One of Us is Lying Review
It’s time we got another good teenage series from Netflix and I’m so glad to say that this was it. Move over Riverdale, goodbye Sabrina, there is a new top cat in town!
One of Us is Lying is based on a novel of the same title that I have not read but since watching this series definitely want to. It follows five high school students who end up in detention together and one of them is poisoned by peanut oil in his drink, as he has a peanut allergy, and the police believe this is a murder. Of course the four main suspects are the four that were in detention with him and throughout the series we see this slowly unravel as it turns out that a lot more people have a motive for this murder and not everything is as it seems.
The murdered boy, Simon, is the Gossip Girl character of this show. He has a blog where he uploads gossip about people in the school and basically ruins their lives, the one issue I have with this is the fact that everyone knew that it was Simon who was Gossip Girl from the outset. You know that he is the token bad guy and for me this didn’t stand very well because I just can’t imagine that ever happening in a school. Yes, the teachers say it’s off school property so they can’t do anything about it, but the things that he was spewing about the other students around him surely would be classed as bullying and they could give him a suspension. That was the main issue I had with this show and besides that it was brilliant, I just wish that maybe Simon wasn’t so obvious about his misdeeds and maybe that would make for a more interesting story throughout, because then we see who is actually a suspect based on who he was spreading gossip about, and who has a motive.
The four main cast members were really interesting to follow and I love how they had lots of different stories going on to keep you engaged, it wasn’t just following one linear storyline but just lots of little elements that created a bigger picture. I also love the fact in a Pretty Little Liars style that the murderer of Simon was using his blog to still spread this gossip as well as letting people know that it was definitely a murder and not a suicide or accident as was theorised. It’s one of those team dramas that really encapsulates the mystery and excitement of being in a school knowing each other but also not knowing each other at all.
This is one series I cannot recommend enough, it was really fascinating but my issue with it, especially with Netflix’s track record of shows like this in the past, is that it has an open end for a second season. Now there is a second book in the series so there is somewhere that it could go, however I worry that it could become convoluted like other series have on Netflix before, and they can quickly lose it sparkle and shine and become unwatchable.
I really enjoyed the show and I definitely recommend it although I worry about a second season. If there is one I will watch it because I am intrigued to see where the story will go, however I don’t have the highest expectations. This series however was absolutely fantastic as it kept you engaged from start to finish, all of the characters were fleshed out and had interesting back stories to them, and while the ending in some ways was a bit lacklustre for me it made sense to the overall storyline. A lot of the context clues that were being hidden throughout I very easily picked up on, and while they didn’t always lead me down a path that I thought they would, I still had that satisfaction of understanding what was going on and piecing together who the killer could be.
What do you think of One of Us is Lying?
Until next time.
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