Saint X

An upper middle class family goes on vacation to a Caribbean island resort - Mom (Betsy Brandt), Dad (Michael Park), 19 year old Alison (West Duchovny), a confident, opinionated, and flirty Ivy League student, and anxious, shy 7 year old Claire (Kenlee Anaya Townsend). On the last night of the trip Alison disappears and is later found dead. Two resort workers and childhood friends Edwin (Jayden Elijah) and Clive (Josh Bonzie) are suspected to have killed her but never charged. 20 years later Claire, now going by Emily (Alycia Debnam-Carey) is living in New York and has finally gotten her life together after suffering a mental breakdown two years prior, when a chance encounter sends her on a treacherous quest for answers about her sister's death.

The story is told in two intertwining timelines. We watch Alison and family on their vacation, day by day, and as they draw closer to that fateful last night, present day Emily/Claire is unraveling as she gets closer and closer to the answers. Additional flashbacks to the aftermath of the tragedy and to Edwin and Clive's childhood provide some explanations and backstory with potential clues. The placement of the flashbacks seems random, but I actually liked it that way. They felt organic. The filmmakers' intent was never obvious. Clues came in subtly and unexpectedly, and it was impossible to tell what was a clue and what wasn't. And the final resolution turned out to be something completely unexpected. There was a bit of a hole in the last piece in the chain of events leading to Alison's death, but the rest of the chain was so great, so surprising, it didn't really bother me. Even the epilogue was full of unexpected turns.

I have to say, I usually can't help noticing holes in just about everything I watch. I didn't notice any here, aside from that one part.

Added bonus. It's more than just a thriller. It's a story about the toll it takes to pretend to be someone you're not.

It took me a few episodes to get into it, but after that I was good. It's really pretty good and well written and produced. Episode 8 is where it all comes together. I don't know how many episodes are planned but as I sit here watching episode 8, it seems as this may be the final episode or at least it could be as everything is revealed. I think the bad reviews are a result of either impatience or a lack of understanding of this type of story telling. I heard some people complain about production values, but the production values are as good as anything else out there. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but as for me, I'm glad I gave this show a chance. It really was very good.

The narrative arc of this gripping mystery is not simple and you do have to pay attention. But that's true to the source material of the novel. Moreover, the point of the story has more to do with complex issues of truth, social stratification, and the search for safety from trauma, than your garden-variety murder mystery usually serves up. Furthermore, the back-and-forth pattern of the storytelling emphasizes the reality of cataclysmic personal trauma: one can never really leave the terrible event in the past. To watch good people self-destruct under the weight of their own bad choices can be intensely moving, but that's why real tragedy has been a staple of great drama for thousands of years. Don't be afraid to give yourself the gift of seeing great actors in a terrible ordeal just because you might have to pay close attention to the time-shifting plot.

Unfortunately the entire premise of the show is flashbacks. If you're into that kind of thing then you have struck gold because it's literally slingshotting between periods every 3-5 minutes. I find it's a horrible plot design for television and doesn't really give you a lot to look forward to.

Also, lacklustre character development in the first episode. I don't really like any of the characters or hate any of them it's just kind of blah acting.

Really wish they would have given us some big moment for the first episode at least to set the pace or get us excited for what's left to come.

It's a miss.

I don't understand the bad reviews. It's a mini series based on a book. I did not read the book so I was going on blind. However, I think it's good. I see a bunch of reviews saying it has "bad acting". I actually think the acting is good. I like the cast. It's got the Natalee Holloway-missing-in-Aruba-feel. Honestly it's a good series to watch because unfortunately we all have a false sense of security when we are in a vacation spot outside of our own country. I'm only 3 episodes in but so far so good. My guess is that the culprit is not the person they are setting you up to believe it is. Have I see better? Yes. Have a seen worse? Oh God yes. It's definitely worth a watch and the bad reviews are being overly critical.