The Stranger

Labyrinthine as its multiple cases – with details muddied by well-concealed deceptions or good old fashioned controlled substances – the performances are enough of an attractant to keep a person engaged initially, ensnaring them eventually. ... In elevating the emotional stakes to the same level as the conspiracy, Brocklehurst imbues "The Stranger" with a weight that stays with the viewer more effectively than all the other weekend crimetime options parading across TV schedules.

It’s your typical Coben yarn, with multiple and seemingly unrelated threads going on at once, characters who have dark secrets that are alluded to but not mentioned outright until enough tension is drawn out, and mysteries upon mysteries.

Plots pile on top of one another, leaving us to work out how or if they’re linked. ... Not dark enough to be great, but highly bingeable.

The bigger question is whether you care enough to wait for the answers. The Stranger is a curious beast, an almost-pure mystery, which shows its machinery so nakedly that it almost defies you to switch off. Whether you binge the entire series in an afternoon or hurl the controller out of the window in frustration will depend mainly on your tolerance for being mucked around.

A strong and sprawling cast (Stephen Rea is also in it, as is Jennifer Saunders) work hard to keep all the balls in the air, and you will feel a strong urge to watch the second episode immediately, if only to clear up a few things. Without wishing to spoil anything, I can tell you that the second episode only muddies the waters further, and the third episode further still.

The video shown here isn't the trailer for the show Another great limited series

średni na jeża... na początku zaciekawia, jednak im dalej tym gorzej... i przewidywalny, nawet bardzo.

The Stranger is a British mystery thriller mini-series based on the 2015 Harlan Coben novel of the same title. The casting and acting were good - except for 2 lead roles: Siobhan Finneran as Detective Sergeant Johanna Griffin and Kadiff Kirwan as Detective Constable Wesley Ross, who assists Johanna Griffin. They were an unfortunate weakness of the series.

Bloated, lazy writing, at as often no clue how to wrap a promising premise. Some of the reveals are expected 4 episodes in advance. Good first episode, but it devolved very fast from here. Most actors (Stephen Rea) mailing it in. The usual Kleenex, I mean Netflix, fare. Binge watch, completely forget about it 3 weeks later. Avoid if you have the choice!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]