Synopsis:
Greg and Marie have been married for nineteen years, when, seemingly out of the blue, Marie walks out on him and her three children – the last taboo of parenting.
When was the last time you watched a show that truly grabbed your attention from the start? One that leaves you with questions after just the first ten minutes that you really want the answers to. Well, come get your drama fix because Come Home is a show that will rival your top television dramas. While part of the story is unusual, Come Home is one of the most grounded and realistic dramas that I’ve seen. When I say unusual, I mean that we don’t see this story depicted often. In American culture, sadly, it’s common to see single mother households. Even if the household is thriving, it’s difficult for anyone to raise a child alone, let alone multiple children. Many narratives will lead you to believe that the fathers are absent due to incarceration or death, but sometimes they simply leave and the child will never know why. Nevertheless, many mothers are resilient and find a way to do what only fictional characters can do, be two people at the same time. What we don’t hear or see very often is a mother abandoning her family, especially without reason. That’s what makes this show is unique. I find that we constantly forget that parents are still people.
They still have dreams, goals, and ambitions that they may want to achieve. Just because their priorities have changed, doesn’t mean that any of those aspirations have disappeared. The children should always be the priority but the adults have to remember to take care of themselves as well. In Come Home, we get to follow the trauma while examining the psyche of everyone affected by the mother’s decision to hit the eject button. Each episode of this three-part miniseries unfolds like a movie with no one’s hands being as clean as you think. It’s rife with sabotage, deceit, heartbreak, and realism that I don’t find in shows of the same genre. Additionally, it’s full of love. The kind of unconditional love that makes people do uncharacteristic things and make terrible decisions. Also, one giant secret that could unravel everything. Not only is the show refreshing with it’s flipped take abandonment and love but there’s no filler. Everything and everyone served a purpose and really got a full scope of all the characters. My only beef with the show was the ending, mainly because it pissed me off. With the show being as grounded as it is, the ending makes sense. Overall, the tone, pace, and cinematography are top-notch; Come Home is terrific. Its rewatchability is high.
Plot & Pace
Set in Ireland, the show follows Greg, a newly single father of three who is attempting to move on after his wife of nineteen years walked out on the family a year ago. Even while out finding a new mate, Greg can’t stop thinking about Marie and would take her back in a heartbeat if she returned. He wants nothing more than to obtain Marie’s reasoning behind her actions so he can’t fix it. Since he can’t fix his situation, he takes on someone else’s. That someone being his new mate, Brenna who was in a terrible marriage. It was an easy transition as the two were already familiar with each other.
After realizing that Greg is a good man, Brenna wants to keep him at all costs. However, Greg still hasn’t given up hope that he can get Marie back. Everything going on is negatively affecting the kids, two of whom are teenagers. It begins to create a rift in the family dynamic as things begin to look bleak for Greg and all his efforts. Once Brenna’s past threatens the security oh his family, Greg must fight to keep what he loves close to him.
The pacing of the show is almost thriller-like. Each episode builds to a final payoff that segues perfectly into the next episode.
Characters & Chemistry
No one is perfect in this story, everyone has something to hide. Greg (Christopher Eccleston) is a hardworking, loving father who cares deeply for his wife. However, he may not have been as good a husband as he thought. Marie (Paula Malcomson) comes as selfish and regretful. Her reasons for leaving have validity but she is harboring a secret that outweighs how she feels. Brenna (Kerri Quinn) is sneaky, manipulative, and controlling but she makes Greg happy. Her secrets could undo what she has built with Greg and push him back to his ex. Eccleston is fantastic in his role. His facial expressions are intense. You can’t help but root for his character yet also question his possible flaws as well. The whole time you’ll be trying to figure out what’s wrong with him. His chemistry with Quinn’s character felt very genuine and in his case, deserving. Malcomson’s chemistry with Eccleston evokes lots of emotion as the story unravels. In my case, mostly anger and then confusion. Oh, and all I could think about Anthony Boyle’s character, Liam is that he gave me eventual Criminal Minds unsub vibes.
Come Home will be available to stream on Topic on August 13th. Enjoy and stay safe.
Director: Andrea Harkin
Writer: Daniel Brocklehurst
Producer: Madonna Baptiste
Runtime: 3 episodes, 1h per
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.
