By Sabine Pierce Jones, Y12
WARNING: spoilers ahead!
Behind Her Eyes is another Netflix nail biting binge-worthy limited series based on Sarah Pinborough’s best-selling book. The series is a riveting story of a single mother, Louise, and the exploration of her new found affair with her psychiatrist boss, David. Although this would seem like a somewhat mundane and stale plot, Louise develops an unconventional relationship with David’s hyper-composed wife, Adele.
The first few episodes are a slow start to the psychosexual thriller. Seemingly this mother tries to liven up her life with new adventurous and precarious decisions. The excitement of sneaking around, as many shows have overplayed, adds a new dimension when bringing David’s wife into the picture. Louise’s outsider curiosity makes herself a pawn between the couple’s mind games. Louise’s motivations are somewhat preempted, although her agency is what drives this thriller. However, this show took me by surprise, as it develops the astonishing ideas of spiritual awakening and supernatural themes. The show concludes with a double twist and countless questions as to why “curiosity kills the cat”, but in this case, satisfaction did not bring it back.
A series of “coincidences” leads Adele and Louise into a secretive friendship. Not long after, David and Louise have a steamy affair, which in turn is kept as yet another secret. Louise’s curiosity spikes when questioning why their marriage has gone cold. As Louise snoops into this, her questions begin to pile. Why does Adele take pills? Why does David call Adele periodically at the same time everyday? Why is Adele so afraid of not answering these said calls? The most ominous question of all: how does Adele know things that she has no way of knowing?
In flashbacks we see Adele in a psychiatric ward. She was committed to help with her trauma following the death of her parents in a mysterious fire. She also encounters a seemingly unimportant character, Rob. Rob was a junkie from Glasgow who suffered from night terrors. The first of many clues to the series finale. In the 5th episode the show is turned upside down as astral projecting enters the plot. Adele teaches him how to take control of this through lucid dreaming. In which this is later taught to Louise after Louise and Adele bond over their shared night terrors. Adele coaches her new friend into taking control of her dreams and, eventually, practicing astral projection. The show’s predominant theme being to break out of one’s own narrative, in both dream life and reality.
Its chaotic ending outraged many viewers, popularizing the hashtag #WTFThatEnding on Twitter. Its cleverly plotted bonkers finale is difficult to stomach, especially with the additional hard to grasp out-of-body experiences. Our protagonist, Louise, gets tricked into evacuating her physical form, leaving herself vulnerable. The ending left me feeling uneasy, as the fate of Louise’s son is unknown. This story did exactly as it was set out to do, making me feel displaced (haha!) but in awe of its unwarranted and distinctive ending. I highly recommend watching, as it raises philosophical questions into the significance of the soul and body, as well as being a pleasure to watch all round. I found it interesting to see the techniques of astral projecting as it reminded me of the ongoing TikTok trend of lucid dreaming and shifting into your preferred reality.
Below are the steps mentioned in the show if you dare!
- Pinch myself and say I am awake once an hour.
- Look at my hands, count my fingers.
- Look at a clock (or a watch).
- Look away, look back.
- Stay calm and focused.
- Think of a door.
