Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 2 -| Review Score – 2/5 Episode 3 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 7 -| Review Score – 2/5 In its simplest form, Echoes is the serialized version of an airport thriller book. The premise is intriguing enough and the story zips along at a good pace, but if you stop to think about the logistics of the plot or characters, the entire story comes undone. And that’s exactly what we have with Echoes. Not only is the premise rather cliched, the execution leaves a lot to be desired, with an uneven kilter of seven episodes that make up a muddled thriller that should have been further fleshed out in the writer’s room. While Echoes doesn’t stoop to the level of CW productions, it isn’t exactly going to light up the small screen any time soon. The story here centers on identical twin sisters, Leni and Gina. They’ve secretly swapped lives since they were children, leading to double lives as adults. When Gina goes missing, Leni heads back home to investigate. In doing so, the meticulously crafted world she and her sister have created turn upside down as secrets are unveiled and destroy everything they’ve built. However, this synopsis only holds for 3 episodes, as the dynamic of the plot changes around this point, with the police intensifying their investigation and trying to work out what the sisters may be hiding. Between a murder, dead animals, psychotic breakdowns and enough twists to give you a neckache, Echoes throws everything and the kitchen sink at the wall – and very few things actually stick. To be fair, episode 5 is arguably the best chapter of the entire show, with the screenwriters diving back in time and actually fleshing out the history that Gina and Leni share. Unfortunately, it’s around this point where one is likely to start questioning the timeline of events and the logic of what’s happening. It doesn’t help that the moral compass and morality of our characters is completely muddled. I’ve mentioned before in previous reviews that Hollywood’s morality and idea of what constitutes as a hero and villain has been skewed for a while, and this production shows that too. We’re led to believe that these two women are our protagonists, but yet they’ve made a life for themselves in lying and deceiving everyone around them. And as the season progresses, this morality is then further broken by clichés seeping in with the tired and overdone “good twin/bad twin” trope. With a double performance from Michelle Monaghan, the acting in this is okay, although she’s not actually the star of the show. No, that accolade goes to Karen Robinson, who plays Sheriff Floss. She’s an absolute scene stealer, with the perfect blend of sassiness and delicious sarcasm levelled at Gina and Leni throughout. Honestly, I know she’s supposed to be the antihero in this but I’d rather have watched an entire show from her perspective. In the end, it’s worth circling back to that airport thriller book analogy. This is a very easy show to pick up but an equally easy show to forget. By the time you’re finished with the 5.5 hour run-time, you’ll be hard-pressed to come back for more, let alone want a second season.
