Surreptitious_Vin

The movie is exactly what its title suggests - Nothing. If the purpose of the movie is to portray the mundane, uneventful life of the protagonist, there are many ways to showcase that than to make the movie itself dreary and mundane. The first exchange of dialogue is after 8 minutes which should put things into perspective.

The newly weds struggle to settle as the wife quickly become disillusioned with the challenges of marital throes. She takes up a janitors job that requires her to work nights, sleeping during the day. She starts growing increasingly sensitive toward sound and unable to keep food down. Thus beginning her transformation which most viewers will miss noticing till they reach the end, those brave souls that do that is. At no point in the movie does the storytelling get any better. The first ten minutes is all that's required to know the pace of the movie which is excruciatingly slow. Even documentaries have more thrill in them than this.

Series started with a bang with season 1 as the Byrdes settle down in Ozark following unsettling events. Marty is the calm loving father devoted to keeping his family safe. Wendy is the homemaker desperately trying to save her marriage. The Byrdes siblings try to make a life and new friends in their new home. A great season 1.

Season 2, tensions mount while dealing with the unsavory, forging new alliances and as the bodies keep piling. Another great season.

Season 3 is where it starts to fall apart. Multitude of unnecessary events that ultimately lead to nowhere. The episode with Mason and his baby Zeke for instance, who by the way never transcends his baby cooing stage despite all the other characters adding inches, extra lines, wrinkles or extra pounds. Half baked characters are introduced and unnecessary conflict created between the leads who has undergone complete transformation in season 2 into annoying characters consumed by their egos. There are annoying situations created where characters are often compelled to comply with manipulative decision making. Basically the same plot cliches of many shows. The only saving grace this season was the character of Ben Davies that in my opinion should have stayed on from a production perspective.

By season 4 the story arc of Marty and Wendy had become a big yawn for me. Charlottes character too had been toned down to oblivion. Minor plots are built, often trudging ahead, only to circle back to where they started. I binged through nonetheless, but only for the supporting roles played by Mel, Ruth and the now rebellious son Jonah, their individual stories and how they played out.

Rating it a 6 based on the first 2 seasons only.

Truly its one of the best shows out there currently, and one of the few where the second season rivals and perhaps even surpasses its preceeding season. A true crime thriller with never a dull moment, Paatal Lok S01 and S02 keeps the viewer glued to their seat till the end. The writing and direction in this whodunnit, is rivetting and spellbinding where seemingly innocuous incidents interweave within the story to unlock larger mysteries.

When the second season kicks off, it quickly becomes evident years have passed following the events from season 01. Life has moved on, so have the protagonist. His colleagues have moved up the hierarchy and are now in commanding positions. Most of the characters though, return for the second season essaying their roles with elan. The viewers are taken on a rollercoaster ride from Delhi to Kohima as the mystery unravels bit by bit in each episode.

The emotional closure at the end is no less and leaves the audience with a lingering feeling long after. Since season 2 was released 5 years after the first its uncertain at this point whether there will be a third, but Id recommend everyone who is a thrill buff to watch this at least once.