If you’re anything like me, you’re going through any one (or all) of the following. You’re missing all your classes. Losing track of deadlines. Disappointing all your project group members. Simply put, you’re losing at life but that’s okay. Because you’ve spent the weekend binging eight straight hours on a good show, the guilt of being a complete failure is subdued for a while.
Today I have for you three relatively unknown Netflix Originals that are worth effing up the semester for. But before we get into it, I’d like to say something. If you’re one of the people who refer to these wonderful pieces of art as ‘seasons’, please stop reading this article. My words are not for you. Please disappear from the face of the earth.
The Spy
What if I tell you there was this spy who almost became the Deputy Minister of Defense for the country he was spying on? You’d probably say another spy show on Netflix, so what? Well, this actually happened. Working for Mossad, Eli Cohen, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, absolutely embarrassed Syria by climbing through the ranks of power in the Syrian government. He also didn’t kill anyone (or at least that’s what they say).
Some call this “Jewish propaganda funded by the Israeli government”. But does that even matter? It’s a good show. A real story. These were real people involved. Their descendants can watch this anytime. It doesn’t even matter if it’s all dramatized. Instead of reading, I like to witness history being reimagined. I want to know how Eli Cohen would’ve looked like under duress. How the Syrian officials expressed their anger when they found out. I want to see it happen.
Manhunt: UNABOMBER
Another reenactment of history. Imagine being so frustrated with a felon you can’t catch, that you invented a completely new branch of forensics. That’s what the FBI did in the 1990s to catch Ted Kaczynski: the Unabomber. He sent parceled bombs to universities and airlines. He then taunted the police and called for a reform in society through his letters. Because bombs left little to no evidence, all the FBI had were the letters. Thus, Forensics Linguistics came into existence.
Ted Kaczynski was not your average white male school shooter/pervert. He went to Harvard had the age of 16. He had an IQ of 167. So, he was a genius/pervert. The miniseries also digs into his character, trying to explain how he may have become the mass murdering maniac as he did. I will be spoiling it for you if I say anything more.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
It was a Wednesday night. My hostelite brothers and I decided to watch one episode and continue over the weekend. After it ended we thought 4 more episodes wouldn’t hurt. Before we knew it, we were watching episode 6 and now it was too late. We sat through all nine episodes and slept through the following day. All four of us missed 10 classes between us.
Aside from a few acting mishaps, everything else was perfect. I don’t even want to say much on this because I don’t want to spoil anything for you. It’s not your average horror show. It’s a psychological thriller. It’ll keep you on your toes. You’ll keep thinking and will be wanting more and more. It’s an experience. Just watch it.
