Brief Story Line
A 17 year old loner boy named James (Alex Lawther - The Imitation Game, Goodbye Christopher Robin etc) thought he was a psychopath as he did not have emotions and had a hobby of killing animals. He was living only with his father Phil (Steve Oram). When he grew bored of killing animals he decided to upgrade and kill a person instead.
Meanwhile Alyssa (Jessica Barden - Scarborough, Coronation Street TV series etc) was a loud mouthed, rebellious teenager who happened to think James fit her critieria of the boyfriend she wanted. She was living with her mother Gwen (Christine Bottomley) and step father Tony (Navin Chowdhry).
As James decided that Alyssa would be his first victim, he played along with Alyssa's desire. But when she was fed up with her life, Alyssa encouraged James to run away together. Both of them later went across England on a journey which would forever change their lives. And what would happen to them? All could be seen in this fun, sometimes twisted & dark comedy series.
End of Brief Story Line
From the moment I started to watch the first episode, I was already intrigued and hooked by it. The introduction of the two main characters were done in a quirky way but the most interesting part where the characters themselves. While one believed he was a psychopath the other believed him to be the best boyfriend. Plus there were few funny moments whenever James tried to kill Alyssa. However, the fun did not last long as later there would be an incident which made things truly complicated for the both of them.
The story then developed to be a lot darker but still have some interesting moments for us to enjoy, especially looking at these two teenagers started to develop real feelings and forced to become adults. Their exciting travel were also enjoyable to watch (reminded me a bit of the infamous couple Bonnie & Clyde). And throughout their journey, they also met with interesting people, although they were also being chased by the kind hearted constable Eunice (Gemma Whelan) and her more stern partner Teri (Wunmi Mosaku).
For a comedy series, this one has duration of around 20+ minutes per episode. With only 8 episodes for the 1st season, it really did not take too long for me to finish it. Due to its success, the series was picked up for another season which also consisted of 8 episodes and released in 2019. However, the series writer Charlie Covell decided there would not be any 3rd season. It was great too since after watching the 2nd season, I thought the ending was just wonderful as it gave proper conclusion. Btw, the series itself was based on mini comics titled The End of the Fucking World by Charles Forsman.
Since I already mentioned of a second season, I thought it would be best if I write a bit about it too, seeing it's the final season. In here we were introduced with a new character named Bonnie (Naomie Mackie) who would have tremendous impact on the lives of James and Alyssa. I really admired what Covell did in creating the second season as I thought it was a totally brilliant way of keeping it interesting. Though if I wanted to compare, the second season felt even darker and more serious with adulthood challenges. Nevertheless, it felt like an improvement too.
For a dark comedy series, this one has got it all. The interesting characters, the incredibly unfavorable situation they were in which created difficulties they had to face, and lovely chemistry among the two lead cast. Personally for me, I symphatized James more than Alyssa as I think he was in a worse situation than her (especially in second season) plus Alyssa seemed to be using James. But in the end, I actually favored both of them. Oh and the appearance of Bonnie in second season was really awesome as it gave a totally brand new dynamic on James & Alyssa. I applauded the performance of Alex Lawther, Jessica Barden and later Naomi Ackie in the series who made it really entertaining.
Overall this was a very enjoyable dark comedy series. Even though the main lead were teenagers, the series was classified for 18+ due to some violence, sex & language. There was some kind of attractive quality in a British comedy series that fascinated me (most probably after I watched another Netflix original series Sex Education). This series was nominated for 2019 British Academy Television Award and eventually won the 2020 award. Even Naomi Mackie also won the Best Supporting Actress award. So if you are into this kind of dark comedy, then it would be a great option to watch.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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