What a slow burn this series ended up being, from its slow inception to getting to know all the characters to then a sudden wave of good versus evil twin cliche that we have seen before, this show takes you on a rollercoaster that started out like the It’s a Small World ride and ended like The Incredible Hulk rollercoaster.

Echoes follows identical twins Gina and Leni who, since they have been teenagers, have swapped lives whenever it was convenient for them because no one could tell them apart. It seems Leni and Gina have been doing this a lot and it’s just become a normal part of their lives until one day Leni has disappeared and Gina, who may or may not be Gina because we never know which twin is which, has to return home to find out what happened to her.

Thus begins the whirlwind story of Leni being missing and Gina having to pretend to be Leni (as well as Gina) to keep up this facade that she is well and good, when she is anything but. As the storyline progresses we see how the twins decision to swap lives affects those around them including their own relationship with one another, and how they have many dark secrets behind them that they have been hiding because it could get one, or the other in trouble.

Being set in a small town you really get to understand all the characters on quite a deep level and see the connections between them all, but that doesn’t take away the fact that for most of the season it’s a very slow burn and very long-winded. Of course with every episode something happens and another thing is revealed but for only being 7 episodes long it took me a little while to get through it all because I would often lose interest.

The fact that this story has a lot of depth with the twins was really fascinating but I did find it quite hard to watch because you never knew which twin you were looking at, you never knew who was in front of you at that moment, and so you felt like the town’s people themselves with that you never knew which is which. It’s a really interesting story though looking at family, love, and relationships and how things can easily get entangled when communication drops and lives change.

I really enjoyed seeing how things progressed and when we did finally learn what was actually happening with Leni and Gina, especially around the time of Leni’s disappearance, it really helped add to the story. But to get to that point was quite taxing and not the easiest ride, not because it’s a bad show, just because it took a while to get there and didn’t always keep you the most engaged.

I’m glad I watched this show because I know it’s right up my street but unfortunately I don’t think I’d watch it again because it was just such a slow burn. Maybe if you did watch it again you could notice the little nuances between the twins that you wouldn’t have known about the first time watching and so maybe there is some interesting foreshadowing and hidden elements there that can make another watch successful, but I don’t think I’m prepared to sit down and slog through the slowness to get to that pay off. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend it because I would, it is a really interesting story and if you enjoy slow burn dramas then you’ll love it, but it was just a bit too slow in my opinion and I needed a bit more meat on the bones to be able to really dive into it and enjoy it.

The ending of the show does leave it open-ended to a possible season 2 and if they do go down that route it will not be a show that I would continue to watch. I really like it as a stand-alone series, I think it had really interesting characters and in the end a lot of good development, but if they tried to keep it going for a second season I don’t think that would work and could become quite repetitive. But as I said already, if you enjoy slow burn dramas then definitely give it a go, and if there is a season 2 then I hope you enjoy it.

What do you think of Echoes?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding