A couple of weeks ago, Netflix produced a new, original series titled The OA which is a show primarily based on the idea of the afterlife and the capability of humans exploring the alternate dimension of the afterlife shortly after a near death experience occurs at any given moment during their lifetime. Initially, the show centers its focus upon a blind girl, named Prairie Johnson (played by Brit Marling), whom is apparently escaping some treacherous monster and decides to “free” herself from the clutches of this beast. The show later unravels itself through the vivid storytelling of Prairie Johnson who explains her life story and her experience in the afterlife to 5 individuals whose stories initially appear to be completely unrelated (due to personal background) but eventually discover that their lives comprehensively intertwine and fit together better than pieces of a puzzle. The pace of the show is primarily based upon the rate of Prairie’s storytelling, while other egregious events are unfolding before the viewer, in which the directors decisively implemented in order to elicit interest from their viewers in the same form that Prairie interests the 5 individuals that she chooses to interact with in order for the viewer to feel as if they were included in the show as well. Each episode is roughly an hour and 10 minutes long (with a few outliers every so often). In total, the first season is about 9 hours long which serves as an easy watch to dedicated Netflix binge-watchers. This show received a total of 4.75 out of 5 stars on the Netflix rating system due to the outstanding performances of its all-star cast that ranged from John Isaacs (best known for his performance as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter Series) to Riz Ahmed (best known for his recent performance in Rogue One as Bodhi Rook).

From the grave seriousness to the jaunty optimism that this show provides, it greatly garners the wholehearted attention from each of its viewers right from the beginning. Based off of the comprehensive brilliance comprised within each scene, this show well deserves 4.9 due to the overwhelming number of surprising moments that occur within this show. Even the camera angles totally encapsulated the profound beauty of The OA no matter what state she was in. The majority of the camera angles were implemented in such positions to ensure the comfort and the attention of the viewer which greatly kept the attention of the audience due to the fact that the directors disposed of any instances that would deem themselves too distracting to the premise of the show. The directors intentionally disposed of any scenes that would be too unworldly for the typical viewer in which constructed the show to be perceived as a story that actually took place. The show uses modern technology as well as language which makes it all seem so real. This is one of few shows that is widely underrated in which everyone with an imaginative/open mind should see if they truly feel the need to explore into the realm of the unimaginable.

However, everything good is not gold. The OA contains one intentional flaw that greatly limits its potential of becoming the perfect show. The final episode completely debunked all of the possible theories produced within the earlier episodes of this series in which disposes of the viewer’s imagination which is replaced by a scene full of blandness in order to keep the story realistic. The final scene, however, contradicts this which ultimately confuses the audience because they will be left with a sense of disbelief. The directing staff garnered a substantial amount of wealth from this American drama series and intended to keep the show running for another season so, naturally, they finished the show with their final cliffhanger to attract the audience to the next season which is yet to be announced. Even with this flaw, the show is widely enjoyable by all sorts of fans (not suitable for children under the age of 12) and provides a promising yet wild ride within each episode.