Solos

This series is hard to rate because there are separate dramas and some are absolutely wonderful and others are deadly dull. Episode 1 is wonderful; and one of the best things you'll ever see on TV or anywhere else, for that matter. It's a time travel drama with a big switch, and the acting is great to see. I won't go into the deadly dull episodes but they are there. FWIW - this series is better watched one at a time without binge watching. Try to appreciate each for its own value. Watching several in a row diminishes each of them.

Although this show is billed as Sci-fi, in reality it's just a middling drama. Each episode is a snapshot of a character's entire life and how their choices have shaped their life and current situation. The novelty wears off by episode 4.

All the sci-fi mumbo jumbo is, in fact, unnecessary. All the stories would be just fine even if you remove the stray themes of time travel, dystopia and space travel.

The writers tried hard to lend depth to the characters but in just 30-minute episodes, it is hard to delve deeper. All in all, a decent watch. But don't expect Black Mirror kind hard hitting themes.

Being a science fiction fan I just had to check out "Amazon Prime Video's" "Solos" series as it's an anthology that involved different characters and different stories. Most episodes involved life struggles that involved family, future, time travel, memory, loss, and dealing with pain. The stories and episodes are written well and they twist some you the viewer have to pay attention and it featured well known stars as Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Mackie, Helen Mirren and other up and comers and known stars. However watching thru each episode as the characters memory loss and time problems are related and you see things are tied up and a conclusion is reached in the final episode(Note: watch the Morgan Freeman episode last!) Overall okay good decent anthology series that was different as you the viewer can make your own call as it's spin on life, space, time, future, past, connection, and memory experience that was an interesting watch.

This is a fascinating and superb piece of experimental drama. I recall the first time I ever saw something similar as a child. Whoopi Goldberg did The Telephone in 1988. I was mesmerised, as a love of both screen and theatre, it was the perfect presentation and merging of both mediums.

Then in 2002 Johanna Lumley did Up in Town. It is seldom we see performers of this calibre doing theatrical work on screen like this and living in South Africa makes is difficult and expensive to travel. So now we get to see these performers at their best as well. This might be a product of Covid, but I sure hope that we get to see more of this in the times to come.

This series is not for the average audience, but for an audience who are more discerning and enjoys higher end drama. If during these times, if we can't have anything else, we can at least have some culture.

The themes that echo through each episode, and there are so many, are perfectly timed and toned for an "almost at the end" pandemic release.

While Solos is an anthology-style series, it is not a series of standalone episodes. It is a comprehensive mini-series telling a single, self-contained story with a specific ending.

The writing is really stellar, and the acting is superb, both of those skills coming together to create something that is a series of monologues that rarely feel monologue-ish.

I'd love to go over each of the themes but it would get spoilerish, but I can say that for those who get this and understand what they were doing with it, the themes are poignant and meaningful and deeply emotional.

The tie-together at the end is almost perfect, except that the episode "Nera" is only vaguely referenced, and also didn't seem to share a mini-connection to any of the others, as the rest of the episodes all seemed to do. It is the most isolated of all of the episodes and has had me rewatching and pondering why. Was it editing that removed its connection from the rest or was it intentional? There is so much about it that doesn't fit with the rest. It does contain nearly all of the themes, but it has a really strong "one of these things is not like the others" feel all the way through it.

The final episode is so rich and full of meaning and reference... it's astounding. The acting is perfect. Morgan Freeman's subtle face changes are brilliant.

I think my favorite episode is the one featuring Constance Wu. The emotional journey she takes us on is a gut punch. It is also the first episode that really gives us a clue as to what is happening on the larger scale.

I loved the re-use of specific language in different settings, with different meanings, but meant to echo back to the things we'd previously seen, sometimes casting new light on them and bringing out different understanding.

Two things to watch for that you might not think of on the first watch: 1: listen to the narration Morgan Freeman gives for each episode. Once you realize he's not just a narrator but a character, and what his role is in relation to all of them, the narration takes on new meaning. 2: look at the pictures they selected to fill the letters that open each episode.

Oh, and this is not Black Mirror. It's not meant to be anything like Black Mirror. Comparing it to Black Mirror is like comparing ET to Arrival. Just because they're both sci fi and anthology series doesn't mean they're both apples. You can enjoy both equally without trying to compare them to one another.