Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.
Plot: Four friends make a pact of silence to hide the events surrounding the unexplained death of their cruel boss one night in the woods.
Review: This BBC One Welsh-based thriller series starts off with an unassuming plot that’s served to us with a star-studded cast guaranteed not to disappoint. The main story builds on the mysterious death of Evans Brewery owner Jack Evans (Aneurin Barnard) who is basically a sports-car driving, hopped-up-on cocaine, misogynistic piece of work that you really wouldn’t like to have as your boss.
At the Brewery’s centenary celebration party Jack becomes extremely intoxicated and is found in the parking lot attempting to force himself on a female employee named Tish (Abbie Hern). This is where the four friends Anna (Laura Fraser), Nancy (Julie Hesmondhalgh), Louie (Eiry Thoma) and Cat (Heledd Gwynn) step in and manage to save Tish.
However, after noticing how out-of-it their cruel boss is they decide to give him a taste of his own medicine by loading him into Nancy’ car and taking him out into the woods to take humiliating pictures of him. Cat starts to take a few pictures on her cell phone but then they chicken out and leave Jack tied up in the woods by himself. After dropping both Louie and Cat home, Anna convinces Nancy to return to the woods in order to set Jack free. However, they discover that he is now very much dead. To make matters more complicated Anna’s husband Max (Jason Hughes) has just been promoted to detective and the Evans case just happens to be his first investigation.
The friend dynamic between the four women is astounding and even though cracks began to show when trust becomes broken it all culminates into what you are willing to sacrifice in the name of friendship. Delicate time was taken to explore and develop the character of each of the four women who become even more bonded by sharing a common enemy in the workplace. However, what is endearing about the series is that each woman has their own personal struggle to overcome, from dealing with a troubled teenaged daughter, to realising that you have been trapped in a marriage that is not only loveless but is not at all as it seems, to struggling with kleptomania and dark family secrets, to having a checkered past.
This six-episode series is a binge-worthy watch that’s mostly catered towards an older demographic and successfully manages to spin the most perfect web of a whodunnit mystery around the bonds of friendship. Definitely deserving of a watch.
Alice’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
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Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More