It was one of the series I had pending to see. When it premiered, due to lack of time I couldn't do it at that time. Take advantage of the weekend to finally see this adaptation of the novel by the master of terror Stephen King.
What is the plot?
The mutilated body of 11-year-old Fran Peterson is located in the city of Cherokee, Georgia. Detective Ralph Anderson is in charge of the investigation. Witness statements, security camera images, DNA, etc. All evidence points to the author being baseball teacher and coach Terry Meitland, a respected and beloved person in the community. With all the evidence accumulated, Terry is arrested. But the defense finds evidence that places Terry miles away from the city, he was at a literature conference, there are witnesses and videos that corroborate this. How is it possible that he was in two places at the same time? A succession of tragedies for the rest of the murdered boy's family and for Terry himself, will cause attorney Howard Salomon to seek the help of private investigator Holly Gibney. They will have to work together to find the boy's murderer and clear Terry's name, without imagining that they will have to fight a demonic entity that feeds on pain.
The novel was published in 2018 and the central character is Holly Gibney, who appears for the first time in other novels by the author, specifically in Mr. Mercedes' trilogy, which has also had an adaptation in the form of a television series. I only saw that series the first season and then I abandoned it, I didn't like the course of the story and I forgot about it.
For the television adaptations, the character has marked differences in the different series. In Mr. Mercedes the actress Justine Lupe plays the character and for The Outsider, the actress Cynthia Erivo was chosen to play the character. Although in the novels it is the same character, in the series they are totally different. One of the producers of The Outsider asked King to change the name, but he refused.
In the series The Oitsider , Holly Gibney's character appears in the third episode. She and Detective Ralph Anderson share the lead role in the series. She as a believer in paranormal phenomena and he as a rational person, who does not believe in fantasies.
The first two episodes of The Outsider are phenomenal, they hook us into the story, which begins with the murder of the child, the investigation and the arrest of the alleged author. Although the supernatural element is felt in the atmosphere, it is still a police thriller, with an excellent execution of the shooting outside the courthouse.
If we could evaluate the series in its first two episodes, I would say that it is excellent. But what begins with intensity, from the third episode on, the story weakens. I'm sorry to say, but this story has episodes that are too slow in advancing the plot.
The investigation that Gibney does, visiting different cities, joining the clues and making the discovery of what really happened, not only with the murder of the Patterson boy, but also, the explanation of how Terry Maitland could be in two places at the same time, all this part, keeps the interest. As a spectator, I am discovering the supernatural answers at the same time as she is.
They are the constant scenes of Ralph Anderson, tormented by the fact that his son died a couple of years ago from cancer. This caused a difficult period in their marriage, as we see in the flashbacks. His reluctance to believe in paranormal phenomena, and the scenes of the Maitland family, suffering the consequences of Terry being singled out as the killer of the Petterson boy. This whole part is too repetitive.
But what also prolongs the episodes too much, is the time that the Outsider must wait to recover energies and finish his next transformation. Taking policeman Jack Hoskins as a slave, forcing him to do terrible things. The episodes become eternal between Gibney's investigation and the other subplots, which could have been summarized, to make a more solid story.
I have not read the novel, but I asked a friend who had the opportunity to read it some time ago and he told me that the adaptation is very faithful to the book, which also suffers from having entire chapters that bore him. I have looked at some pages where the readers appreciate the books and most of them are good reviews. But this adaptation, in the form of a television series, I feel that it has chapters that only lengthen the story, more than it should.
The mystery of the series is a bit predictable. When I watched the second episode, I imagined only two options: a supernatural entity, a kind of demon or a being from another planet. The scenes of Gibney's investigation are very well executed, it is the best part of so many tedious episodes. The story could easily have been told in seven episodes, eliminating everything unnecessary, which can make people lose interest.
Precisely from the seventh episode on, the series starts up again to increase the tension, everything is coming together for that great final climax where death will be the star. An intense shooting, with painful deaths of characters who were good people. It is the moment when policeman Ralph accepts that in the world there are things that have no logical explanation.
The final confrontation, face to face with this strange visitor, is the culmination of Ralph's journey, going from being a veteran policeman who only believes in reason, to understand that evil and demons exist, being able to take human form. It is also his journey of redemption, for being the culprit of all that happened to the Maitland family, and he has the duty to clear Terry's name.
The series was directed by seven different directors. Andrew Bernstein was in charge of the direction of three episodes, he has an extensive career as a producer and director, including series like The West Wing, Fear The Walkind Dead, Jack Ryan, House, among others. And Jason Bateman, actor, producer and director, who plays Terry in the series, directed two episodes.
The scriptwriting team consisted of Stephen King himself, Richard Price, Dennis Lehane and Jessie Nickson-Lopez.
No effort was spared to consolidate the cast of great actors. The solid cast is one of the strongest elements of the series.
Ben Mendelsohn plays policeman Ralph Anderson, the man who wants justice for that horrible crime committed in his city. The man who refuses to believe in fantastic things, but who will discover one of the most terrifying faces of evil. He is a veteran actor, who has always loved his job. The fact that he is one of the main characters is reason enough to watch the series.
The actress and singer Cynthia Erivo plays Holly Gibney, a character very appreciated by Stephen King, according to her own statements in several interviews. The actress, with theatrical experience, where she has won awards, and who is consolidating her career with films and series of great prestige. I think she manages to give the character the right form and King himself is happy with that.
Paddy Considine, another extraordinary actor and the one I spoke about recently, when reviewing the series The Third Day. His character, Claude Bolton, with few appearances in the first episodes, will gain more relevance as we approach the final stretch of the series. Bill Camp plays Terry's defense attorney, Howard Salomon. Jeremy Bobb is researcher Alec Pelly. Yul Vasquez plays policeman Yunis Sablo. Marc Menchaca is cop Jack Hoskins. Mare Winningham plays Jeannie Anderson, Ralph's wife and Julianne Nicholson will be Terry's wife, Glory Maitland.
Will there be a second season?
Teh Outsider was promoted as a mini-series, but it seems to have been a success for the HBO platform, which has not officially said anything. But Stephen King himself announced a few days ago, that the showrunner already has two scripts to continue with another story located in the same universe.
The whole book was captured in the ten episodes, most likely they will handle another story, with another mystery to solve. The presence of most of the surviving characters from the first season must be ensured. Would this be planned? The series has a closed ending, but there are some scenes between the two protagonists that left a door open to a sequel.
King said that he had read the first scripts, looking satisfied and saying that it would be quite scary. Everything is in the hands of showrunner Richard Price, who is in pre-production, while we wait for HBO to make the official announcement.
Her first two episodes will capture your attention, and get you into the story, but although it may be tedious in the following chapters, the characters are interesting enough for us to keep watching, preparing us for all the adrenaline and tension that will explode in her last three episodes, in which the forces of evil and good must be confronted.
It is available on HBO.
My Ranking: 3.7/5
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