4 Kernels
Stars: Michelle Keegan, Adell Akhtar, Richard Armitage, Joanna Lumley, Emmett Scanian and others
Gosh, it seems strange to type “2024,” but nevertheless, here we are in a new year with plenty of shows coming our way. Today, before my current Netflix subscription ends, I watched Fool Me Once. I don’t keep Netflix year-round, but I only subscribe when something noteworthy is on that I want to see, such as The Crown and other series. I’ve canceled and will pick it up again when Season 3 of Bridgerton returns, or sooner if something else catches my eye.
So, through lunch, dinner, and popcorn, I binged this entire series today and now have a headache. What else did I expect after a day of being a couch potato? Was the physical sacrifice worth it? For the most part, yes, but I did something terrible – I spoiled it by taking a break. To my detriment, I did a Google search on reviews after the fourth episode and stumbled across the spoiler that told me who did it. Yet, thankfully I was still surprised at the ultimate outcome.
What’s it about? Apparently, it is based on Harlan Coben’s novel, rated at 4.2 after 52,228 ratings on Amazon. Does the series follow the book? I haven’t a clue since I haven’t read it, but I did get sucked into the mystery early enough to make me useless for the day.
Meet Maya, whose husband was shot to death by an apparent street robbery gone bad. A couple of thugs show up on motorcycles to rob them in the park, and things go wrong as you watch clips here and there of her husband being brutally murdered. Quick scene ahead, we’re at the funeral, and she is at her late husband’s family estate – the rich and the powerful. Maya has a daughter with her husband, who is two years old.
After the funeral, Maya looks at a clip from the nanny cam that a friend gave her and discovers images of her dead husband arriving at the house and hugging their daughter. Shocked at what she witnesses, Maya’s story suddenly flies in a thousand directions as she attempts to figure out what’s happening. To make things more complicated, Maya was a special ops pilot in the armed forces, home from war, but suffering flashbacks and struggling with guilt over what happened that made her lose her career. Before we go down that rabbit hole, let me warn you there are rabbit holes everywhere in the storyline.
As I watched it, I envisioned Harlan Coben, the author, plotting this story. There was no way this going down on film unless the entire script was plastered in post-it notes on a wall. Believe me, between the suspenseful music in each scene, no matter what any of the characters were doing, it leaves you scratching your head in this who murdered Joe Stern inquiry. I had no qualms with the acting or casting, except that Richard Armitage has very little screen time or lines; it’s pathetic. If you’re watching it to see the former heartthrob actor who portrayed John Thornton in North and South, you’ll be sorely disappointed to know he’s barely in this series.
I’m assuming that the author of this story thought that the many plot lines going nowhere would add to the suspense and mystery like layers being peeled back to discover the truth. However, some revelations just aren’t worth the time or energy needed to lengthen the series into so many episodes. The ending, however, does have some redemption, and even though I discovered who done it and who got killed at the end beforehand, I was still shocked enough to gasp at the outcome and poetic justice of it all.
You’ll find a lot of strange bloopers as well as far as editing, but you can let it slide. From reading the audience reviews, it’s a green tomato on Rotten Tomatoes, but more acclaimed by critics at 75%. I think this will fall into most viewers’ love it/hate it category. As for me, I found it entertaining despite its insane length and endless rabbit holes with unnecessary side turns that lead to non-climatic results.
