End of the F%$#ing World Review

Ashtyn Britt
Writer
abritt@lc.edu

The following review from here on will contain major spoilers, so if you’d want to watch The End of the F%$#ing World first, I highly recommend you do so. It’s available on Netflix!

If you’re looking for an original spin on a classic romantic comedy, this Netflix series might be for you! A few years ago, the movie Warm Bodies provided a new original and darker twist on the romantic comedies that Hollywood has learned to lean on. This eight-episode TV series has a very similar feeling and is well worth the time.

The story follows two teenagers, James and Alyssa, and their wild adventure when the two decide to run away. However, while Alyssa believes they’re two kindred spirits falling in love, James actually has psychopathic tendencies and wishes to murder Alyssa. These plans are put on hold when Alyssa and James find themselves in a predicament where James kills a serial killer who tried to hurt Alyssa.

The two must then go on the run, with the intention to find Alyssa’s father and hopefully hide from their previous life. It provides an amazing amount of character development for our leads and leads to James beginning to feel emotions he’d never felt and confront traumas that he’d ignored until now.
Following the process of Alyssa’s character is interesting, because we get to see how she decides to do outlandishly reckless and rebellious decisions and what leads her to do them. It’s almost as if she knows even deep down she’s a good kid, and hates that fact so much she’s willing to do anything to prove even herself wrong. We never really know what she’s going to do next, which is an unusual feeling, since it’s supposed to be her companion we should be worrying about more.

James on the other hand at times is so lovable and relatable, we occasionally forget what he’s supposed to be to the story. It’s odd as well to see him try to understand how to interact with the world around him and try to understand what’s going on.

There’s also a delightful subplot involving the two main detectives assigned to Alyssa and James’s case, and their conflicting opinions of the children and how to find them. These two are quite a highlight of the dark tone and provide an interesting distraction from the intensity of Alyssa and James’s story. These two are also the representation of queer women, which is just extra brownie points from me! Seeing how these two progress alongside the teenagers is very interesting, and the points they bring up ethically get the audience questioning things as well.

If you’re looking for a show that goes outside the box with its plot, is a quick watch, and leaves you on the edge wanting more, look no further! I for one will be waiting in anticipation for season two, and can’t wait to see what is next for these two!

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