The OA | Geek Node Archive

Genre Fantasy, Thriller
Director Zal Batmanglij
Actors Brit Marling, Emory Cohen, Scott Wilson, Phyllis Smith, Alice Krige, Patrick Gibson, Brendan Meyer, Brandon Perea, Ian Alexander, Jason Isaacs, Paz Vega, Will Brill
Where we got our copy Netflix
Reviewed on Netflix
Available on Netflix

Fame

Published June 1, 2017

It starts out with a girl name Prairie who returns to a life she left behind 7 years before. We learn that she has regained her sight after having being blind for most of her life. While that is a mystery enough, she also has unusual scar-like markings on her body and is immediately thought to have been held captive. But her reactions seems to show there may be other forces at work.

The first 5 minutes struck a chord with me and piqued my interest, but as quickly as it caught me, it let me go. The first episode spirals downward very quickly and the viewer can easily lose interest as the protagonist Prairie fails to captivate us with her character. I suppose the idea is to sell us a shell of a person who has been through heavy trauma, but that never happens and instead of gaining my empathy I found I grew increasingly annoyed with her. The supporting cast (while stereotypical) do poise themselves better, but not enough to pick the pieces left by the star.

The series itself spans across an 8 episode run and while I have previously embraced the delight of how this formula works, I found myself eating my own words. Honestly, the first 4 episodes could easily have been compressed into the pilot (even if that meant a slightly extended running time)! Don’t get me wrong; I generally love character development, but this felt like character development on steroids. (You know big muscle; no D***!)

The series tries to be an alternative choice to or maybe at the least, even lure in Stranger Things fans, but gets itself so far up its own behind that it loses sight of what it wants to be. It gives us little to no insight about the supernatural element that is often alluded to (yet is never really seen). Now while one might argue that is something that will only propel the viewer to tune in for more, I beg to differ. See Stranger Things also alluded to the supernatural elements for a while before letting us see it fully- in all its unholy glory. The suspense built up and we were rewarded for our patience with other engaging stories unfolding among some truly memorable and adrenaline rush inducing in-world chases.

Now while one might argue that is something that will only propel the viewer to tune in for more, I beg to differ. See Stranger Things also alluded to the supernatural elements for a while before letting us see it fully- in all its unholy glory. The suspense built up and we were rewarded for our patience with other engaging stories unfolding among some truly memorable and adrenaline rush inducing in-world chases.

The OA, in contrast, seeks to build up that momentum, but lacks the in-world drama it needs to keep us glued. Admittedly there are rare moments where we are taken back to Prairie’s childhood (and the years and place she was held “captive”) yet these segments just can’t stick the landing as the pacing of the show ruins the momentum of the build up. In short, the series has potential but needs to fast track itself drastically.

The entire season is dedicated to building up to a certain end but fails to deliver a meaningful resolution. The series isn’t lost but needs to start tying up plot threads. Nobody expects to have it all wrapped up neatly at the end of any season. We all need cliff-hangers. But a few payoffs are necessary to quench the thirst of a dedicated viewer.

To put slightly it differently, (and I am probably doing to take a baseball bat to the brain but…) if you love the slow story pace of The Walking Dead, but hated all the gory action, then this may just be the series for you.

Armed with a Netflix subscription I set about on a mission to bring you the next big Netflix Original hit show. If you subscribe to the streaming service you will know The OA as it keeps coming up as a suggestion. So eventually I caved and decided to check it out. It starts out with a girl name Prairie who returns to a life she left behind 7 years before. We learn that she has regained her sight after having being blind for most of her life. While that is a mystery enough, she also has unusual scar-like markings on her body and is immediately thought to have been held captive. But her reactions seems to show there may be other forces at work. The first 5 minutes struck a chord with me and piqued my interest, but as quickly as it caught me, it let me go. The first episode spirals downward very quickly and the viewer can easily lose interest as the protagonist Prairie fails to captivate us with her character. I suppose the idea is to sell us a shell of a person who has been through heavy trauma, but that never happens and instead of gaining my empathy I found I grew increasingly annoyed with her. The supporting cast (while stereotypical) do poise themselves better, but not enough to pick the pieces left by the star. The series itself spans across an 8 episode run and while I have previously embraced the delight of how this formula works, I found myself eating my own words. Honestly, the first 4 episodes could easily have been compressed into the pilot (even if that meant a slightly extended running time)! Don’t get me wrong; I generally love character development, but this felt like character development on steroids. (You know big muscle; no D***!) The series tries to be an alternative choice to or maybe at the least, even lure in Stranger Things fans, but gets itself so far up its own behind that it loses sight of what it wants to be. It gives us little to no insight about the supernatural element that is often alluded to (yet is never really seen). Now while one might argue that is something that will only propel the viewer to tune in for more, I beg to differ. See Stranger Things also alluded to the supernatural elements for a while before letting us see it fully- in all its unholy glory. The suspense built up and we were rewarded for our patience with other engaging stories unfolding among some truly memorable and adrenaline rush inducing in-world chases. Now while one might argue that is something that will only propel the viewer to tune in for more, I beg to differ. See Stranger Things also alluded to the supernatural elements for a while before letting us see it fully- in all its unholy glory. The suspense built up and we were rewarded for our patience with other engaging stories unfolding among some…

TV Series Review: The OA

2017-06-01

Fame

A Boring 6 - 6

60 6

The OA never reaches the heights it promises. While there are moments the series captures your attention, they are few and far apart.

User Rating: Be the first one !

The following two tabs change content below. - Bio

Latest Posts

Fame

Entertainment / Gaming Author at Geek Node

The possible result of lab experiment gone horribly wrong, a real life Anti-Hero with all of the sarcasm/attitude and non-of-the superpowers. Still tears up each time he sees Arnie lowered into the molten metal. Thinks he is super funny… others beg to differ. Was going to live his life ¼ mile at a time until he converted it to the metric system… and would choose the red pill every time. Driven by Dreams and Fuelled by Passion.