Though I am a lover of all things murder mystery, I have never watched anything like FX’s “A Murder at the End of the World.” Through the show’s use of modern technology, including artificial intelligence, a wide range of depth-filled characters and constant suspense, “A Murder at the End of the World” successfully combines aspects of my favorite thriller movies: “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “Gone Girl” (2014) and “Ex Machina” (2014).
The miniseries, which premiered on Hulu on Nov. 14, stars Emma Corrin as Darby Hart, a tech-savvy, wildly impressive hacker. The famous tech-god Andy Ronson, who is played by Clive Owen, invites Darby, along with eight other guests, on a trip to Iceland. The premiere follows Darby as she navigates her way through the puzzling and closed-off guests while trying to solve a murder.
“A Murder at the End of the World” was created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who also directed the Netflix thriller “The OA” (2016). Though “The OA” got cut short, and viewers were left on the edges of their seats, Marling and Batmanglij made a hit with “A Murder at the End of the World.”
While the show’s premiere was widely praised for its plot, what makes the mystery even more ominous is its mise-en-scene. The episode unfolds across various settings, beginning with a bookstore. The scene is dimly lit, and the colors are unsaturated except for Darby’s red hoodie, which makes her stand out among the crowd. The dark wood shelving and low-lit bookcases fit the mysterious vibe of the scene as Darby tells the audience about the true-crime memoir she wrote.
Darby takes us back to the scene of the action — the motel where she and her former lover, Bill Farrah, who is played by Harris Dickinson, worked to solve a series of murders. The motel is a classic off-the-side-of-the-highway, abandoned-looking structure that you would never want to set foot in. We see Darby and her lover sitting in the dimly lit, run-down-looking motel room, debating whether they should enter the killer’s abandoned house.
The episode continues to show flashbacks from this period, and in all of them, Darby looks different than she does in the present day. Her hair was light brown and long, whereas now it is bleached blonde and short. This shows Darby’s character development and her journey of finding herself after everything she has been through with her ex, Bill. We learned from the flashbacks that Bill and Darby met when they began to feed off of each other’s craziness to attempt solving the series of murders. After the emotional and traumatic roller coaster they had together, Darby cut off all of her hair and looks almost like a new person.
Though the romantic relationship is not explicitly clear, the flashback scene of Bill and Darby in the car singing “No More ‘I Love You’s’” (1995) together shows their bond and care for each other. The two lovers harmonize to the track, a song about love birds not saying “I love you” to each other anymore, which is very symbolic of Bill and Darby’s relationship.
Continuing with the theme of the ominous, eerie scenery, the flashback then takes us to the abandoned home of the killer. What would happen next filled me with suspense. The two are alone in the killer’s dark basement, which looks as though it has been untouched for years. Darby’s and Bill’s flashlights expose the cobwebs and worn-down wood. After the two find a skeleton buried underneath the concrete, the killer appears with a gun in hand. We hear a gunshot, and the scene ends. We were left to wonder what had happened and who was shot — Bill, Darby or the killer themself?
The episode’s plot thickens when Bill, whom many of the retreat’s members praise as an artist by the name of Fangs, appears at the hotel as a guest on the trip. Bill’s appearance startles Darby, as the two have not spoken to each other in six years. Bill sits down across from her, and his awkwardness is apparent, causing a feeling of discomfort in the audience. I felt lost as to what had happened in between the retreat and Darby and Bill’s excursion. When Andy’s son, Zoomer, who is played by Kellan Tetlow, approaches Bill to play make-believe doctor at the dinner table, we can see the sadness in Darby’s eyes as she warmly looks across the table at her former lover.
Lee Anderson, who is played by Marling, and Andy invite all of their guests to go for a swim in the hot springs after dinner, and Darby accepts this offer. She swims through the springs eagerly, making it clear that she only goes out there hoping to find Bill. Unable to find him, Darby goes back to her room to change and then bumps into Bill outside.
The two decide to go on a walk in the pitch-black night and talk about how much they loved each other but how hard their relationship was at the same time. The conversation was very emotional and resonated with me, as a talk between former lovers is never easy. I felt for Darby in this scene — Bill tells Darby how proud of her he is and how much he loves her memoir. Judging by Darby’s silence, it is clear that she is hurt by Bill leaving her and not reaching out over the past six years.
Following the conversation, Darby goes back to her room and resorts to her one true love who will never leave her and has allowed her to become the person she is today: technology. Darby wants to learn more about where Bill has been, and what she found nauseates her.
After seeing many pictures online of Lee and Bill looking very comfortable together, Darby panics and bangs on the door to Bill’s room. She hears groaning coming from the room, leaving the audience to assume that Bill and Lee are having an affair. I was shocked and disgusted that Darby had to listen to what she thought to be her former partner and her idol involved with each other.
Frightened, Darby goes around the side of the hotel to the window of Bill’s room. I was beyond nervous for what she was about to see and wished I could tell her to turn around and go back inside.
Darby turns the corner to see Bill bleeding and on the verge of death. With a very emotional ending, Bill forces Darby to stay by him at the window as he arrives at his death. We are left to wonder what had happened to Bill and what Darby’s next move will be.
Shocking twists and turns fill “A Murder at the End of the World,” leaving the viewer yearning to know what will happen next. This new thriller is a must-watch for mystery lovers.
