TV SHOW REVIEW - The OA: Season 1
By The Masked Medic
So occasionally I’m in the mood to sit and watch something new, and although I’ve got lots of shows to catch up on, it feels slightly different to take someone else’s recommendation and just go with it. In this case, it was my wife who wanted to show me a show she had watched on Netflix many years ago, which she thought I’d enjoy!
The first season of ‘The OA’, sees Prairie Johnson, a young woman, return to her home after being missing for many years. However, her return garners a lot of attention, given that when she left, she was blind, and on her return had gained her sight. As Prairie tries to settle back into her previous life, it’s evident that something has happened to her, and she tries to find a group of people who she believes are worthy of hearing her story. The collection of people who answer her call is certainly an eclectic bunch. There’s Steve, the local bully, French, an academically and athletically gifted student, Buck, a young trans boy, Jesse, a reserved loner, and the most surprising of all, Betty, a middle-aged teacher at the school where all these students go. Despite their initial skepticism they sit and listen to Prairie’s story. She tells of her difficult childhood and the traumatic experience that changed everything. She then tells them of her meeting with Dr Hunter Percy, known as Hap, whose obsession with people who have gone through near-death experiences has led him to do the unfathomable. She finally tells them of the group of special people she met through this experience, whom she is desperate to get back to. Will this ragtag bunch believe the story she weaves? And can then help her complete the mission that she believes she was made for?
Okay, let’s start with the group that Prairie recruits. Jesse and Buck are played by Brendan Meyer and Ian Alexander, respectively. Both did a good job, but their characters were slightly overshadowed by the others, and we didn’t really learn much about them. Playing Alfonso French was Brandon Perea. I liked French, because his scepticism and intelligence led him to finding a lot of answers to questions I was asking myself. There were a few familiar faces in the show, too. Playing Betty, the shy but kind teacher, was Phyllis Smith, who played Phyllis in ‘The Office’. I have to say, the two characters were very, very similar, but it was still fun to see her. As Hap, was Jason Isaacs, famous for playing Lucius Malfoy in the ‘Harry Potter’ films. His portrayal of this charming but also cold character was commendable. It was difficult to dislike him. We also had Riz Ahmed playing Elias Rahim. His role was small, but I always like watching him play American characters. There were two standout performances for me. One was Patrick Gibson as Steve. The character development was phenomenal, and watching Steve go through those changes was fascinating to see. Finally, our protagonist, Prairie, was played by Brit Marling. Prairie is such a multi-layered character, and Marling was able to capture that essence perfectly. Plus, playing a blind character, in my opinion, is so difficult!
This show was, in a way, exactly the kind of thing I like to watch, but also thematically, there was a lot going on. I really enjoyed the flashbacks, and the way that Prairie told her story was very engaging. However, all the scenes in the present, in the small town, seemed slightly boring at times, and it was difficult to build authentic connections with all the characters. Now don’t get me wrong, it was clear that the show was attempting to help, and there was character development, but due to the nature of Prairie’s mission, it felt that she wanted out of this place, and so in a way, did I. There were certainly some interesting themes explored in the show, regarding consent, the shared bonds of those that have been in traumatic experiences together and even to a certain extent faith. Something extremely interesting to me was that this was a Netflix-produced show, and it came out in the same year as ‘Stranger Things’. The two shows are similar, but the latter took off with fans quite well, and I think that may be where ‘The OA’ lost out, with Netflix prioritising ‘Stranger Things’ over it!
Netflix tends to have decent budgets, and so a lot of the cinematography was good. Some of the scenes of Prairie experiencing the near-death experiences were great. In terms of music, there was certainly an importance placed on it, with regard to some of the characters, but I think the general soundtrack was not prominent. Overall, this was an interesting show, one that I’d like to return to, in order to see where the story takes our characters!
Rating:
Story: ★★★
Acting: ★★★
Filmography: ★★★½
Integral vs Filler Episodes: ★★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★