Welcome to the suburban nightmare from hell. Netflix’s The Watcher introduces us to a real-life story that makes us think twice before moving into the quintessential family mansion. However, the show falls short to hone in on several details that we’d like to see individually unravel. 

The 2022 mystery-thriller miniseries introduces us to Nora (Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale) – two homeowners who find their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, with their children Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) and Carter (Luke David Blumm). Realtor Karen Calhoun (Jennifer Coolidge) becomes a friendly presence in Nora’s life after selling her the house. But once they move in, the Brannocks quickly learn how eerie their surrounding neighbors are — especially when they start receiving intimidating letters from a person who calls themself “The Watcher.” 

The series, unfortunately, jerks around its audience a little too much, and it’s hard to follow after a certain point with the amount of over-emphasis injected into every episode. Not only that, but the show also tries to weave in modern concepts to satisfy different audiences. The Watcher constantly shakes things up throughout its seven episode series, shocking viewers with one new plot twist after another. However, it falls short to thoroughly grasp its audience, likely because of its focus to balance satire with thrills. 

Fast-Paced Whodunit

The classic whodunit theme can either be a hit or a miss. The Watcher somehow unravels enough strands in its askew storyline to surprise the audience more than once. In every episode, we’re left with multiple cliffhangers trying to figure out who The Watcher is, and more importantly, why they’re doing this. Episode one sets the stage, episodes two through six boomerang us into different directions, and the final episode hilariously wraps up the suburban nightmare with the ultimate, non-conclusional surprise.

Each episode has its own arc and reaches a minor climax in the end, whether it be a new suspect or disturbing revelation. Everybody becomes a suspect at one point, including Nora, Dean, and their most trusted acquaintances. The Watcher defends each culprit brilliantly, giving them a unique alibi to justify their odd behavior. However, the pace occasionally confuses viewers. Like watching a confused compass change directions, we sometimes have to hit the “rewind” button to understand what just happened. 

While it’s smart to keep the audience on their toes, too many different storylines can spiral out of control.  

Multiple Storylines 

The Watcher uses multiple character storylines to develop its guessing-game plot. Although some of them are truly intriguing to follow, others feel like they were thrown in just to prove a point. 

First, we are introduced to the main point of the series — a creepy person is “watching” the Brannocks and is sending threatening letters to them. Next, we understand that the family’s surrounding neighbors are flat-out weird and are breaking into their home, claiming they are entitled to do it. So, we initially think this is the typical mystery with one of the townspeople being The Watcher. 

But the miniseries quickly breaks right, throwing us into a tailspin with several different plots. The realtor, Karen, gradually seems to have an ulterior motive to her so-called “friendship” with Nora. Then, the detective (Christopher McDonald) is even thrown into that mix of outsiders who could be involved in the threats against the Brannocks.