The Watcher

So, the backstory on this is pretty underwhelming in my opinion. 3 letters and people that didn't even move in. So, the writers really had a very blank slate to create something amazing. It seemed like they were on track but episode 4 was when all hope was lost for me.

You could see very clearly that they lost their way and didn't know how to close this. 7 episodes was just dragging out a story that was running out of fuel after 3. There is a lot of filler in the first three episodes but you can overlook that with anticipation that something great is just around the corner. Unfortunately when you turn the corner, there is just a bag of meh.

I can think of several ways this could have gone that would have been much better. Some of the stuff is just so far out there is is just insulting to your intelligence. This concept would drive most anyone nuts for sure, but humans are pretty predictable and the characters in this just seem to act in repetitive ways that make the story just annoying.

A real missed opportunity.

I must admit this series did frustrate me at times and also felt like a typical thriller with too many plot twists and turns.

However, what I did find unique embedded in this series is the subject of obsession with materialism and the lengths people will go to to secure and protect those obsessions.

I'm not sure if that was deliberate on the part of the producers to do a series that is part social commentary part thriller but it does work as a suspenseful series that kept this viewer locked in, despite sometimes being frustrated with the obviously dead end twists and turns.

Overall an addictive viewing experience.

After watching the excellent series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, another creation from the succesful duo Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, I was pretty excited to see what they would come up with now. Could it be another great show based on true events? That how it starts though, stating it's based on true events, but after reading about it after watching this show you can only conclude that 90% of it is all made up, and that's honestly a shame and a letdown. I binge watched it though, like I did with Dahmer, and it's only faire to say that it is very watchable. The mystery level is very high, the suspense is mildly high, the acting is very good and that from the whole cast, but the ending is diappointing and that's why this show scores so low compared to Dahmer. But you can watch this show if you like mysteries, and if you like good acting, because with actors like Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Mia Farrow, Margo Martindale, and Richard Kind, just to name a few, you get quality acting. The Watcher could have been a really good show, they missed an opportunity here, just because of a weak last episode. Since they were making up 90% of the story they should and could have imagined a better end to this short series of seven episodes.

I'm a huge fan of Ryan Murphy's productions but this was painfully pitiful. A collection of wonderful actors completely misused. Mia Farrow was the only bright spot in this ludicrous story. There were twists for the sake of twists, and inconsistencies for the sake of inconsistencies. Every character was a caricature and left me wondering why the actors chose to do this. However, if it were advertised as a parody then it wouldn't be so bad. Producers seem to be loosely basing their productions on true stories with hopes of connecting to an audience with the most basic primal need of curiosity. The Watcher was ridiculous and an embarrassment. True, I wasn't obligated to watch the entire series but I continued to hold out hope that the magnificent cast would save this show from itself. Didn't happen.

Netflix is the champion of putting out movies & series that will suck the life out of you for absolutely no payoff whatsoever. I'm starting to wonder if they're doing it for the fun of it just to see how long we'll keep paying them to do it to us. The vast majority of their projects end with...no👏🏻actual👏🏻ending👏🏻. Not in a good "gosh this could be interpreted this way or that way". Just NO ENDING as if they just spitter out and have no more juice and say that's it! I don't know who I'm more annoyed with; Netflix for pulling this stunt or me for falling for it yet once again. Five stars for the cast who do a great job, despite the pointlessness of it all.