Plan B

I have now watched all 6 episodes, weathered the numerous rows, love-making scenes and baby delivery scene (why do they always make female actors do this, it's like asking a pianist to play Rachmaninov's Third) and shouted at the TV a few times. I am glad I did.

Karine Vanasse is remarkable, her character Evelyn is rarely happy for long, she is inconsistent, dis-satisfied with what she has and triggered at the smallest things, histrionic, dismissive, doesn't take responsibility for herself or accountability for her part of the problems they face, she deflects, moves the goal-posts all the time. She is encouraged in all this by her rather typical single female side-kick, who is hostile to Evelyn being in a couple and makes her disdain for the husband quite plain. Evelyn meanwhile - in various timelines - is not short of men, if there was ever a woman for whom the saying "she's not your girl, it's just your turn" was coined, Evelyn is that woman. Less Plan B, more Cluster B.

Vanasse plays this really awful woman with such sincerity and authenticity, her striking beauty and her range of expression is captivating, for example the grieving phone-call (spoiler) and the aftermath of this traumatic event (Episode 5, spoiler), her gentleness and loving nature when she and Phillip were happy, these moments were the calm before the confusing rug-pulling and door slamming storm usually.

There are various sub-plots and intrigues, which work well. Through it all, Patrick Adams' character Phillip really does try to do the right thing for other people, he means well, but he is caught in co-dependency with his brother and his awful mother, as well as with his wife, Evelyn, and nothing seems to work out. Until, he realises the one thing he has to do, to give all of them a chance to break the cycle and have different lives.

In a sense, Plan B is all about consequences, it uses a time-machine storyline to show how things could be different if people had behaved differently, if we had acted differently. It is potentially transformative in that, if only the characters in Plan B had made better choices, been more ethical, more direct, taken responsibility for themselves, they would not need to go back and fix things. This is the hidden payload in Plan B, live life in such a way that you do not regret your actions. This, for me, makes it more than a TV show.

Ironically, Plan B is also a morning-after pharmaceutical product, you'll get the irony when you see the show.

Yikes. Where to start? First, this is maybe the dullest and most joyless time travel show in history. The main character repeatedly invokes a service that lets him travel back in time but really has zero questions about who these people are or how this is possible? Second, everything is played with a deadly seriousness that just doesn't work. Time travel shows usually involve a little humor as characters repeat scenes over again or know about things in advance to comedic effect. But not here. Instead, everything devolves into melodrama. Last, but certainly not least, all of the characters are completely insufferable. The story is written in such a way that the writers are obviously trying to present the leads as star crossed lovers we should be rooting for. But the main character isn't likable and his wife is even worse. The creators should go back in time for a do over on this whole show.

I must admit, this show was tough to watch. Not because of the acting or premise, but because of my own past experiences.

The script and acting was so intense, I was immediately drawn in to the story and felt the experiences being played out on screen. I ended up breezing through the six available episodes and was left wanting more, but we never know in this era of streaming where shows are tossed at the first sign of adversity.

If you have a few hours to spare, watch this show and don't stop until you've finished it. You won't regret it when you've reached the end. Here's hoping the show is continued!

Total: 5.5/10 Plot: 6/10 Characters: 6/10 Protagonists: 7/10 Antagonists: 4/10 Romance: 5/10 Philosophy: 8/10 Entertainment: 6/10

This show is pretty close to being actually really good.

I wish I could recommend this, but unfortunately there are blatant issues.

First of all in the first episode relatively at the beginning (hence not really a spoiler) It seems like the brother of the protagonists girlfriend is sleeping with his sister, which is never brought up again. This to me was egregious and I wanted some form of pay off to that scene that never came.

The second issue is, that we just don't really get any satisfactory payoff scenes at all. They are always drowned in new issues for the protagonist.

The third is that the protagonist is really not very likeable even though he isn't as horrible as the other characters.

To me this could have been a dark comedy about the abyss that the human sociality can be. But it also fails at that due to the plot not allowing for things to spiral out of the ordinary too far before our protagonist pulls the halyard and sets sail to another realm of possibilities only to run another issue.

The acting is good. The overall promised time travel works relatively well even though way too unexplored.

I wanted to like this show because I like the concept of a character knowing the future in fiction and acting accordingly to his knowledge.

I'm willing to give it a 5.5/10 for what it's worth with a tendency to a 6.

A masterful character study on obsession, control, love, and independence. Each episode will leave you emotionally wired.

The first season follows the tumultuous relationship of Philip and Evelyn. Philip is a well-meaning but driven lawyer, while Evelyn is an independent and dedicated cellist. Their relationship is a constant push and pull between love and control and independence, and when Evelyn decides she's had enough, Philip stumbles on the "Plan B" agency, an agency that will allow him to travel back in time to change the past.

With this power, his controlling and obsessive tendencies come to a new head. Given the power to redo the past to perfection, he becomes more and more obsessed with changing the past to protect his relationship and his family. But despite all the changes, we can still see the core of Philip's and Evelyn's characters and flaws remain unchanged.

Fantastic depiction of realistic, nuanced, and flawed characters. The dynamic between Philip and Evelyn is riveting. And the show is not afraid to create some of the most emotionally tense pieces of television I've ever seen. One of the few shows that I haven't been able to binge-watch, since each episode left me too emotionally wired to watch another. Would highly recommend.