Murder is an action condemned with instantaneous punishment by law. But what happens when a mother’s love for her estranged daughter takes over and leads to the brutal murder of three women?
Netflix recently released an adaptation of the novel “His & Hers” written by Alice Feeney, turning the bestseller into a psychological thriller packed with unreliable narrators and a wild plot, as it begins with a dead body found in the woods of a small town in Dahlonega, Ga.
Karringtyn Wilder, ‘28, heard about the show from her friends and decided to watch it for herself.
“It was so good,” Wilder said. “I enjoyed the filming and the way it makes you think you know the truth when really you don’t.”
The show features estranged spouses, a terrible county detective and an Atlanta news anchor, played by Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson. Bernthal and Thompson both displayed captivating performances; you simply couldn’t keep your eyes off the screen. The story is a cliche genre of murder mystery seen in media before, but it still somehow surprises you in the end.
The show’s entire validity rests on the flashbacks of each character; flashbacks can create a lazy and confusing plot. It can be hard to follow at times, but lazy is not a word that should be used to describe this piece.
The plot became sort of inconsistent at times, along with the acting. The way Thompson’s accent randomly falls in and out, and the amount of coincidences that eventually help the show find its conclusion.
Thompson delivers one of the best performances of her career in the show, displaying a grieving mother and friend in an interesting way, unseen in television and movies before this. We see her growing rivalry but also tenderness for Bernthal’s character, and their growing suspicion for one another throughout the case.
A foundation of characters previously known to the audience is completely upended in the last episode. Everything the audience thought they knew is completely discredited by a letter.
Rosalee DesRoschers, ‘28, thinks the show is a testament to a mother’s love and the things they are willing to do for their children, no matter the consequences.
“My mom told me she would do anything for me after watching this show,” DesRoschers said. “It feels like such a loving relationship between mother and daughter, but also strangely complex in the way the story is told.”
If murder mysteries and classic whodunits are your thing, this is the story for you. The show utilizes both of these components to evoke feelings of suspense with characters that cannot be trusted.
“I genuinely thought it made sense to be all of the characters at one part in the show; it was a complete whirlwind,” DesRoschers said.
Most mysteries at this point have become predictable and repetitive, but it’s interesting how a foundation of characters, and what is supposedly their backstories, comes out to be totally untrue and leaves your suspicions shifting between truth and fiction.