It seems to have taken Netflix by storm lately, and we’re in the middle of a lockdown, so I ploughed through The Stranger over a couple of days, and I can safely say that the hype is justified.
The Stranger is a British mystery thriller series based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. The premise is simple, a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen) tells a family man (Richard Armitage) a devastating secret that has a profound impact on his life… This sets off a chain of events that will change everyone’s lives forever. That’s all I’m going to say!
The best part about The Stranger is that it doesn’t waste any time in hooking the viewer, within the first ten minutes I was completely engrossed in what was going on and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. As each episode finished, I had to watch the next to find out more. If a mystery series is achieving this, then it’s already a hit!
The Stranger has a various number of plot threads going on during the eight-episode run. The fun part of the mystery was trying to work out which of these plot threads were relevant to the overall story, and which ones were red herrings, albeit interesting ones. I was invested in all the stories being told because there is a sense that everything is connected, as well as that, they’re all incredibly interesting and you’ll want to see the resolution, even if it doesn’t have as much significance as you might have once thought, or it will go off in a direction you never expected and open a whole new can of worms. It’s going to keep you on your toes, that’s for sure! I worked out some parts, but then other moments were unexpected and completely threw me. Not once did I feel confident in my theories, which is key to remaining invested in a good mystery.
This is a proper British-drama with an extremely talented cast that all do a fantastic job. It’s tense, atmospheric, dark, and one of the most gripping series I’ve seen in a long time. If you ever saw the first season of Broadchurch, which was equally fantastic, you might see some similarities in tone and structure, which absolutely isn’t a bad thing.
If you haven’t seen The Stranger yet, then make sure you do, you won’t regret it!
I give The Stranger an 8.5/10.
Wado Reviews 