The Best Show on Netflix (TEOTFW Review)

      The End of the F***ing World, an 8 episode series on Netflix based on the comic of the same name by Charles Forsman, is a feat of entertainment that combines comedy, tragedy, drama, complex feelings of growing up, trauma, and more in a brash and unfiltered, stunningly gorgeous, quick and concise series with a tremendous soundtrack. 

      The series opens on James, who's 17 and pretty sure he's a psychopath. He's looking to move on from killing animals into killing something bigger. Just his luck that he should find Alyssa, who is also 17, the new girl who is fed up with the world. She's convinced herself that she could fall in love with James. The two steal a car and hit the road in a series of adventures that involve blackmail, murder, and robbery. There is a parallel storyline of two cops with a complicated past together tracking James and Alyssa down. 

       This show does not hold anything back. It is brutal in it's language and plot. It is so awkward it is sometimes hard to watch. The characters make bad decisions that make you want to shout at the screen and when they are in pain it physically hurt me to watch. 

       This show captures the complex feelings of being a teenager: being pretty sure who you are, but getting mad at adults when the insinuate that you are confused; getting bored of the only world you've known when everyone else seems to be living adventures on the daily; just coming to terms with the trauma you were unable to handle as a child; and being really confident about your stupid decisions. James and Alyssa, for better or for worse, do not care what anyone thinks of them and they have no patience for any type of crap, a refreshing thing to see. The show is also very real: when on the run, Alyssa gets her period and has to deal with that, something not usually considered in fiction. 

       The character development is spectacular as they come to terms with what they've done, and how who they thought they were crumbles and realizing the person underneath. It is shown in little bits such as, throughout the series, there are voiceovers of what they're thinking, at one point, Alyssa thinks something along the lines of "I'm scared," and then immediately repeats it out loud. That shows how comfortable the characters are with each other. 

      Though it carries a lot of heavy stuff, it is also really, really funny. It carries moments of joy, awkwardness, fear, and vulnerability with a really dark sense of humor. 

      The soundtrack is fantastic. A weird acoustic mix of Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Bernadette Carroll, and an original soundtrack by Graham Coxon. It fits the mood of the show so well I often got goosebumps watching it. The music amplifies every emotion and ties everything together instead of pulling it apart. 

      It is also beautiful. The aesthetic of the world is one I want to live in. I saw something that likened it to "if Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino made a show together" and I don't think there is anything more accurate to describe it. 

      In short, it is niche, and not everyone will like it. Maybe I like it so much because it is a combination of all the things I like to see: British people, overdramatic teenagers, awkward romance, and under the top drama. (Under the top drama being really dramatic things handled with a straight face and a no nonsense attitude, something I always find hilarious.)

      The series is also just 8 20 minute episodes, and could be watched in one sitting as easily as a movie. 

UPDATE: The series has officially been confirmed for season two and I am very excited.