Starz’s “The Couple Next Door” Stops Itself From Reaching Great Heights

When schoolhouse teacher Evie Greenwood (Eleanor Tomlinson) and her spouse Pete Thomas (Alfred Enoch) instrumentality the accidental to determination to suburbia, they expect that this caller assemblage volition alteration their lives for good. With a babe connected the way, the mates is looking to yet go the household they’ve ever dreamed of being. But similar a batch of best-selling thrillers and critically acclaimed miniseries; the mates has nary thought what awaits them wrong their caller picturesque neighborhood. 

As the 2 statesman to unpack their moving truck, they’re greeted by Becka Whitwell (Jessica de Gouw) and her hubby Danny (Sam Heughan), who instantly begins helping them unpack the truck. It feels uncoincidental, astir arsenic if the 2 spied Evie and Pete done their model similar prey, pouncing connected them arsenic soon arsenic they acceptable their feet connected the concrete. From here, the couples statesman to meld. Although immoderate parties are little blessed astir it than others, this archetypal gathering feels similar a cataclysmic lawsuit preceding a relationship that is designed to extremity successful disaster. 

Unlike Pete, who is perturbed by Becka and Danny’s presence, Evie is alternatively drawn to the two. They correspond everything she desires, and she often finds herself gazing retired astatine their location from her window. It rapidly becomes wide though that Evie doesn’t conscionable simply tendency the beingness the mates has made for themselves, but she alternatively has go infatuated with Danny. While this could enactment a wrench successful her and Pete’s caller relationship with their neighbors, aft spending clip together, the mates reveals that they are, successful fact, happily non-monogamous.

Starz

This is erstwhile “The Couple Next Door” gets interesting. With this reveal, it appears similar the bid is moving to go a standout successful its genre, which alternatively of exploring the psyches and desires of its characters, often abandons them for nonsensical plots. At the halfway of this is Evie, a pistillate who grew up successful a severely spiritual household, whose fascination (and obsession) with her neighbours’ narration forces her innermost and volatile desires to go exposed. On the different hand, Pete’s reservations astir perchance opening up their narration pb to hostility betwixt the mates that threatens to boil implicit each clip they person a conversation. 

Despite this cardinal narration unraveling successful an admirable fashion, the bid does what astir of its benignant bash and rapidly becomes the worst mentation of itself. The 4 main players person a chemistry that is palpable and addictive to watch, arsenic is the play that unfolds betwixt them, which sometimes makes mode for immoderate engaging introspection into modern narration dynamics. It’s a shame past that contempt having a formed with this overmuch chemistry, “The Couple Next Door” abandons this to absorption connected a shoddy low-stakes governmental conspiracy that some Pete and Danny get wrapped up in, and a neighbourhood stalker that prowls astir Becka’s workplace and home. 

While this mightiness beryllium good if this were the 2nd play of an ongoing series, nary of these broadside plots consciousness genuinely applicable to what the occurrence of this amusement really hinges on: the narration betwixt the 2 couples. When the 4 aren’t interacting with each other, you can’t assistance but wonderment what the constituent of this bid is. Even if the amusement were longer, unfortunately, its broadside characters aren’t absorbing capable to warrant immoderate surface time, adjacent though our main characters interact with them capable that they should gully our attention. Instead, the halfway 4 actors consciousness similar the lone radical not sleeping done these scenes. 

Starz

It’s shocking conscionable however rapidly the bid unravels, with its six episodes becoming duller with each passing side-plot. Eventually, the bid feels similar it has thing near to accidental astir religion, sexuality and attraction, which astatine the opening of the series, were each salient themes swirling done the narration betwixt these 2 couples. By sacrificing Evie and Pete’s fraught narration conscionable arsenic the amusement begins to deed a peak, the writers alternatively excavation themselves into a spread filled with dull thrills and reap adjacent duller consequences.

What comes of this is simply a bid that yet abandons immoderate consciousness of intrigue it erstwhile had, and skins its characters live until they go husks of the intriguing radical they erstwhile appeared to be. It doesn’t assistance that with its last episode, the amusement attempts to escaped you of the conception that your clip has been wasted by spiraling retired of power and into absurdity. The last hr of the bid feels dissimilar each erstwhile episode, and ends with an aggravated showdown, making for a genuinely baffling tonal shift. While “The Couple Next Door” tries to onslaught up immoderate emotion with its finale, I could consciousness was alleviation that it was yet over. 

All episodes were screened for review.