This was an interesting mini series and I thought the format of the two timelines worked quite well (even if the younger Sarah looked nothing like the older one). There was some great cinematography and the whole production was fairly atmospheric with above average acting performances.
But there were some inconsistencies. As already mentioned, would the father really kill himself over such an accusation, especially as he would have known his daughter couldn't have been involved? It did feel like it was stretching credibility.
In addition, some of the actions of the lead policewoman were just all over the place: sleeping with a possible suspect, randomly just investigating stuff without consulting anyone, having that stroppy manner that means she rubs colleagues up the wrong way. As a result, you just don't seem to warm to her at all (this appears quite common in European police dramas - see also the Italian "Thou Shalt Not Kill). Unfortunately , a lot of the plot and situations were fairly cliche - "oddball" accused of something in the past, detective with incredible artistic skills leaving "clues" in notebooks etc.
I'll be honest in that the ending was a bit of a let down and at times borderline comical. It felt that the writers almost let Anais off the hook by making it out to be an accident. If it was all about revenge, and trying to pin everything on Tony, what was with the weird princess/fairy stuff at the end?
But, the cherry on the cake, has to be the final sequence seeing her father smiling at her in the chair. It felt like the end of Return of the Jedi - he only needed a shimmering blue glow to complete the look.
I appreciate that Spiral was built over many, many years - but it did have realistic character development and great writing. If you'd told me beforehand that it was done by the same people I wouldn't have believed you.
But there were some inconsistencies. As already mentioned, would the father really kill himself over such an accusation, especially as he would have known his daughter couldn't have been involved? It did feel like it was stretching credibility.
In addition, some of the actions of the lead policewoman were just all over the place: sleeping with a possible suspect, randomly just investigating stuff without consulting anyone, having that stroppy manner that means she rubs colleagues up the wrong way. As a result, you just don't seem to warm to her at all (this appears quite common in European police dramas - see also the Italian "Thou Shalt Not Kill). Unfortunately , a lot of the plot and situations were fairly cliche - "oddball" accused of something in the past, detective with incredible artistic skills leaving "clues" in notebooks etc.
I'll be honest in that the ending was a bit of a let down and at times borderline comical. It felt that the writers almost let Anais off the hook by making it out to be an accident. If it was all about revenge, and trying to pin everything on Tony, what was with the weird princess/fairy stuff at the end?
But, the cherry on the cake, has to be the final sequence seeing her father smiling at her in the chair. It felt like the end of Return of the Jedi - he only needed a shimmering blue glow to complete the look.
I appreciate that Spiral was built over many, many years - but it did have realistic character development and great writing. If you'd told me beforehand that it was done by the same people I wouldn't have believed you.