A Murder at the End of the World

First off, I adore Brit Marling and all her work, I have been a big fan since Another Earth and her way of writing and directing along with acting is top par, (along with Zal Batmanglij and Mike Cahill) but maybe because I am familiar with her work I expected a little bit more from this show. At the end of the first episode is was obvious who the killer was and by mid-episode three is was obvious how it was done. After that it was just a wait to get to the end and the "reveal".

Apart from that the blueprint is classic Agatha Cristie, with a bunch of strangers isolated from the world and an amateur sleuth trying to solve the "whodunit" when one of them untimely dies. The setting is interesting and the location beautiful and quite original, the show is well worth a watch if you are into classic detective stories, I just wasn't so blown way by it as I expected going in.

This show has the premise of something brilliant. A murder(s) in an isolated area, with multiple suspects with unknown motives. A perfect replica of any Agatha Christie show which should have sated the most ardent mystery lover but didn't really in the end.

A lack of character development failed to offer the mystery required for such a show. They are never truly revealed even at the end. A motive for suspects is always a compelling factor, but again, never developed or even really tempted to be known, not even at the end.

The murders are not deeply investigated, nor properly made to be indifferent. There are clues thrown in, namely obvious because of their obscure appearance, which mean something, but never expanded on, and end up as just a forgotten mention.

In the end, the killer and motive are revealed. But..... will it be enough to convince? A very mild, laid back finale ends the series almost quietly. Possibly disappointing to some, but expected these days as shows become less original in surprises.

Definitely worth watching, just for the thrills of guessing. Nothing too new but produced well enough to warrant watching 7 episodes.

Just finished watching the complete series. I don't agree with the negative reviews that have been posted here. I don't like to second-guess anyone, but I think people are overreacting to what is, to my mind, a well balanced, and enjoyable story, nicely paced, and well told. The relationship between Darby and Bill, with his passion and problems, rings true for me. And I especially enjoyed Darby's backstory as the daughter of a corner, and an amateur sleuth. It's certainly far better than most series that are thrown together in the endless land of streaming. Believable acting, nice twist at the end. Certainly not the best series ever made. But in my opinion, well worth the investment, from first episode to last. Well done.

Such a great cast. An a wonderful setting, in Iceland. But good God, Darby is an irritating character, and they spend much too much time dwelling on her mournful eyes as she works her way up to her next dumb move, and not enough time on the plot.

The entire series is devoted to plumbing the depths of Darby's character as she tries to stay ahead of the killer. Only problem is, she has no depths. Just those mournful eyes and a frail body.

It's a shame to see such a great cast so underused.

This series is a draft, and needed a lot more editing. The acting can't overcome the bad writing.

Watch it for the scenery, the lush production values. It's enough to make me want to go to Iceland. But don't watch it for the plot or the characters.

There is a lot to praise about "A Murder At The End Of The World": the production design, the extraordinary location (Iceland - a feast for the eyes of any "winter person"), the hypnotic score, the convincing and committed performances, particularly from Emma Corrin who resembles a lot a young Jodie Foster. There are passages that speak about cell phones and technology more eloquently than I ever could but say exactly what I want to say. However, many of the secondary characters are not developed enough, and the overabundance of flashbacks deflates some of the tension in the "present" tense; the ending is OK but not mind-blowing. The series does not reach the heights of the best episodes of "The OA", the previous project by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, but like its predecessor, it at least represents the vision, flaws and all, of its creators and not of a studio executive conference. It's an "auteur" endeavor in an era of mass factory production, and that is commendable. 7/10.