User Reviews

"The Essex Serpent" begins with great promise, but unfortunately fails to maintain its initial momentum. The series successfully establishes a suspenseful and intriguing atmosphere in the first few episodes, drawing in viewers with its eerie and mysterious storyline. However, as the plot progresses, the show loses its way, and the middle section drags on with little payoff.

The final few episodes of the series are particularly disappointing, as the story descends into a predictable and formulaic soap opera. Any tension and intrigue that were built up in the early episodes are lost, and the ending feels unsatisfying and generic.

Despite these flaws, "The Essex Serpent" does have its strengths. The show boasts an impressive cast, led by the talented and versatile actress, Claire Danes. The production design is also noteworthy, with the show beautifully capturing the atmospheric setting of rural England.

Ultimately, while "The Essex Serpent" has its moments of brilliance, its lackluster middle section and predictable ending prevent it from reaching its full potential.

Started off well with a smooth flow of anticipative suspense and possibilities. Then it quickly regressed to absurdity where logical actions cease to exist. Not referring to idiotic superstitions nor content of plot. It had promise but 3 key events clearly exposed either lazy or imbecilic writing. It's incomprehensible that the key characters are unaware of all the signals of sexual tensions amongst the group. It's outrageous to even conceive the urgency to fornicate in wide open public view when one had just departed, and inches away, from a possible serious witch hunt crisis. Lastly, it's just nonsensical to earnestly reveal one's most protected vulnerability in a crime encounter when the perpetrator could have had been simply satisfied with his original demand instead of the victim's futile dramatics of defense resulting in the unnecessary. The series ended with an emotional feeling summation of what I would term, rubbish illogic.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this story but it isn't happy. I love period drama, I'd never heard of this, just found it and thought it looked good. I watched all six episodes today.

The score was beautiful, the cinematography and the costuming were wonderful. It was visually so pleasing no matter in the London slums or on the Essex marshes. I feel like some of the overview shots of the marshes were really marvelous.

I'm a fan of all the main actors: Posey, Danes, and Hiddleston and I feel like they did their best with the material. Posey was soooo underused though.

The story was so awful. It started out great but other reviewers have pointed out how implausible the relationship issues become in episode 4. By the end of the birthday party you pretty much know everything that will happen ... and it does. The story falls into predictable Victorian tropes and I feel really let down. In some ways, I finished it because I wanted to know what happened because I was hoping it would surprise me. It did not and the ending was wholly undeserved.

First class production with Tom Huddleston and Clare Danes. A glimpse back to how life was lived before the modern age where life was lived around rumour and superstition. Religion versus science arguments against/for the serpent. Great acting and as mentioned Clare's English accent is spot on, although her hair colour is weird.

I'm a sucker for anything mystical in the Victorian times so I'm enjoying this so far. I don't expect there to be a mind boggling unraveling in the end but I'm always excited when religion and sci-fi come together and looking forward to seeing how the mystery is going to unfold. It's alright so far, I don't think it's found it's footing yet, Tom hiddleston is probably what's going to attract most viewers to this but if you're not a fan of period dramas and all this might not be to your taste. It's set in a gloomy, muddy Essex town but the acting and dialogue add some vibrance to it so it's not gothic really. I'm curious to see whether the show's gonna end with a rational explanation as Cora suggests there is, or if it'll go down a mystical route and all the superstitious town folks' fears will be realized. It feels a bit monotonous Tom Hiddleston looks like he's capable of tackling challenging roles and showing his talent, this isn't that though. I'm not sure if 6 episodes will be enough to turn this into an amazing show, but on the other hand it's better than unnecessarily dragging a story and adding bits to make it a 10 or 12 episode miniseries. As asked in the show, the best way I could describe this is "Do you think there's something strange going on here?"

Episode 3: I've been enjoying this so far, more so because of the conflict between the religious folk and those looking for a scientific explanation. I like how it doesn't seem to be taking the conventional route, which is why I was surprised and in the slightest way possible disappointed as well at the ending of episode three. They didn't need to add the love interest and the whole 'I don't need to apologize to a man situation'. I mean you can see it coming all the way but I thought they'd stray away from the cheap shot of going down the infidelity route between Cora and Will; especially with Stella staring at them across the field through the window. The forbidden love story just seems like the easy(maybe even lazy) route for the writers, especially since the whole priest thing was already done in fleabag. I still think it'll end up being a decent show but the extra points I gave it for originally feel a little misplaced. I was intrigued by the series because I'm a sucker for gloomy, strange or dark shows so from that perspective I'm still enjoying the mystery of it; trying to figure out if it's God, Jo and her friends "witchcraft", or if it's just some animal and the people's paranoia of the unexplained is just fueling their fears. Anyway, on a silly sidenote, Tom hiddleston has a type here.

Looking at this cast you might think you're in for a treat. You're not. There's no plot, no character development, no action -- pretty much nothing except pretentious allegory spread over almost six hours. Worst of all is what the director, who seems to have lost total control over the show, must have said to the two lead actors: "whatever you do, in every scene, forget everything you did in the last scene." The two weave in and out of character like spinning tops, never coalescing into coherent people. Worse, poor Tom Hiddleston's role is basically just that of a clothes horse: somehow this impoverished country vicar has a wardrobe that would make any modern man envious, including what seems to be a $5K Tom Ford tuxedo. (There are quite a number of "huh?" moments in this mess, ranging from secondary actors seemingly wandering on and off the sets to the little details that ruin a period piece, such as doctors wearing wristwatches (a 1894 doctor would have had a doctor's pocket watch) and women in medical school (didn't happen til much later), and of course, the fact that the vicar's bedraggled, plain wife is played by one of France's most beautiful fashion models (who actually is an excellent actress but not here, where all she is allowed to do is look dour and smile wanly whenever her name is mentioned).

Just a mess of a mess of a mess. You wind up hoping the serpent comes and eats everyone up and puts an end to all this misery.

A fine portrayal of religious superstition and rational thought colliding over unusual, unnerving and unexplained events. An intriguing, well paced story, with strong dialogue and scene-setting with no jarring exposition. Garden of Eden imagery abounds in the Cora serpent story, burgeoning relationships and the contrasting treatment of men and women.

A quality cast: Tom Hiddleston, known for range and ability, fulfils his reputation; Claire Danes is one-note, but Cora is unique and relatable, despite superficial similarities to Carrie Mathison (obsessed, troubled, flouts convention); Hayley Squires excels as the passionate, idealistic Martha, a whirlwind of confidence, character and charisma.

Fabulous cinematography employs unusual angles, especially the marshes' low level capture, presenting a gritty, sinister foreboding. Period trimmings work, with de rigueur frocks and interiors, despite some clear anachronistic choices.

This is marvellous TV.

Starting with Clare Danes, she was astonishingly bad in this. She looked constipated most of the time and was so unlikeable that it didn't seem plausible that EVERYONE was in love with her.

I just kept thinking, this could have been Keria Knightley (original casting).

Although I am not sure she could have saved it. So many randon storylines and a very rushed ending.

Very intriguing. I guess I can't fault people for their opinions but when I read so of the stuff on here sometimes I wonder what people expect out of these shows.

It's good. Makes we wonder what will happen next. I can't imagine the twist that's to come. Characters are diverse and seem to all have lives and their own struggles.

To me the show comments on society and each of the character's roles/struggles within.

In closing, the pace is slower than people are used to I guess. Their are 80 stars jockeying for screen time. No CGI monsters tearing the city apart. Just something pleasant to watch with a spouse or loved one on a Sunday afternoon.

Good show.

Not all of the Essex has such an harsh landscape but the area where this story is located is very realistic. Surprisingly it isn't the Serpent which takes centre stage of this drama but rather the beautiful description of the main characters. Played all by big actors, it is their rather modern exchange of dialogue which is the star of this story. Period dramas can be very similar but one of the most entertaining character of this unpredictable short series is the doctor/innovative sergeant Luke. There are moments when his dialogue resonates in such a current way that you doubt if you are really watching a period drama. And again it will be all down to the characters to spin the audience away from the rather heavy setting. So don't be put off by gloomy landscapes and heavy period interiors. It is the story delivered by the characters the real star of this mini series.

Sssssssslithers along at a snail's pace, and after 3 episodes I'm not sure -- nor is the show itself -- sure of what it wants to be. I think (?) it could function as a standalone suspense/ supernatural "Penny Dreadful"-ish movie. Only because there doesn't seem to be enough material for each episode as is.

I've never written a bad review about anything that wasn't offensive, that is if it wasn't sexist, or racist, but this series was offensive in its sheer awfulness. And this is because clearly many of the people involved in making it are talented. It's so bad that I found myself saying out load, this is so, so, stupid. I don't know why I watched the entire season. Perhaps I was hypnotized by the sheer idiocy of it? The cast was good, other than a few times when a couple of the actors chewed up the scenery. But the story line, and the dialogue - good Lord! The whole thing was made up of scrapes of the story line, and dialogue from movies everyone has seen hundreds of times, but in this case it was all much more poorly done. It almost makes me angry that all those resources, and talented people were wasted making this thing. I hope they learn from it. Please do better for the public. We need good escapist fantasy during these difficult times. Please don't make us suffer more than we have to.

'The Essex Serpent' expresses more than romance or drama. It clearly shows two types of people trying to understand something inexplicable in their scope of knowledge or experience: science or religion. How Cora approaches serpent is reasoning while how villagers try to overcome serpent is faith and superstition. Other than mysterious, eerie, and dark nuance and atmosphere, this juxtaposition is something to watch. I liked Gothic presentation because all elements of a movie work together to achieve the aesthetics: colors, settings, camera work (especially, bird-eye view of winding river), and music. The weakness is that the story is not powerful enough especially when it wants to persuade audience of union between Cora and Will. It has to sweep up and push the viewers without them realizing that Will's hypocrisy and Cora's nuisance in addition to Stella's matchmaking of his husband with another woman.

"Essex Serpent" suffers from a rather bland title and an even blander opening scene. I almost quit in episode one were it not for Claire Danes's fabulously perfect British accent. It is quite entertaining to hear her speak like that. I look forward to every scene that she is in, just so I can listen and dissect exactly how she is sounding so perfectly. Along the way, I get treated to some fairly decent production values, good cinematography, good costumes, and good acting not just from Danes but also from Frank Dillane. I can tell this show is well-made, but the storyline and plot leave a lot to be desired. It's something that's been done a thousand times over - nothing unique here. The anti-climactic ending did not redeem anything either. If you are a fan of Claire Danes, you will enjoy this. If not, you will be bored out of your mind.

Lovely cinematography and the writing is quite original. But it's so far fetched at times it's farcical. People in the Victorian era especially men and women did not interact like that, no matter how progressive/radical they were.

Sort of Godzilla versus the millennials :)

I am confused as to what people watched and what they expected. The serpent was really not the main issue and I never thought it was presented that way. It was about people. The townspeople, the vicar, the londoners...each person had a story. It dealt with their beliefs and fears and hopes and loves and ambitions. It could have been more detailed but, that would have been a series. A good story was told in the mini series. Acting was fabulous. Tom Hiddleston and the actor playing the doctor were top notch. Claire Danes was decent but, that hair color was distracting. I loved the way it dealt with superstition and fear and what it will do to people. I loved the way the women longed to have purpose. Most of all...how humanity is so complex. Can you love more than one person? Can you love God will all your heart and still be flawed? Can we love each other in spite of flaws? An amazing story. It contained so much to think about.

Not sure which I liked less the book or the series and I actually think it is the book. This is a tad better. The book was slow and the ending was awful and kind of a let down. Could of changed it to leave some excitement of partial finality.

Boring, flat, soap opera like, predictable. Nothing really interesting apart from the 1st half of the 1st episode. Until the 5th episode there is nothing more than repetitive similar uninteresting scenes. I don't feel like watching any of the remaining.

I watched the first 2 released epis of The Essex Serpent (on AppleTV). Set in Victorian England (circa 1893?) around London and Essex, the show is superbly shot and acted. Danes does a good job affecting an English accent, and I forgot about it after the first 5 or 10 minutes. This show may not be for everyone, as it is slow-paced and a bit moody/dreary. However, if like me, you like period pieces that do a great job with its setting, then this one might be for you. It's based on a book I've never read or even heard of. There's bit of Vicky era science going on here, both medical and paleo, with a touch of theology and superstition of the time (and maybe a bit of politics as well). The Serpent of the tile is sort of a Nessy type. (although heard it's not seen in the first 2 epis)

Some of these reviews......maybe stick to reality tv eh? This is a slow burn drama, with a superb cast & I loved it. The two leads are excellent as is Clemency Posey in a supporting role. Terrific cinematography too.