The Fall Season 1 (2013) Review

So for a few weeks I have seen this show be one of the highest watched shows on Netflix in the UK, so I thought it was time I jumped in and watched The Fall and today I watched the first season of the show and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a policewoman go on the hunt for a serial killer with both of them having unique complexity. 

Main Character

Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame plays the lead here and I thought she was really good, I found it interesting how she is a policewoman but you can tell she is very cold and somewhat emotionless. She is meant to be our hero here and you are rooting for her but it makes it more difficult and more complex that she seems to not really care about anybody else in this show. Jamie Dornan is an actor that shouldn't be remembered for his role in 50 Shades of Grey but he is great here and shows what he can do when written really well. You learn very early on that he does terrible things but you can't help but feel very drawn to him. He is a very complex character and as you see him progress it makes you more interested by his motivations and what exactly he has planned next. 

Supporting Characters

The supporting cast is all really good too, John Lynch plays the Police Captain and I thought he did a great job, he just seems like a good captain and the dynamic between him and Anderson is an interesting part of the show. Niamh McGready plays Anderson's second and I thought she did a good job, their characters are so different and there contrasting personalities makes for an interesting dynamic.  The rest of the characters are great with some guys who has been on Game Of Thrones so you know they have high quality, I don't want to go into too much depth because it is difficult to talk to them without spoiling the plot but everybody here acts fantastically. 

Story

The story is great, this show does a really good job of showing the manhunt from two different points of view, you learn more about the hunter and prey which I thought was a really good decision. Usually shows like this don't give us enough detail about the antagonist but this show does a good job of it and portrays two really interesting characters. However, here comes my one issue with the show and it is simply that there are a couple of side story arcs that don't have much to do with the two leads and it feels out of place here and made me wonder why it was here at all. 

Script

The script is really good, the dialogue just feels really real. Nothing is really over embellished and over the top and feels very real why being very dramatic. There are a few bits of humour, mainly from Anderson's deadpan nature which works well. 

Style

The style of the show is great, it is super interesting and keeps you second guessing throughout. Even though the is a show where you know more then the main character it works because you are seeing the show from a few different perspectives. Also it is only 5 episodes which means it does a good job of never getting boring and it feels about the right amount. 

Overall

Overall, this is a fantastic first season of this tense show. It does a great job with its main story and its characters and the style will have you invested and hooked, it's not too long so give this one a watch and hopefully the next two seasons are of such a high quality. 

Rating - 9/10