‘The Gryphon’ Prime Video Series Review - A Substandard Fantasy Show

The Gryphon starts in Krefelden in 1984 where Mark can be seen sleeping in his bed peacefully. When he notices a weird-looking sculpture of a frog, noises start coming from the other side of the wall. Soon, his dad comes rushing and starts preparing to leave their home. Thomas, the elder son is along with them. Their dad says that they’re going to the chronicle as there is a danger to their lives. Thomas is warned by their dad that if he doesn’t survive then, he has to save Mark. Their mother tries to stop them from leaving the house by standing in front of the car, but they don’t stop. Petra (the mother) thinks that her husband is hallucinating things, but her opinion didn’t matter at that time.

Ten years later in the same town, we see Mark waking up from a nightmare about the same incident. They lost their dad that night and since then, Mark has been going to therapy. That day he turned sixteen years old and with that age came certain responsibilities. Thomas wasn’t living with the family, and upon meeting Mark after his school hours, he showed him The Chronicle which is a book that has been passed down the generations. Whenever a member of their family turned sixteen, this book containing very special knowledge was passed down. That day was Mark’s turn. After agreeing to come home for dinner, Thomas asks Mark to sign the book. Things don’t remain the same after this incident. Becky, a new girl at Mark’s school also seemed suspicious to me because she tried to talk to Mark. There was a connection we can see between the two in the first episode itself. The Gryphon is an evil creature who can only be killed by a Zimmermann and since Mark and Thomas belong to the same bloodline, it is now their duty to kill this monster.

In a scene in the first episode itself, we can get an idea of the magnitude of the problem they’ll be facing by seeing two cement statues in the shape of grim reapers fighting against each other. The effects used in this and the other scenes are so poor. In the final episode of the show, things still don’t seem to have come to an end thus raising a possibility for the second season of The Gryphon.

In my opinion, The Gryphon isn’t even suitable for the kids to watch. Be it the plot, tacky dialogues, or poor animation, the series fails the audience at every level. A show needs to hold the attention of the audience right from the start, which The Gryphon did very well, but as I progressed to the middle of the first episode, I realized that this is going to be just a poor fantasy film that will disappoint at the end. With all its mystery, tools, knowledge passed down through generations, and enemies (which look like wooden sculptures), The Gryphon is a below-average show which should be skipped by those planning to watch it. It isn’t even suitable for the kids in my opinion. Just as easily as we skip the intro in every show, you can skip The Gryphon just like that.

Final Score – [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times