Every now and then, I begin a television show and immediately know I am going to end up binge-watching it. Search Party was one of those shows. From the first episode, I was hooked. Here are my thoughts on the HBO comedy thriller. FYI, this review will contain many spoilers.
The show starts off with a group of four 20-something friends who went to New York University (NYU) together and are now living in Brooklyn. The main character, Dory, tells her friends about how one of their college classmates, Chantal, is missing. This is the start of a disastrous journey. Dory becomes obsessed with finding Chantal after seeing her in a restaurant, and Chantal runs away. Dory tries to notify Chantal’s family and police about the encounter, but nobody seems to take her seriously. The absurdity of the situations the main characters find themselves in kept me in a constant cycle of watching one episode after another. Just when you think it can’t get worse for the characters, it does.
The beginning of the end was Keith’s murder. I think the biggest mistake made by the characters in the show was trying to cover it up, as it really just drove everyone crazy and screwed up everyone’s lives, having drastic ripple effects. The murder was unintentional, and out of self-defense, so a lot of Dory and Drew’s guilt could have terminated by turning themselves in, which Drew wanted to do, but Dory refused. I was super surprised that Dory and Drew were actually found innocent in the murder trial because of the heaps of evidence against them. Once the trial got going, it seemed like Dory truly did believe she and Drew were innocent. I think it was Dory’s emotional and insanely convincing speech in court that ultimately convinced the jury into thinking they were innocent. Even though I knew they were guilty, I still found myself rooting for them and hoping they’d be found innocent because their character development was done so well in this show.
The best part of the show, in my opinion, was the characters. All the characters have such distinct, unique personalities. My favorite characters were, hands down, Portia and Elliot. Their friendship dynamic was hilarious, and their charming, humorous personalities always added a touch of laughter in diabolical situations. Even characters that were only present for one season or a few episodes, such as Dory’s lawyer Cassidy Diamond, Chip’s Aunt Lydia, Tunnel Quinn and the “Lyte” influencers, made the show amazing, as they were given such interesting and dynamic roles that added an additional layer. I also really liked how characters that did not always play a vital role in the plot were shown throughout all the seasons, such as Gail and Mark. Chantal’s character had a very interesting development, going from missing to becoming involved in a women’s entrepreneurship pyramid scheme to believing that the world was going to end. It was heartwarming to see how Chantal ended up saving Dory, Drew, Portia and Elliot in the end, as the show began with them trying to save her.
My only complaint with the show was the last season. Although every season featured a different setting and presented new obstacles for the characters, which kept the show constantly entertaining, I feel like season five was just too different. It was insane to witness how the show began as four friends merely trying to find their missing acquaintance, to them starting a legitimate zombie apocalypse that killed a majority of Manhattan. The most frustrating part was how everything was almost prevented time after time. I thought it was odd how in the end, Dory didn’t seem too bothered by the detrimental effects she had. Even though the show is technically a comedy, it did a very good job illustrating the dramatic shifts in Dory’s mindset and morals as the plot progressed.
Search Party was overall an immensely captivating show that kept me intrigued throughout all five seasons. The show is available to stream on HBO.
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