In a recent review, I praised Quibi’s Most Dangerous Game. This bite-size streaming service is delivering some stellar performances with big names. While the Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz-led show and Sophie Turner’s Survival are some of the most talked about Quibi series, The Stranger is a must-watch. The Stranger released its final episode today and considering how short the episodes are, you definitely have an hour or so to spare. The show is created, written, and directed by Veena Sud. Sud is the talented woman behind AMC’s The Killing and Netflix’s Seven Seconds – two criminally underrated shows.
Be Careful Who You Pick Up
The Stranger stars Maika Monroe and Dane DeHaan. In general, I believe DeHaan is underrated. He certainly is the center of everything creepy and unsettling in this series. Monroe stars as Clare, a young woman having just left Kansas to pursue a better life in Los Angeles. To make money on the side, she becomes an Uber driver (they don’t call it Uber in this). Things go awry when DeHaan gets in her car. While he initially seems like a very normal fellow, he quickly reveals horrific news of who he is, what he’s done, and what he plans to do to Clare. From that moment on, Clare is thrown into a terrifying, heart-pounding, and chaotic night.
Slight Spoilers
Every episode leads to a new mystery in this series. We follow Clare throughout her escape from DeHaan’s Carl. The question is, what is real? For most of the show, you are unaware as to whether or not Clare is actually being pursued by a sociopathic killer. Or is it all in her head? The show does a great job in not revealing that. You’ll find yourself doubting yourself and still not convinced, even when the answer is revealed.
Rating: 4/5
The Stranger feels slightly “Black Mirror”-ish with technology at the forefront of how everything goes down. At times, the show does feel like it’s not taking place in our current reality, rather a construct similar to Netflix’s Black Mirror. You’ll find yourself questioning everything each character says. Monroe’s character does a great job in keeping a lot close to the chest and you don’t know if her paranoia is sincere or not. DeHaan is clearly the standout of this series, as he was just so psychotic and cunning. You felt as if you would never be free of him. While some may have felt let down by the ending or that it was a little unrealistic, I enjoyed it. It felt like a victorious end to the nightmare that was Clare’s night.
What did you think of Quibi’s The Stranger?
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