I am not a Netflix neophyte, but neither am I an expert. A lot of people watch seasons of TV shows on Netflix they have never seen. I watch so much network TV that I’ve seen all the shows that are on Netflix. And I’ve seen most of the movies. So Netflix wasn’t a big deal. Then they released House of Cards and that was a game changer. Now their original programming is driving the train and we are all on board. But, because I’m still big on network TV I haven’t seen all of Netflix’s shows but I’m working on it. A good friend of ours recommended The Stranger, and she was not wrong.

The Stranger is based on a novel by Harlen Coben that was originally set in New Jersey, but Netflix moved it to England because evidently British Mysteries are cooler. I don’t disagree, but along with that coolness comes that British accent, that makes everybody sound smarter, and what they are saying seem more important, but has its own set of problems. I can’t always understand what they are saying. 

Two characters exchange sentences that will make everything clear with hugely dramatic consequences, and Carla goes, “Wait! What did they just say?” And I go, “I have no earthly idea.” So we stop and rewind. Which means instead of going back to right before the two sentences, we wind up 12 minutes earlier and when I try to fast forward back to where we were, I zoom past it and see something that we didn’t need to see until we understood the 2 sentences! This happened at least 3 or 4 times in each episode. It’s not like I don’t know the words they’re using, I just need more enunciation and less mumbling. This is one you need to turn the closed captioning on for.

The series stars Richard Armitage as Adam Price, an attorney that has a wife and 2 boys.  He is approached by an attractive young woman, the stranger, played by Hannah John-Kamen, and she tells him that his wife has a secret and she has been lying to him for the last 2 years. She tells him where he can find the proof and that now that he knows she is a liar he no longer has to stay with her. Then she just leaves. 

When he confronts his wife she says there is more to it and that she will tell him everything, but not right now. While this is going on a decapitated animal is discovered in the middle of town. Along with that comes multiple visits from the stranger to other people, naked bodies found in the woods, a really bad cop, a really good cop, murder, embezzlement, blackmail, infidelity, and so many things that have nothing to do with each other. Or do they? How are they connected? Each episode brings more questions, but no answers. This is definitely a binge show. 

There are 8 episodes, 42 minutes each. Rated TV-MA for language, including the F word.

Edge of your seat twists and turns, a lot of surprises, and a lot of British mumblings that you won’t understand, but overall a good series.

My Score: 4 Solid Budweisers

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