Netflix’s Colombian crime-drama series, Medusa, is one among the numerous ‘expose the rich’ narratives of which the streaming platform has now possibly built an archive. But despite following more or less expected storylines and plot twists that are common in such narratives, Medusa is unique in the way it tries to venture through the crevices of the human subconscious by formulating a heady concoction of emotional entanglements, family relations, identity, passion, jealousy, regret, trauma, and, most importantly, the horrors of privilege and patriarchy. Said Chamie and Claudia Sanchez, the writers of the series, expertly handled a myriad of subplots while keeping the central focus on a (not quite) murder mystery—and by the end of the twelve-episode first season, most of the narrative threads connect perfectly into a cohesive whole.

The deft cinematography greatly utilizes the picturesque Colombian coastline, which creates a juxtaposition between the manmade affluence and the...