The Stranger, Netflix’s latest mystery import from the UK, was adapted for television by Danny Brockelhurst and is based on the Harlan Corben novel of the same name. Put simply, it is about a small town in England that implodes when a beautiful stranger (Hannah John-Kamen, Ant-Man & The Wasp) reveals their darkest secrets.
Episode One begins with the devastating revelation that Adam’s (Richard Armitage, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) wife faked the pregnancy that made him stay with her. This news was given to him by a strange woman (the titular Stranger) after his son’s football game. After some intense research, the secret is proven to be true, but his wife insists there is more to the story.
Meanwhile, the naked body of a teenage boy is found by detective Johanna Griffin (Siobhan Finneran, Downton Abbey) on the same day that an alpaca has been found decapitated in town. As the episode goes on, it becomes apparent that the two incidents are connected.
Episode Two begins with The Stranger revealing to bakery owner Heidi (Jennifer Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous) that her daughter is on a sugar baby website where she dates older men for money. Heidi is blackmailed for money in exchange for her daughter’s dark secret to be kept just that, a secret. It’s a secret that more than just Heidi wants to keep.
Adam’s wife Corrine (Dervla Kirwan, White Dragon) has gone missing. The only sign of life is from a few text messages sent out to a few random people. When Adam’s client Martin (Stephen Rea, The Crying Game) mentions a large, unsolved missing persons case, Corrine’s disappearance becomes more worrisome.
The story of the naked teenager and the decapitated alpaca begin to come together as the people involved are revealed, and more people are guilty of crimes which only now are coming to light.
Episode Three begins with The Stranger telling a bride to be, Michaela (Ritu Arya, The Umbrella Academy) that her fiancé, Marcus, is guilty of posting a sex tape of her and her ex online, when she believed it was her ex, David, the whole time.
Corrine has been accused of committing a crime and her mysterious disappearance has made her look incredibly guilty. If she is guilty, crime seems to run in the family as her son, Thomas (Jacob Dudman, The A-List) has a connection to the alpaca.
The naked teenager, Dante (Kai Alexander, Catastrophe) had videos and photos of various girls and women in his room, including several of Corrine. Now the two are connected, but the question is whether or not their mysteries are connected.
The Stranger is reminiscent of another Netflix show, Dark, in that the entire town seems to be guilty of something and all of their stories are intertwined. While this “stranger” claims to want to save the innocent, she seems to be causing more chaos than liberation.
The show is an easy one to binge. The original draw was the appearance of Anthony Head, which any fellow Buffy fan will recognize as Giles, but the show sold itself after the first episode. Every time you think you have it figured out, someone else comes into the story to shake things up. The web of deceit is filled with enough mystery that you cannot possibly stop until you know who the spider is at the center of it all.
The Stranger is a must watch. Settle into your couch and surround yourself with enough snacks to last about five hours, because you are going to want to binge this one.
