As a TV columnist, I consume a lot of content. Sometimes, it is for escapism. But, more often than not, it is work.
No, I’m not complaining, so there is no need to roll those eyes.
I am merely pointing out that I’ve grown more discerning over the years. If by the end of an episode, I’m not invested on some level, I move on.
Sometimes, this is unfair as some offerings grow on you. But that has become my default setting.
Having binged on so much reality TV, I was in need of something different. Especially after watching Netflix's "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal".
In looking at how the influential Murdaugh family in South Carolina bought their way out of sticky situations and how their chickens have come home to roost, I was moderately curious but not overly affected by the true-crime offering.
I guess, living in SA where crime and corruption are the norms (cough: Eskom), I wasn’t able to relate or feel greater empathy. But that’s a story for another time and probably not for publishing.
So in my search for something to hold my attention, I stumbled across a few social media comments raving about the new Netflix thriller, “Triptych”.
Curious, I started watching, with three more episodes left to finish the season. Admittedly, the recommendations were with merit.
This offering has an “Orphan Black”-esque feel. It opens with a woman named Aleida (Maite Perroni) walking into a building with a gun. She’s enraged and unforgiving, as she leaves a few bodies in her wake.
She has one goal - getting answers from her shrink, Dr Bátiz (Nuria Bages). And if she has to get it while holding her hostage, so be it.
Sadly, it doesn’t end well for Aleida. But this is just the start of the story.
When forensic agent Rebecca arrives at the crime scene she is taken aback by the likeness between Aleida, who, with her last breath calls her by her name, and her.
A recovering alcoholic, Rebecca becomes a dog with a bone in finding out more. And her curiosity is fuelled when the paperwork on Aleida disappears.
Someone is working very hard to remove all traces of her existence.
Rebecca, who has been having an illicit affair with her boss Captain Solana (David Chocarro), refuses to stop looking into the case.
And she approaches Dr Bátiz, who offers to counsel her gratis, for information as well. But there is something more to the psychologist. Despite the calm façade, Dr Bátiz has an unsettling menace in her demeanour.
In her investigation, Rebecca learns she is part of a triplet. And her other sister Tamara (also played by Perroni) is a performer at an adult club. She also has a few skeletons in her closet.
Down on her luck, Tamara agrees to pretend to be her dead sister for a handsome payment from her husband Eugenio (Flavio Medina), who is worried about unscrupulous individuals taking over Aleida’s company.
Aleida’s adoptive mother, Dolores (Ofelia Medina), while gobsmacked when she learns of this, goes along with the plan.
Every episode leaves the viewer on tenterhooks. There’s just so much going on with the characters.
Humberto is conflicted about leaving his pregnant wife and children until the decision is made for him. Rebecca, while upset with him for going back to his wife, was spiralling until she stumbled onto the life-changing realisation that she has sisters.
The writing team deserves praise for writing such a multi-layered narrative, cleverly embedding clues as the series plays out.
And the casting is on point.
Perroni, who streamers will recall for “Dark Desire” on Netflix, is mesmerising as she slips into the skin of three vastly different characters. She nails the character nuances and executes each role with masterful conviction.
The themes of danger, deception, corruption and love are wonderfully manifested with Rebecca inserting herself into various worlds, some of them terribly seedy, to get to the truth.
Humberto offsets Rebecca’s intensity as he is easy on the eye and becomes a voice of reason.
It’s definitely worth watching if you enjoy suspense dramas.
“Triptych” is streaming on Netflix.