Netflix is everyone's favorite streaming service. It's known for having movies and shows ready for binging, and for having hidden gems among its many titles. One of these is BBC's "The Fall," a gritty crime drama that has spanned two seasons and eleven episodes (so far).
Jamie Dornan plays Paul Spector, a serial killer in Belfast. He stalks young, professional women, then kills them in their homes. He strangles them and then grooms them, including bathing them and painting their nails. Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) is brought to Belfast to review the case of a girl who was killed by Spector, and she finds many similarities to other murder cases. She quickly realizes that all the cases are connected and it is the work of a serial killer.
Throughout the two seasons, viewers are shown Spector's life as both a killer and a family man. He is married, has two children, and works as a couple's therapist. He is especially devoted to his daughter, Olivia, who adores him. Watching him play with her can be more unsettling than watching him stalk his victims. He also develops a relationship with the babysitter, Katie, eventually using her as his alibi and dragging her into the investigation. As Gibson tracks him down, Spector's two lives begin to collide and collapse around him.
Gibson is a compelling character in her own right. Much like Anderson's iconic character Scully (of "The X-Files"), she's a woman climbing the ladder in a male-dominated field. When Gibson asks for something, it gets done. She's tough, smart, and driven, and her gender is not a factor in whether or not she's put in charge. She's calm, collected, and is committed to catching Spector. After he breaks into her hotel room and reads her dream journal, Spector tries to taunt Gibson and paint her as a misandrist with "daddy issues," saying that she hates men as much as he hates women. Gibson doesn't take the bait.
Though it might seem like Gibson does hate men, she doesn't. In fact, it's pretty obvious that she very much enjoys their company. She doesn't hate men; she's tired of them bossing her around and assuming they know her better than she knows herself. She's the most quotable feminist on TV.
"The Fall" is everything you could ask for in a crime drama. The cinematography is brilliant, the acting is superb, and even though you already know who the killer is, watching Spector's life run parallel to Gibson's is as chilling as it is genius. The cat-and-mouse game they play is thrilling and terrifying, and will leave you on the edge of your seat. Season three is scheduled to appear on Netflix in December of 2016, and seasons one and two are short (11 episodes total) and perfect for a quick binge.