The Haunting of Bly Manor

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 9, 2020
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 95
  3. Negative: 22 out of 95
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User Reviews

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  1. SolidSnake88
    Oct 12, 2020
    0
    There's a few words that can sum up the entirety of The Haunting of Bly Manor but the first few that come to mind are slow, boring, incoherent, and disappointing. The show moves at a snail's pace and it's a prime example of writers not understanding how to pull of a slow burn without grinding the plot to a halt. On top of that snail's pace you will also see that entire plot and everyThere's a few words that can sum up the entirety of The Haunting of Bly Manor but the first few that come to mind are slow, boring, incoherent, and disappointing. The show moves at a snail's pace and it's a prime example of writers not understanding how to pull of a slow burn without grinding the plot to a halt. On top of that snail's pace you will also see that entire plot and every subplot is a total mess, it's as if every episode was written piecemeal by separate writers who never actually spoke to one another. The majority of the season episodes are nothing more than filler to pad it out to the nine episode mark and the few that aren't suffer from every issue that's already been mentioned.

    If this was the first season of The Haunting of (insert spooky house name) the show would've likely been a total flop and also would've likely been a one and done affair. This season really gives the impression that Mike Flanagan just wanted to make a drama so he snuck this in under the guise of being part of The Haunting series. This impression doesn't exactly bode well for what is to come in future seasons either, and that is if there are more after this. If you're going into this expecting something that even slightly resembles Hill House then you're going to be extremely disappointed. Seriously, don't waste your time on this show.    … Expand
  2. yurieu
    Oct 11, 2020
    0
    I don't know on what I've spent some hours on. This series has no genre, it's not a thriller, it's not an horror neither a psychological horror; there is too much talking and nothing else. Character's individualistic storytelling reminds me the awful The Walking Dead segments with too much talking and excess focus on unlikable characters. Skip this is the best option.
  3. Qeylis
    Oct 11, 2020
    1
    This show is the polar opposite of Hill house. Where Hill House was spooky, fun, and immensely memorable, Bly Manor is banal, boring, and shockingly forgettable. If this was the first season in the series, NO ONE would be talking about it. It would have quietly arrived on Netflix with no fanfare. No one would have noticed.

    This show would have been better if it was only 3 episodes    This show is the polar opposite of Hill house. Where Hill House was spooky, fun, and immensely memorable, Bly Manor is banal, boring, and shockingly forgettable. If this was the first season in the series, NO ONE would be talking about it. It would have quietly arrived on Netflix with no fanfare. No one would have noticed.

    This show would have been better if it was only 3 episodes long. Instead it is 9 episodes. Jam packed with tedious filler to pad the run time. By the third episode, it became clear that the writers were more concerned about social commentary than they were with telling a halfway decent story. The story shifts from it inconsequential ghost story to an inconsequential love story. The story never finds it's legs. It never gets better.

    I was very excited about this show. Absolutely loved the first one. But this may be the worst thing I've seen on TV in decades. Avoid it.    … Expand
  4. whiteyak
    Oct 13, 2020
    3
    One of the worst series that I have seen on Netflix. You could tell they had to stretch an hour-long story over nine hours. Hill House was one of the best Netflix shows made in comparison. The accents and writing don't help but what on earth went wrong?
  5. kawaiipotatoe
    Oct 10, 2020
    0
    This is actually the worst show I have seen in ages. Please do not watch it, I have wasted time of my life I will never get back. This is not only desperate in referencing the original season but it is also attempting to elaborate on every single possible **** detail that it can - it tells and refuses to show. You can literally be brain dead and watch this and still understand the linearThis is actually the worst show I have seen in ages. Please do not watch it, I have wasted time of my life I will never get back. This is not only desperate in referencing the original season but it is also attempting to elaborate on every single possible **** detail that it can - it tells and refuses to show. You can literally be brain dead and watch this and still understand the linear message it is trying to send because there is very little room for either interpretation or anything else. Although one episode sticks out as being unique, the one about Mrs Grose, the rest of the show continues to reply on it as a crutch and falls. Also, please keep in mind that much of the show has like a billion plot points that are brought up and forgotten all for the sake of ending the episode or making something seem more interesting than it ever can be. The show sucks, a hundred different writers and directors worked on it and communicated with each other from what I assume was a potato. Literally, none of their plots join, it does not work, and the editing is its only saving grace with that falling short as the show nears its conclusion… Expand
  6. DESIGRON
    Oct 11, 2020
    0
    That's a great example of how "modern standards" can ruin a show. Better to watch the first one.
  7. SirensOfTitan
    Oct 13, 2020
    2
    This was pretty bad and nothing like the first season. It’s slow, meandering, un-creative with hollow characters. There’s an insidious trend of writing generally started by Damien Lindeloff with Lost, then Leftovers where writers spend most of their time on character studies, totally ignoring or writing bad plot. The issue is, if you don’t take the plot seriously, you’re missing the mostThis was pretty bad and nothing like the first season. It’s slow, meandering, un-creative with hollow characters. There’s an insidious trend of writing generally started by Damien Lindeloff with Lost, then Leftovers where writers spend most of their time on character studies, totally ignoring or writing bad plot. The issue is, if you don’t take the plot seriously, you’re missing the most important part of character: the context in which they’re embedded. Call these writers the high modernists of writing: they believe good stories don’t need context to be good. Or maybe call them narcissists: they believe people can be separated from the context they’re embedded in. Whether we’re talking about television, or urban planning, or statecraft or anything in between: we should all be adult enough to say that yes, context is important. People don’t exist, only relationships do.

    In essence: this show continues a terrible trend in writing that it didn’t even invent. It took every good thing from the first season and broke it. Either the writers were out of ideas, or they weren’t very brave.    … Expand
  8. Oldman1917
    Oct 21, 2020
    2
    One good episode of 9 is about 1 point ... Okay, I'll give 2. If you want to watch the series, and not play the radio, then watch something else. Ten-minute monologues accompanied by sad music have become a tradition in almost every episode. This is terrible! And seriously, none of the critics noticed this? Seriously? ...

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020
27
#27 Most Shared TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. The Detroit News
    Reviewed by: Tom Long
    Nov 30, 2020
    75
    The nice thing is it pretty much works. Oh, there’s a great deal of silliness and some false notes — it is a ghost story, after all and some explanations add up while others just drift away. But in the end “Bly Manor” dares to make at least some sense (which is likely blasphemy to Henry James fanatics).
    Read full review
  2. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Aja Romano
    Oct 12, 2020
    70
    Some pointed and strategic tonal shifts throughout the series’ nine episodes also help keep the pace from flagging, though I’d argue that nine episodes was a few too many. Conversely, given proper attention, the series’ climax could have been significantly expanded and dramatized.
    Read full review
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Judy Berman
    Oct 9, 2020
    70
    While Hill House excelled in its early, grounded episodes before devolving into chaos at the end, Bly Manor only gets going in a second half that, despite some distractingly soapy twists, thrives on productive confusion. And it offers a more satisfying conclusion than the first season.
    Read full review
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