Hidden

After all the Scandinavian noir rip offs and serial killer mythology it was nice to see a straight forward rendition of evil. A female detective with no quirks or neuroses, and a monster with a human face. It's not for the shallow hearted. It is necessarily slow, it is 3/4 in Welsh, and it is bleak in it's depiction of rural Wales. But it tells it 's story by blessedly avoiding all the usual serial killer tropes. No rituals, no symbols to be decoded, no need to call the FBI, and no psychological prattle about motive.It's not a whodunnit, or a whydoneit, just a head on depiction of the banality of evil. With a mother from Hades.

This is one of those shows where you could easily stop watching early on due to the slow pace of the early episodes, my advice is don't, watch it to the end, it is worth it. If you give up before episode 4 you will have missed out, it might take that long to really hook you in. It grabbed me from the very first episode and would not let go, but I was lucky enough to be able to binge watch all 8 episodes in one sitting, mind you it was late into the night when I finished watching it.

If I was to compare this to any other show it would be The Fallen with Gillian Anderson, the only exception being that this is not about a serial killer as another reviewer has stated, it is far more involved and complex than that.

If you like really well made, brilliantly acted (the acting really is sublime) detective shows that have depth, watch this and ignore the bad reviews by shallow people who could not have really watched this all the way through.

You have to read subtitles, unless you can understand Welsh, but they are hardly noticeable when you get right into the show.

Series Two has some excellent cinematography, placing grim housing estates against a timeless Welsh landscape. The use of Gaelic, too, gives the viewer a feeling that they're observing a foreign world (and I'm from the UK!). Series One, however, is burdened with a clichéd script, and is stretched out far too long. Rather than the seductive bleakness of Scandi-Noir, there's an atmosphere of unappealing drearyness. Series Two proceeds the same way (I was prepared to give up!), then makes a remarkable turnaround near the end. The conclusion presents a chillingly accurate depiction of a sociopathic youth. There's also a genuine sense of pathos and tragedy - in the way that deprived neighbourhoods can breed this criminal type, and in the devastating effects of their behaviour on the immediate community.

Frankly, I don't understand why this is getting bad reviews. I too, watch a lot of British drama, and although the pacing is a little slower than most, it's an extremely well-done series. It does start out slowly, but by the third episode I was totally invested in the story and the characters. The photography and set design was superb, as was the setting. But what I found most compeling was how natural and real the actors all seemed. Everyone seemed to fit their roles perfectly and the lead actress who plays the lead detective is a joy to watch.

Don't pass this one by. No, it's not frenetic. But it has a rare depth and realism that makes it even more enjoyable.

Script is so slow in parts and there is some editing I would have recommended, such as the episode that outlines the abduction in Ep 4 but I was so impressed with that abilities of many of the tertiary actors, including the sister of Mali and the mother of the traveling nurse. I also found Anglesey to be rather beautiful and liken the mood to my favorite genre of Scandi Noir. Watching in English subtitles makes it a breeze to really hear the language that I, living in Los Angeles and so unfamiliar with.