Written by Marley Ghizzone
Between Plot Summary
The citizens of Pretty Lake are dying from a mysterious disease that leaves those under 22 unharmed. The town has been put under quarantine and the remaining survivors try to come to terms with their situation.
There was a lot going on in the premiere episode of Between. Before adults start dying, the main characters are introduced with the main theme being the future. What are these kids going to do after high school, where are their lives going?
Wiley (Jennette McCurdy) is pregnant, but is keeping the dad a secret. We later find out she is giving the baby away to the father’s family for a nice sum of money. Adam (Jesse Carere) is MIT bound. Gord (Ryan Allen) has joined the military and Ronnie (Kyle Mac) is going to be the town’s degenerate drug dealer. Not so sure where resident rich boy, Chuck (Justin Kelly,) is going but it probably has to do with being wealthy.
However, their lives and their paths have now changed. “School’s Out” was a set up pilot. It placed the players and gave the audience a look at their before so the after is more impactful. I’m not sure how I feel about the episode.
It felt like every other show of its kind. People of power have died and a ragtag group will have to come together to defeat the odds. The acting was sometimes stiff and uncomfortable, like the actors were reading off cue cards held behind the camera. The arc of every character is pretty spelled out already.
Another issue I have is that Gord (Allen) does not look under 22. I’ll let it go though, as long as Adam (Carere,) token computer nerd, drops the monotone. I don’t know if that is Carere’s acting style or if that is his take on an intelligent geek, but either way it has to go.
And yet, I’m still interested. I might be a sucker, but at the end of the day I like seeing unlikely people become friends and allies. I think that Between has potential to be an good show on an episode by episode basis. You will keep coming back for more. But I don’t think this will be a remembered and long lasting show.
I would like one question answered for me though. Why do you have a high school teacher with a PhD, who is also smoking hot and 21? That is just wildly ridiculous to me, especially if she and Adam become a thing which it seems to be heading toward with the weird introduction of the character. It is so clunky and unnecessary, I legitimately can’t even deal with it.
The season is only six episodes long, so it wouldn’t hurt to watch them. If you like sci-fi or young people being forced to take on extreme leadership positions then Between is for you. I know I will be waiting until they are all fully available on Netflix and binge watch them in one afternoon. I can see the flaws, but that won’t stop me.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
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