Based on a Stephen king novel, it’s easily one of the best adaptations ever made. The story follows what seems to be an open and shut murder case but evidence uncovered over a short duration says otherwise. I would suggest going into this without any expectations and postulations. Please refrain from watching the trailer as well. What initially seems to be a crime thriller, suddenly takes divergence into a completely different realm, keeping you hooked right from the first episode. There’s an atmosphere of eerie, psychological trauma, unsettling events which is quite idiosyncratic to anything you’ve ever seen.
What really caught my eye in this mini series, is it’s ability to touch on topics related to psychological trauma. We’ve repeatedly seen movies or shows which delve into such topics without much substance. It’s often only used to advance the plot. But the outsider does an exemplary job at portraying how differently a human mind can work especially while making important decisions, based on what sort of trauma they have experienced in the past. This aspect is shown to the audience in the eyes of three disparate characters. Furthermore, the series skillfully underscores blurred lines between reality and the supernatural, adding an intriguing layer that enhances the psychological depth of each character, leaving the viewers captivated by the enigmatic forces at play — a big picture sort of view.
Without spoiling much of the plot, I would suggest watching this mini series alone, in a slightly dark abode. It’s a slow burner initially, but the plot advances quickly during the course of the investigation. A small piece of advice I would like to give is that the viewers pay attention to each characters’ state of mind at the beginning, and try to notice subtle shifts in terms of their ideologies through the course of the show.
It’s when you begin to realise how delicate our minds are, that’s when you prohibit a lot of things entering / affecting your thoughts, that would otherwise take a huge toll on your mind, especially over time. “Dreams are messages”
