How does a family continue to function when one member goes missing? How do the parents grapple with such a situation? And does this irreversibly alter the course of their lives? Director Lulu Wang delves into these inquiries in the third episode. While the children maintain their routine lives, the parents- Margaret and Clarke are distorted. Margaret, driven by desperation, initiates her own investigation, painstakingly connecting the dots and “paying attention to the details” in her quest to discover the truth which, intensifies with time. Meanwhile, Hilary faces a different kind of desperation, desperation to save her marriage. On the outside, she tries to paint a picture of a “normal” marriage, only this time, she and us know the truth behind it. During dinner table conversations, friends probe her about her decision not to have children. And that does bother her a bit, but not more than the fact that her marriage is falling apart. But the question- can she save her marriage?
Mercy, on the other hand, has accepted her family’s assertion- she is a cursed and an unlucky human. She continues with her life, even getting involved with a married man whose life is no less complicated. You see dear reader, each character and their family in this show grapple with far-from-easy lives. And this is what forms the premise of this show. They are dealing with problems one can only imagine and pray that it doesn’t happen to them. This creates a sense of sympathy with the characters- each fighting their own battles helplessly, some silently, some not so silently. The plot progresses faster with each episode keeping viewers eagerly anticipating the unfolding events. We can find ourselves, like Margaret, craving for the truth.
Are they able to uncover the truth? What exactly happened on the faithful evening? Is the unexpected death of the neighbor and the abduction interrelated? From all these, we can definitely draw a conclusion that there is something more to this case, there lies a deeper complexity to the case beyond a simple kidnapping.
Actress Nicole Kidman as a frantic mother in search of her child convinces us with her portrayal of the character. Sarayu Blue as Hillary who is making continuous attempts to save her dying marriage and reconcile with her estranged husband to evoke empathy for herself. Ji-young Yoo as Mercy- a young woman trying to navigate herself through her chaotic life similarly persuades us of the same.
And that is the beauty of this show, we as viewers want to empathize with the characters, especially the women in the show. The miniseries is both intense and gripping, leaving us with the same unanswered questions as the characters within it are searching for. With each episode, the urge to discover and unravel the truth intensifies.
Final Score - [8/10]