‘You Don’t Know Me’ Netflix Series Review - Guilty or Not Guilty?

The series begins with the defendant being accused of the murder of Jamil Issac. All the evidence pointed toward him, but the defendant was given a chance in the court, and that’s when he tells the extraordinary story of his life and what actually happened. Jamil was a drug dealer, who got shot, it could have been anyone behind that act. The defendant accepts that he knew Jamil and knows who really killed him.

Kyra is the girl linked to everything. She came into the life of the defendant, who loved her madly. He can go to any lengths for Kyra and his family. Soothing music is playing in the background when he meets her for the first time. She is a girl who likes to read, her home is literally filled with books. Defendant thinks that if he hadn’t met her, then Jamil would be alive. So, is it her who killed him? Well, you’ll get to know the answer to this question later in the series.

A lot happens in the first episode only. Kyra and the defendant are seen to be madly in love until the day Kyra goes missing. That’s when the defendant’s life goes downhill, and he chooses the wrong path. The series has just four episodes, so it was bound to happen that a lot of information will be included in each episode. But a better approach could have been followed by dividing that duration into more episodes, like 30 minutes each. It sometimes becomes difficult to watch such long episodes and keep track of everything that's happening.

The last episode successfully portrays Kyra negatively and makes the audience believe she was selfish and just looked out for herself. The real face of the defendant is also exposed in the same episode. He completes his speech, and the decision is left to the jury. However, what he presented in court was different than what he told his lawyer.

This show is about the defendant proving himself to be innocent. He tells in front of the court that nobody knows him and what had happened in reality. He wants to tell everyone that he was in love and questions himself about the same, repetitively. The series does change the sense of its title very quickly, as, in the end, it will be interpreted differently. The question that remains, was the defendant a fool to be so blindly in love?

My favorite line in the series was “You can be a mess on the inside, but the world doesn’t need to know that.” These lines are directly addressed to Kyra. She never reveals what was going on inside her and just talked about books. The defendant just knew her superficially.

The version told in court and what really happened was very different. The actor did great with the role of the defendant. Even the audience will fall for him and think he is speaking the truth.

In my opinion, this is an interesting show which doesn’t fail to surprise the viewers till its very last minute. Whether it be the courtroom drama, the defendant giving his speech, mad love, and perfect murder, the series has shown all of it very well. The actors have performed very well. I felt lost in the story while watching it. The extent the defendant went for his love interest and his sister is really amazing. However, the ending could have been better. There is no clear ending, and maybe that was done deliberately so that the viewers imagine and think about what would have happened. Also, it would have been great if the defendant's name was mentioned. Throughout the entire series, which consists of four one-hour episodes, the name of the defendant wasn’t told. I found no such reason why the makers did that or what they gained out of it.

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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