PookyGranat

This show succeeds at being so many things at once. As with the best "whodunnits", The Residence functions like a finely-tuned clock. There are a lot of cogs, moving pieces, unsavory characters, complex overlaying narratives, and-on occasion-some redundant bits as you trek over some plot points 5 or 6 times by the time The Big Reveal...well, reveals itself.

I can acknowledge the frustrations many viewers might have watching this. The Residence is certainly not for everyone-the best shows seldom are. The mystery itself is charming, paying homage to great capers of yesteryear, whilst still finding ways to subvert expectations and directly nod at the viewers sitting at home rapidly forming and discarding theories with their couchmates. However, for as rich and layered as this finely-tuned clock is, it asks much of those watching.

Great mysteries are tempered by the detectives at their helm: Hercule Poirot, Benoit Blanc, Sherlock Holmes; all have their unique types of brilliant as well as their noticeable idiosyncrasies. Cordelia Cupp, an avid birder and knife-sharp logician quickly cemented herself as my new favorite (from an avid mystery reader, nonetheless). She is aloof, curt, and she anchors this gonzo tale with a brilliant sense of levity (taking numerous breaks to birdwatch as both a way to process her thoughts as well as gather herself as she plows through a cast of big, conflicting personalities.

This show is long, as many have mentioned, but if you find the tone enjoyable, this is a HUGE plus. You get to inhabit this hilarious, often stressful world with characters who find ways to dazzle despite their many imperfections. The emotional punches in this show are few, but when they hit, they HIT. Even better, the show has a firm grasp of what it's saying, without browbeating audiences with "The Meaning".

Ultimately, this show is an ode to the best of us: those who comprise and uplift the ideals of democracy and believe in us all (despite how frustrating we can all be). Each suspect (sorry, "interesting person", per Detective Cupp) runs the gamut as far as attitude, vices, background, talents, communication styles, and shortcomings. For all the labors this show takes to tell a satisfying mystery (and all the labors exacted by viewers), the payoff is astounding. Ultimately, this is a show orbiting an earnest, well-earned message: The Residence, as a concept, is at its best when each of us is granted the room, the opportunity to contribute our voice to the choir in equal measure; even as power hierarchies and bureaucracy, while necessary, continually threaten to unravel us altogether.

I am not one to watch many series, nor have I seen much of Disney+'s offerings after having been a subscriber from the company's inception. Imagine my surprise when I casted this onto my TV to keep as background noise while I got some work done. Whether fortunate or unfortunate (depending on who you're asking), I got very little work done, as I was immediately drawn by this show's warm sensibilities, and dialed-in art style. After two episodes, I can frankly say that this truly came out of left field (pun unintentional, but welcome). The show's patiently reliable Pixar style seems to be riskier than films from eras past-with safe, predictable choices forfeited for visual gags and endearingly awkward punchlines that seem to come a mile-a-minute. This seems to be a show with a lot of hearts. Plural is apt here, as it seems to take the approach of unfolding the lead-up to a single calamitous event by unfolding the trajectories of each character's week leading up to the night in question. This, I believe, is where the show seems to take shape and really shine. As a watcher, I get the sense that one of the most challenging things to do for movies/series in the vein of "Win or Lose" lies in striking a correct tonal balance between being complex, sincere, and dynamic enough to win over mature audiences, whilst being simple and funny enough to not alienate the children who may be watching. Thus "family" humor seems to be something that is very hit-or-miss (there are the surprise baseball puns again). The subject matter of the episodes seem to draw from previous offerings like Inside Out-with an anthropomorphic depiction of insecurity and anxiety in one character's vignette-and Onward-with an unapologetically nerd-core game approach to "love" and "building up walls" as with another character. It seems to swing for the fences in every regard, oscillating between painfully human encounters with magical realism punchlines that blur the lines between what one person is experiencing in their inner world and what is actually happening. In this sense, it reminds me very much of Apple TV's "The Afterparty", to any of those who managed to find the stylings of that show appealing, if not varied in quality.

The cast of characters even seem to have adopted the successes of "Turning Red", opting for characters who ooze a winsome kind of awkwardness that feel neither forced, nor derivative. Episode 2 ends with an overture, rather than a crescendo-Billy Holiday's "No Regrets". After just two episodes, I decided to create an IMDB account, if merely to add my voice to the choir about how much I enjoy this show, after just two episodes. They hit it out of the park, bases loaded, with this one.