If you haven’t seen Netflix’s The Watcher yet, I watched it so you don’t have to. The Watcher, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennon, came out on Oct. 13. The show is based on a 2018 article about a family that began to receive threatening letters by a “watcher” after moving into a house in New Jersey. The show follows the Brannock family, as their lives change drastically after moving into the house. Strange things happen in the house that they can’t explain. They try to pinpoint who the “watcher” is. The Watcher currently ranks No. 1 on Netflix and has grabbed many people’s attention. Despite its ranking, it received many mixed reviews and an audience score of 36 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
I think the show sparked interest initially because Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennon are good screenwriters. They’re also credited with creating the recent Dahmer series on Netflix together which was No. 1 for almost a month. I had high expectations solely based on the show’s creators as well as popular actors like Naomi Watts being featured. I also thought the summary of the show was really interesting, especially because it’s based on a real story and I love horror and thriller in general.
I think that the show started off strong. From the moment the family toured the new house, there was a weird energy about it. The lurking neighbors who would stare at them for longer than necessary and random people roaming around the house definitely set an unsettling and interesting vibe for the rest of the show. I wondered about the possible role of the neighbors in future episodes as well as why they all seemed obsessed with the house. I was hooked after the first episode. But as the show went on, things started to get a little too confusing.
One of the things that bothered me while watching is the misdirection that practically took over the plot. They strung the plot along with an attempt to make it scary, but it felt forced to the point that it wasn’t engaging. Although I really liked the original idea and the mystery surrounding it, the delivery of the show fell flat. There were so many loopholes in the plot that weren’t even addressed or solved. One scene made me think that a certain neighbor, like the woman obsessed with preserving the house, Pearl, was the “watcher.” Another scene made me think that maybe the “watcher” was someone completely different, such as Nora’s realtor friend Karen or the camera guy working in their house, Dakota. The show pretty much leads you to suspect everyone and not receive any answers. Did the producers even plan out the plot’s execution?
I also thought the ending felt very inconclusive. They introduced so many suspects and ideas within the plot to add to the mystery but failed to connect the plot points together. The first few episodes especially felt like a waste of time since they were just introducing ideas that were never explained.
When I was done watching the show, I immediately googled to see how much of the show was real. I found that the show was actually super exaggerated. The only real event was the family receiving threatening letters from a “watcher.” After they got those letters, the real family apparently sold the house and never found who the “watcher” was. In the show, there are so many creepy additions, like the family finding a hidden tunnel in the basement, the neighbors watching them with binoculars and having secret meetings about their house, etc. Since they already changed so many things about the real case to make it more scary and dramatic, I think that they should’ve also changed the ending so that we at least found out who the “watcher” was.
I thought the detective they hired, Theodora, being the “watcher” could actually be a good twist because she was helpful and nice to the family. Or someone within the family being the “watcher” would be surprising. That would have made my jaw drop and say “I would’ve never guessed it!” But unfortunately, they weren’t, and we were back to square one with no answers.
Overall, I felt like the show had a great idea and acting but didn’t stay consistent and engaging. The plot could have improved with fewer main conflicts and deliberate attempts to make it scary (and it really wasn’t even that scary). I can sum up this show by saying that it had great potential but just ended up being confusing.
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