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The End is hoping to be the only friend for pensioner Edie Henley (Harriet Walter – Black Earth Rising), who’s trying to commit suicide while her house burns down, but whatever she tries isn’t working out, as she goes out to Australia to be with her daughter, Dr. Kate Brennan (Frances O’Connor – The Conjuring 2), and her two children… but drops her off in a residential village instead, just ten minutes from Kate’s own home.
However, Edie’s constant hard drinking – her new-found hobby – shows she has no want for this life for reasons she will divulge. Meanwhile, Kate works in a hospital where a patient wants to end her own life – causing Kate to do much soul-searching of her own; and Kate’s own children also show an interest in death, such as when young daughter Persephone (Ingrid Torelli) speaks to one of Edie’s neighbours about his taxidermy collection.
There’s a slight lilt of comedy in The End, such as when Edie sees a chair in the shower and asks, “Why not just install a bed(?)”; Plus, there’s a moment when a colleague tells a knackered-looking Kate “Get some sleep or drive thru Botox”.
Overall, The End is dark, it’s intriguing, it’s enlightening, but also it’s depressing. However, there is something about it that makes it feel essential, even if it isn’t always an easy watch; and I do want to see more beyond the first two episodes I’ve watched so far.
The End begins on Sky Atlantic on Monday February 10th, but the series is not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Episodes 1 and 2: 7.5/10
Series Directors: Jessica M Thompson, Jonathan Brough
Producer: Louise Smith
Writer: Samantha Strauss
Music: Antony Partos
Cast:
Edie Henley: Harriet Walter
Dr. Kate Brennan: Frances O’Connor
Persephone Brennan: Ingrid Torelli
Oberon Brennan: Morgan Davies
Henry: John Waters
Art: Roy Billing
Pamela Hardy: Noni Hazlehurst
Philippa Lee: Andrea Demetriades
Jasper: Sebastien Thornton-Walker
Josh: Luke Arnold
Dr. Nikos Naoumidis: Alex Dimitriades
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.