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Should I Watch This? ‘Safe’

The title card for the new Netflix drama Safe starring Michael C Hall
Credit-Netflix

Looking for a new show is like looking for a new girlfriend after your high school sweetheart kicks you to the curb.  It takes time, patience, and a lot of trial and error.

The aim of “Should I Watch This?” is to save you that time.  By watching a show’s pilot episode, we decide if a series is worth the watch.

Browsing through Netflix, the show Safe always caught my eye.  At 41 minutes, it’s not quite as imposing as the hour-long pilots you typically see.

Michael C. Hall is the lead.  For Dexter fans, it takes some getting used to.  Especially now that he’s got an interesting British accent.

Michael C Hall as Tom Delaney in the new Netflix drama Safe should i watch this

Credit-Netflix

“Mm, burgers,” he mutters, delightfully chowing down at a neighborhood barbecue.  Honestly, it’s quite hilarious if you’ve seen him in other roles.

Safe opens slow.  A lot of exposition.  Different characters introduced — all British.  It’s difficult to tell who’s important aside from Hall’s character, Tom Delaney.

You see, Tom’s wife recently passed and all the while he’s been sneaking off with another woman.  His daughter, Jenny, (understandably) doesn’t like this.

So she runs off, as any teenager would.  A drug-fueled party, in their upscale, gated community, sets the scene for the evening.

We see Jenny greet a guy — her boyfriend, presumably — and they disappear into the crowded dance floor.

Then, she vanishes.

The next morning, a panicked Tom goes house to house questioning parents and kids, begging for intel.  At each house, we see teens who were at the same party.

They appear disturbed.  It’s clear they know something.  But they are reluctant to say it.  Some of the parents also seem as if they’re hiding something.

Jenny Delaney is Michael C Scott's character's daughter in the Netflix show Safe should i watch this

Credit-Netflix

It’s eerie.  The whole town gives off an uneasy vibe.

All in all, lengthy conversations between a glut of unfamiliar characters holds the story back at times.  For that reason, the plot never truly hits its stride.  As a result, we’re left in the dark.

But I guess that’s the point.

While the story leaves something to be desired, the production is crisp.  The editing is quick, building tension at all the right times.  Intermittent flashbacks add a visual element to break up the sometimes-boring dialogue.

The acting is just okay.  Nothing to write home about.  But Hall plays the part of distressed father predictably well.  He also pulls off the whole upper-middle-class English surgeon thing, which is pretty entertaining in itself.

Overall, it’s apparent that there’s a lot to unravel with this story.  These characters are obviously keeping secrets.  They know what happened to Tom’s daughter.

The problem is, I’m not too compelled to find out.

Pilot Rating: 6.5/10
Should I Watch This?
 Give it a whirl (as long as British accents don’t bother you).

British dramas not your thing? Check this show out instead!

Written By

Division III baseball alum (McDaniel College) and founder of Joker Mag. Being cut from my baseball team in 7th grade could have ended my athletic journey. Instead, I found hope in stories of undersized athletes who defied expectations. I ultimately played baseball through college, earning Honorable Mention on the All-Centennial Conference team in my senior season. This experience inspired me to create the world's first digital media platform dedicated to inspiring underdog stories. Since launching in November 2017, my work has been featured on platforms such as FOX Sports, SB Nation, and The Sporting News, reaching over 1.5 million readers world wide.

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