‘Behind Her Eyes’ shows romantic abandonment can turn into psychotic jealousy fast!

Category: Television and Streaming

 

Nothing can prepare you for this twisty psychological mystery/thriller unless you’ve read the source material – Sara Pinborough’s best-selling 2017 novel. Set in the domestic space of present-day London, Netflix’s new limited series, Behind Her Eyes, depicts a volatile entanglement of three lonely and unhappy people harboring dark secrets.

It’s impossible to find a decent man let alone an attractive eligible bachelor, particularly after you were betrayed and abandoned by your husband. Louise (Simona Brown) feels like she’s stuck in her mundane, uninspiring divorcée’s life revolving around her 7-year-old son Adam (Tyler Howitt).

As luck would have it, Louise meets a tall, dark, and handsome Scot at a local bar and shares a kiss with him. The mystery man, however, turns out to be her new boss, psychiatrist David (Tom Bateman). And just to rub salt into the wound, he happens to be married. Of course all the good ones are taken!

A ‘chance’ encounter with Adele (Eve Hewson), David’s Stepford wife, draws Louise right into her world of mind games. Adele appears to have it all, but she makes Louise privy to her emotionally suffocating marriage in so many subtle ways. She alternately bullies and charms Louise into a fast friendship behind David’s back.

Lurking beneath this picture-perfect couple is a tumultuous past in Scotland full of mysterious deaths, mental disorders, substance abuse, and then some. How far will the poor little rich girl go to guard her secrets? How long will her knight-in-shining-armor keep up appearances by skirting around the issues? The pathetic couple brings out the rescuer in Louise, but her acts of kindness backfire on her big time. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

Of all the psychological thrillers I’ve seen, Behind Her Eyes takes the cake for its spine-chilling revelation. I certainly hope there will be Season 2 soon and pick up where we left off. If not, the most disorienting ending I’ve ever seen will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Behind Her Eyes premieres February 17, 2021 on Netflix.

 

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter.

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