The OA is a Netflix Original Series which is part fantasy, part sci-fi and all mystery. The story begins with a girl who went missing seven years ago, returning to her hometown. What captures the attention of the community and alarms her parents, is that Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling — also co-creator, Another Earth, The East) was blind when she went missing and returns with the ability to see.

To announce her return to the world, the series premieres with Prairie jumping from a bridge. The move is bold and attention-grabbing and she ends up alerting her parents who are beyond grateful to have her back. However, not everyone shares the same excitement to see her return. What happened to her while she was gone? And how is she able to see again?

While missing people seems to be a recurring theme in television recently, especially Netflix shows (Stranger Things, Dark, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Prairie’s story is different as it explores a complex character who made the initial decision to leave home. Whilst she also faces being ripped away from the world like the characters in the shows above, it was her decision to leave her small town. It’s only later when she’s busking in a New York subway that she’s taken.

Additionally, Prairie is a young adult when she disappears. While these differences may be small, they open up the dialogue of what happens to adults on the streets, instead of focusing on kids being captured from their hometowns. The OA tells us you don’t age out of being kidnapped, it’s not just magical wormholes or strange vans you need to watch out for. Being drugged or seduced is a common and much more realistic way of following in these characters’ footsteps.

Unfortunately, the first episode “Homecoming” is frustratingly tedious. It features the clichéd introduction of our main characters and how they struggle to find a purpose within this life, or at least happiness and a place to fit in. But it creates enough curiosity about Prairie to understand why five strangers each choose to leave their homes in the middle of the night with their front doors wide open, and climb into an attic in an abandoned building, in order to hear her story.

But if you power through this first episode, I promise the last five minutes make it all worthwhile. Before you know it, you’re four episodes in and you’ve devoured half the snacks in your cupboard (please don’t let this just be me *pained laughter*). Not only do you get to explore this incredibly unique story, but you get to meet so many strong, and intelligent characters who make the most of their awful situations and refuse to accept passivity or be typecast. These characters fight for what they believe in. 

I began this review by stating that this series was part fantasy, part sci-fi and all mystery. Because this story has so many layers it becomes near impossible to give this show justice in a written review. Each episode explores so many different themes and genres, that you always end up somewhere you would never expect. The story shapeshifts and is more reminiscent of a dream than a genre. This is because the narrative is this strange balance of fiction and memory as the series was created as a way for Marling and co-creator, Zal Batmanglij (The Sound of My Voice, The East) to explore people’s recounts of their near-death experiences.

But this complexity and confusion is what is beautiful about The OA. We aren’t given any straight answers, and you are certainly left wanting more, but just being able to explore a situation that is so complex and unanswerable is what makes the series so captivating. Marling and Batmanglij do a fantastic job of this. Which, as a long time fan of Marling’s work, I’m not surprised by. Filming for Season 2 began in January earlier this year and I can’t wait to dive back into this strange and wonderful world. 

Show The OA: Season 1

Network Netflix

Release Date 16 December 2016

Binge Time 7 hrs 15 mins