Ryan Murphy's The Watcher miniseries on Netflix takes many creative liberties with the Broaddus family's story, yet has an inexplicably realistic ending that harms the series. In 2014, the Broaddus family (named Brannock in the miniseries) bought a home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, but after receiving creepy and threatening letters, they never actually moved in. The letters had no return address or identifying marks and were simply signed "The Watcher." Given all the changes Ryan Murphy made to the story in dramatizing this case, it is surprising that he chose to end the series the way he did.

Overall, Ryan Murphy creates a gripping mystery, but not a satisfying one. The first five episodes deftly explore the major theories about who the Watcher might be through fictionalized characters and scenarios. Unfortunately, episodes 6 and 7 of the series are a mess of fake-outs and hastily resolved storylines. The Watcher's...