Run : Season 1
Might contain spoilers.
Run was a great show for a while. You could put aside all your qualms about what terrible human beings Ruby & Billy were and just enjoy two actors delivering a masterclass in chemistry. I used to be quite unimpressed with Domhnall Gleeson, but his work from American Made onwards has been solid; in this show, he’s incredible. The same can be said of Merritt Wever, whom I had the felicity of seeing for the first time. Watching the two of them manoeuvre through the embarrassment, awkwardness, wistfulness, pain, uncertainty, and desire of their characters’ reunion was a deliciously enjoyable ride.
Then came the shocking, jarring death of Fiona. Storytelling starts with establishing boundaries, not just in terms of the universe it operates in but in terms of what will be shared and what won’t—‘tone’ is the word that comes to mind, for lack of anything better. If you cross those boundaries, it must be for a reason, it must be acknowledged, and it must have consequences. In episode four, Run broke the agreement tacitly negotiated with its audience. It just barely acknowledged its violation. By the end of the next episode, although there were ostensibly consequences, it had moved on and was trying to be the same show as before, if a little more dangerous. That didn’t sit well me.
I finished the first season, but I can’t say I’d watch a second.