In a world gradually descending into a dependence on technology, Netflix’s The One, gives a glimpse of what it would be like to have your soulmate be custom-made for only you. True love is guaranteed with the click of a single button. And expectedly, the world succumbs to the algorithms, hoping that they succeed.
Black Mirror-esque in its approach, the sci-fi series is all about the core problems that lie beneath such “matchmaking.” Based on John Marrs’ 2017 novel, The One keenly observes couples who sign up for the Soulmates programme and follows their lives as they try navigating each other’s romantic spaces.
The series is placed well contextually for its times, in that, it rightly provides a dystopian image of what might become. But credit to the makers, that the outcome of such technological intervention is never explicitly laid out. For all we know, we might actually be simulations of a larger macrocosmic algorithm at play.
The series delves deep into the cluelessness of having readymade love brought to you in a fancy platter and the vulnerabilities that come accompany it. We’ve all had “natural, out in the world” experiences, but The One stands as an alternative for what comes next, for what happens when humans feel the compelling need to be alone, yet find love.
Even though the makers may not have intended it that way, but the series leaves an aftereffect of ennui. A sense of nihilism in a society that descends into mechanical permutations and combinations. But that’s not to say that the bot mediation is completely detrimental.
Many find love, forge true friendships and create new bonds despite not having initiated it on their own. But The One hints at a lower probability of it, but always giving its audiences a hope that it’s never all to bleak.
Where the ball drops, is the execution of the show. Concept aside, the show is peppered with mediocre performances. A flurry of actors come in and out with staccato dialogues, all too fast, all too insignificant to retain. Automatically, that leaves an ill impact on the narrative, disconnecting its viewers.
Conceptually too The One stumbles in a genre that’s been well explored by other digital content. References like Westworld or even Colony crop up as templates for comparison, making the glaring glitches obvious. The One deals with a lot beyond just sci-fi elements. A parallel track of a murder mystery runs alongside the eight-episode drama, diluting the impact which it may have otherwise had. The investigation behind the murder completely bogs down the buoyancy that is naturally expected of a sci-fi thriller.
The One surpasses expectations as far as production value is concerned. Slick set design adds to the charm of creating a world where most of what’s around us is futuristic. Netflix rolls out yet another thinker with The One, only that the thoughts are probably be lost in translation.
The One streams on Netflix.
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