Échos

I always stop by the reviews if I start watching something and it's a bit meh, as if they're dire I normally give up, BUT for some reason I persevered on this one and it's by no means as bad as some of the reviews make out. It's not what I would call a "thriller" but there's enough twists to keep you interested and make it past some questionable acting.

I like Michelle Monaghan, so decided to try.

The movie plot is not terrible, but it's not well executed unfortunately. Too many flashbacks.

At first glance I thought the Sheriff would be annoying, but she ended up being the best part! I hope I see her in more stuff. Kind of like a female Colombo.

Last...I guessed at the ending and was wrong for a change. (I guess there's that.)

I am getting a bit tired of reviews which begin with, "too complicated" or "lost me." Are we really becoming so lazy & impatient that we can't handle the occasional narrative challenge? "Not realistic" or "believable" is another common critique. Really? Because (news flash) no movie or series is "real." Isn't that the point? That we watch these things to escape reality & to be entertained.

I will admit that I was a bit disoriented at the conclusion of the 1st episode but unless the viewer is especially dense, it is not difficult to reorient & follow the narrative twisted by a set of twins who once vowed to share everything. I am not a fan of spoilers so I will just say that I enjoyed this so much that I binge watched the entire series because it was just like reading a really good book- I could not put this one down until it was over.

I read that there is no season 2 but that is ok by me. The ending did not disappoint.

There's good & bad elements to this show, with a very smart although convoluted twist/misdirect standing out as a huge positive that nearly counteracts the sometimes inexcusable acting, over-the-top drama, and unrealistic plot turns. Overall, being only 7 episodes, I would recommend it for someone who has Netflix and is looking for something to get into requiring minimal commitment. It is a good thing it isn't any longer of a series though, because this show would definitely prove that too much can be a very bad thing. 6/10; an intriguing mystery that is weighed down by being a little too heavy handed.

Echoes is a thriller involving twins. One goes missing, which sets the other twin in a search for her missing half.

The beginning was... constipated. (except for the dialogue and performance by Sheriff Floss) What I mean is that there's some suspension of reality and some forced dialogue in an attempt to hold back the twists until later episodes.

Now the twist is also kind of predictable, given that this story involves twins.

The most interesting part is episode 5 "Gina" (this is a 7-episode limited series) when the cat is out of the bag and the story becomes more interesting with all parties trying to deal with the situation. The ending is also satisfyingly uncertain, as it probably should be to stay true to the theme of the show.

Probably for the better that this is a limited series.