain of truth is a powerful thing, and there’s a big one behind Netflix’s Swedish limited series The Helicopter Heist. The 2009 robbery of...
‘The Helicopter Heist’ Delivers Serviceable True-Crime Thrills
If there are two things everybody loves these days, it’s true crime and heist thrillers. The Helicopter Heist knows this, which is why the Swedish...
‘Before’ Finally Provides Some Answers In Episode 6
Well, Before is heating up a little, isn’t it? Episode 6, “Fever Dream”, continues a recent trend of being quite coherent, actually providing some answers...
‘Adoration’ Is A Familiar Feeling Mystery With A Bad Attitude
Ironically for a show titled Adoration, everyone in this seems to hate each other. There are more arguments in the first couple of episodes that...
‘Gangnam B-Side’ Goes A Little Off The Rails In Episodes 5 & 6
It’s safe to say that Gangnam B-Side goes a little off the rails in Episodes 5 and 6. While there’s still a lot to like...
Grief Looms Large In ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2, Episode 3
Season 2 of Bad Sisters got off to a slightly stunted start, so it’s a shame that Episode 3, “Missing”, doesn’t have much urgency either. But it...
‘Arcane’ Season 2 Slows Things Down In Act 2 To Extraordinary Effect
It’s accurate to say that Act 2 of Arcane Season 2 slows things down a lot relative to the balls-to-the-wall frenzy of Act 1, but...
‘Before’ Is A Little More Coherent In Episode 5
I was a bit better disposed towards Episode 5 of Before. Not sure why. I think it might be because it has a more coherent...
‘Gangnam B-Side’ Falls Into A Familiar Pattern In Episodes 3 & 4
I continue to like Gangnam B-Side, but it falls into a pattern in Episodes 3 & 4 that is very reminiscent of the two-part premiere....
‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Takes A Dramatic Swerve In Two-Part Premiere
The first season of Bad Sisters was very good, but crucially it ended. That’s to say that it had a real, satisfying conclusion, with all...
‘Arcane’ Season 2, Act 1 Effortlessly Proves That This Is Still Netflix’s Best Animated Series
There’s a “y’all must have forgot” quality to Act 1 of Arcane’s second season. Riot Games and Netflix have already confirmed that these nine episodes...