An adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s mystery books was released on Netflix just over a week ago, and, frankly, it was disappointing.
Upon first glance, Agatha Christie's Seven Dials looks like an entertaining whodunnit. The show follows Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent, played by Mia McKenna-Bruce, as she uncovers and solves a series of mysteries stemming from the death of her to-be fiancé, Gerry Wade. The show takes place in 1920 England at an old country estate, setting the stage for an interesting period mystery. However, the show falls apart when it gets into the execution of that narrative, which is as uninspired as it is boring.
The initiating event of the series takes place at a masquerade party in a country estate known as Chimneys. Here, we are introduced to our main cast and learn of a prank to be played on the murder victim later that night. Gerry is known for oversleeping, and his friends decide to hide an assortment of alarm clocks in his room to wake him up the following morning. However, Gerry doesn’t wake up.
The morning after the party, everyone is downstairs except Gerry, and the alarms in his room are blaring. Annoyed by the racket, Bundle's mom sends up the butler to investigate, followed by Bundle, who finds him dead. From the beginning, we are given clues as to Gerry’s death. There is a sleeping draught next to his bed, which immediately stands out as strange since he was known as an easy sleeper and seven alarm clocks or dials in front of his bed, despite them all being hidden the night prior. Bundle immediately takes the case.
From here, the rest of the series takes a turn for the worse. The clues to solve the case are painfully apparent, and the sophistication the show aims to create quickly falls flat. One of the joys of whodunnits is the challenge of following the clues to find the culprit. In this series, however, the clues are so painfully obvious and all classic investigative tactics so clearly ignored that the mystery is often boring and confusing.
The plot’s attempt to incorporate the secret society, the Seven Dials, failed miserably and only further muddied the plot. It often felt like the events that needed further explanation were glossed over, while those that were especially dull took up most of the screen time.
It was also abundantly clear that the series was aiming to set up for a second season, which might explain part of the confusion and dull parts of the show. The final minutes of the series tried to hint at further adventures to come from Bundle Brent, while also wrapping up, ad nauseam, some of the loose ends of the show.
Overall, there was much to be desired with this series. People watch whodunnits to participate in the story, put themselves in the shoes of the investigator and crack the case. This series missed that mark. While the actors were decent and cinematography was quite well done, maybe think twice before sitting down to watch two and a half hours worth of this sub-par whodunnit.
