Behind Her Eyes

So...you're waiting for your friend at the pub only for her to bail on you last minute and now you're sitting alone...eugh- but don't worry, soon you'll bump into a handsome and somewhat mysterious stranger who you spend the rest of the night talking to because you have an instant and undeniable connection- ok fine but why the HELL has this never happened to me please? In the same scenario my friend would bail on me and I'd end up beside Garreth who is five pints in and leers uncomfortably close to my face while slurring: 'so if I can tie a bow tie in under five minutes will you drink the rest of my pint?' even though you didn't ask him anything that would remotely suggest you wanted to partake in a 'truth or dare' type of game...and when you say no he gets progressively aggressive...anyway cool, whatever...

Behind her Eyes follows the story of Louise, a young women with a seven year old son who meets the handsome stranger, David, in a pub and shares a kiss with him...only to find out the next day that he is her new boss and that he is also married...wowza, ok I feel less jealous now.

The drama increases as the next day Louise 'coincidently' (it's hard to tell because omg what are the ODDS!?) bumps into David's wife, Adele...Adele who has a bit of a 'nutty' 'bunny boiler' vibe but gets away with it because she's erm...well...hawt. On some level the prettiness distracts our brains so it's like 'ok she's acting kinda weird but I'm gonna ignore it cos her eyes are like the ocean' you know what I mean? Think 'Villanelle' from Killing Eve but less serial killer-ey.

Louise who somehow remains likeable despite making mad moves by allowing Adele to befriend her (...are you ok hun? Can we sit for a minute and talk about these life choices?) is sucked into the pairs complicated marriage. She continues her affair with David and her friendship with Adele but because Adele is painted as a villain throughout the story we don't feel totally horrified at Louise's backstabbing behaviour. Additionally, the fact that David is moody and brooding means that we don't feel a total sense of loyalty towards him as a character over Adele either.

Now this series will initially hit you as being an ITV style of drama, it's dark and intense but this production bulldozes your usual expectations by bringing a unique and fantastical element to the show: lucid dreams. We watch a variety of eery dream sequences which mostly revolve around Louise running through a corridor with multiple doors which look like they could use a good clean and polish. She wears a bright yellow jumpsuit which leaves us with the message that: you can be in a dream running for your life but also look chic and stylish. Get yourself a dream that can do both amirite? Anyway...Adele gives Louise a book which was written by her old friend who we only see in flashbacks of Adele's life. This book will help her learn how to control her night terrors and so the series becomes increasingly dark as David and Adele grapple for control in their marriage while Louise learns to...wait...uhh...teleport?

The ending of this series had the biggest and most unusual plot twist I've ever seen. I don't want to spoil it but it was refreshing to see an original new take on a drama in an age where we have all been in lockdown and basically watched everything there is to see!