Amelia Stout

Plot points, including a mysterious death partway through, are lazily explained away. Heinous acts don’t match up with the characters who supposedly committed them. Identities are discovered and then go unexplored. With shoddy plotting and chaotic pacing, Bodkin falls far short of the thought-provoking satire that it aims for.

Gunning’s performance is a large part of what makes the show the horrifying and addictively compelling thing it is. Particularly haunting is her squeal-like laugh, which perfectly encompasses the duality of Martha’s innocence and unhinged brutality. This, coupled with Gadd’s devastating portrayal of a man both traumatized by and dependent on his abusers’ approval and attention, make for a thorny but nuanced interrogation of trauma, power, and empathy.

While its subtext may be less layered than that of the 1999 film, the series does manage to sustain tension despite its languid pace. Ripley boasts an eerie atmosphere, stunning cinematography, and a thoughtful commentary on the relationship between life and art that’s distinctly its own.

While the premise of Death and Other Details may seem derivative, the series is much more than a simple imitation. It’s a keenly modern, thoughtful meditation on the simultaneously distortive and revelatory nature of the human memory.

As a piece of social commentary on working-class life in suburban Australia, Boy Swallows Universe is hair-raising and charming in equal measure. As a crime drama, it feels gratuitously melodramatic. The denouement in particular, which liberally employs exaggerated plot devices and stock villains, eschews the light touch of the show’s promising early episodes.

While it may invoke tropes from the 007 films and Christie’s mysteries, Monsieur Spade’s heavy-handed setup and unsatisfying ending prevent it from rivalling those works.

It’s honest to the point of abrasive, and at times downright ridiculous. But it’s also wickedly funny and looks mental illness dead in the eye with a daring grin.

In both the film and series, this approach risks romanticizing the experience of Aboriginals while keeping the central love story teetering on the edge of schmaltz. Faraway Downs’s ending goes partway toward remedying the latter, but fails to adequately address the former.

In departing from most of the usual hallmarks of the Dickensian world—from its vividly atmospheric descriptions of London to its host of complex personalities—all The Artful Dodger offers is flimsy comedy, half-baked characterizations, and a dubious romantic subplot.

This final season of Sex Education may leave viewers feeling nostalgic but, much like high school, ultimately ready to leave it behind.