Echoes – a Netflix limited series about twins who swap places and the trouble they get into
Echoes is a limited drama series on Netflix about identical twins who habitually swap places with each other. It’s set in a small, American town called Mt. Echo, where almost everyone knows the history of the identical twin sisters and their family.
I know I tend to watch a lot of K-dramas but, for once, this isn’t a Korean drama. It’s an American mystery drama with a rating of TV-MA, meaning it has some mature elements. Not to be unexpected from a story that may revolve around murders, but it also has some partial nudity (butts, if you need the deets) which is unevenly implemented throughout the series. It seems like they were trying to keep it more modest, but then found out that they were going to Netflix and suddenly added more flesh. It was weirdly done, anyhow.
The story, on the other hand, was obviously planned out. Each scene and shot (at least in the beginning), as well as hints left by actions and dialogue, seemed very thoroughly planned. Although the hook for the trailers and description of the series highlighted the twin-swapping, it actually isn’t explicitly mentioned until the end of episode 1 or even in episode 2. But with that knowledge of the swapping, we can see details in the actions and dialogue that really make it obvious once you know the secret. I almost wish they had kept the swapping out of the marketing materials so that it would be more of a surprise. But honestly, I doubt they would’ve been able to sell the show to potential viewers without revealing the fact because a general synopsis would make the series sound very bland.
Still, I must say that the story drew me in enough to keep me watching a couple episodes. And since this is a limited series clocking in at just 7 episodes, I was past the point where I was watching basically because I was almost done. Unfortunately, as seemingly well planned as the pacing felt, the actual story itself ended up falling flat. It does recover enough by the end to flail to the finish line, but it left a sour taste in my mouth due to how ridiculous the main crux of the premise was. Without spoiling, it was essential a nonsensical culmination of emotionally based nonsense which would not drive any person to do the things they did. It was like the writer started with the mystery and the ending, but was rushed to find a motive. It almost felt like it was based off a literary novel (it was not). I’m just glad that that nonsense was at the end, and by that time I was just going to finish it for the sake of finishing it.
With that being said, the whole experience that supported the story was pretty good. I’m pretty sure they helped string us along far enough through the series for us not to notice that the main points of the story were getting weaker and weaker. And that leads us to the actors.
The main actress was convincing enough that I had to check to see if they actually tapped twins to play the roles. But nope, it was just her. I didn’t bother to look up if the younger version of the twins were actually twins (they are); not saying that they were bad in their roles but rather it was obvious that they were two people. The main actress, Michelle Monaghan, also felt like two completely different people in her roles. Kudos to her. Also honorable mention is the sheriff, played by Karen Robinson. Although her character was annoyingly in-the-know but refused to say anything, especially at the point that we, the viewers, were looking for info, she played the part supremely well. The main characters’ father as well as the husband from LA was great in their roles too.
So we come to the point where I give my thoughts on whether it is worth a watch or not. And honestly, I’d say it might merit a watch, but it won’t be a need-to-watch and, honestly, it’ll be a forgotten series soon. Still, if you’re looking to fill a weekend or something to play while mindlessly doing something else, it could be a good candidate. It is definitely not something to watch in the background because it will pull you in too many times, thus distracting you from whatever you really needed to do.
At the end, it really is the concluding parts of the story that weakens the whole experience, which is a shame.
