I didn’t know what to expect when I started watching Netflix’s The OA. It was described by Netflix as follows: “Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.” It sounded genre, so I started watching. The first episode was intriguing, but didn’t really grab me. I wasn’t even sure it was genre — it seemed like the story of a woman who had been abducted (and not by aliens), and the only ability she seemed to have was calming a vicious dog.
Things got interesting, however, when she gathered a group of five misfits from the local high school and started telling them her story. But not just to get things off her chest — to involve them in a mystical project to find the other people who were held captive with her.
The lead character Prairie (also known as the OA) is fascinating, the lead villain chilling, and the five misfits round out the cast with their own stories in the mist of what is happening. Once you get into it, you won’t want to stop. I binge-watched the last four episodes in a single sitting. I can’t wait for the next season to come out. An amazing show!