Fool Me Once, a new Netflix TV show that managed to climb its way up to number one on the charts, is a single-season psychological thriller/mystery. The show features Maya Stern, a tarnished war hero, uncovering the truth about the recent murders of her sister and husband. At first, Fool Me Once focuses on many leads, stories, and people. However, it all comes together in a satisfying way in the end. In my opinion, this series is worth watching because it is short, suspenseful, and creative.

In a very Harlan Coben fashion, this show (which is based off of his book, Fool Me Once), includes many plot twists so I really had no clue as to what was happening until the very end, which kept me interested. After finishing the series, I realized how many misleading scenes the directors included in the show, which only added to the suspense.

One of my favorite red-herrings is when the clues in the show made us question whether Maya’s husband, one of the murder victims, was really dead. It added a whole other element– one where we questioned the sanity of Maya, and therefore, questioned the basic facts that we thought we knew about her and her life. Coben added in many scenes like this– ones where we got thrown off in unpredictable ways– and it just shows how well-thought out this mystery was.

In psychological thrillers, the aesthetics of the show are not always considered because the main focus is normally the story itself. However, Fool Me Once was filmed in Manchester, England, and there are many beautiful scenes and sets included in the show, whether it is mansions, drives, or helicopter rides. The sets always seemed to match with whatever was happening in the show. The houses seemed very livable and realistic for the people in their tax bracket, and its scenery made it seem very real. The sets were modern, which tied into some smaller themes of the show like technology and innovation, and the mansion belonging to Maya’s mother-in-law was both beautiful and disconcerting. The ambiance  of each scene was able to convey a feeling about the people in it, and it added a lot of depth to the characters.

My main complaint about the show is the acting in it. Some lines seem choppy or incomplete, and the delivery was not always perfect. I am not sure if this was because the actors were bad, or if the writing put them at a disadvantage. In particular, I didn’t like the performance of Adeel Akhtar and Dino Ferscher, both of whom played detectives in the murder of Maya’s husband.  

Either way, the questionable acting at times is not a reason not to watch the show. I am someone who is very bothered by bad dialogue normally, and it was definitely not a dealbreaker for the show at all. If you are looking for something to binge that’s not a huge commitment,  Fool Me Once is a great option.