- Network: HBO
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 14, 2020
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Critic Reviews
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“The Third Day” runs haywire in so many directions the fear is it might pull a “Lost” and amount to nothing. But by the third episode it’s clear that’s not the case; writer Dennis Kelly ties it all together in wondrous fashion and then lets the firestorm burn on. It’s glorious stuff.
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A project that leads with its overall ambition, and while “The Third Day” still has a few narrative missteps to try to hold your attention, it makes for gripping, standout television.
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Dramatic reveals notwithstanding, the second segment of “Third Day” doesn’t have the same level of manic, violent, urgent madness as the first, but thanks in large part to Harris’ riveting work as a fiercely protective mother not to be trifled with, it’s just as involving. Episode 5 ends on a note that promises many of the major mysteries on Osea will be solved in the finale. Can’t wait.
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Few but the most dedicated of Jude Law fans will have the time or inclination to sit through all of that, but on the basis of this intriguing episode I’d say it’s worth a look.
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If you’ve seen The Wicker Man, you can probably guess that things only get weirder once they arrive. Yet for all its familiarity, The Third Day, an eerily beautiful psychological thriller rarely comes across as derivative. ... [The second half of the miniseries'] frosty, gray seasonal backdrop might deserve more blame than the cast and crew for its initial tedium. In any case, the action picks up toward the end of the first hour.
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The show shouldn’t work, but the foggy excess of the setting provides a sort of counterweight for performances that burn with crispness. If where we tend to end up — that, for these characters, the end of the world isn’t so very hard to distinguish from the grief they’re already feeling — isn’t wholly novel, the staging and its rawness here make you feel it anew, and provide a strong argument for giving “The Third Day” your time.
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It's a rich mix of themes and intriguing details intensely played by a remarkable cast (with Considine emerging as something of an MVP by making Mr. Martin so unreadable behind his ingratiating smile). What's not clear, five of six episodes in, is if The Third Day will find a way to bring all the elements together, both narratively and otherwise — and whether all its unanswered questions will end up like dead ends.
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Harris is very good here but they simply lack the urgency of the first half of the series as the viewer has to piece together how they connect to something already seen instead of experiencing them in a more immediate, character-driven way. ... However, Harris and the two young performers hold it together emotionally and the fifth episode ends with a scene that implies a fascinating final chapter to come.
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The conceit is executed well; we don’t feel manipulated by Barrett, Kelly and their writers deliberately hiding things or throwing us red herrings. But we’re not 100 percent engaged by Sam’s story, either. ... The performances of Law and Waterson, as well as the chemistry between Watson and Considine as the weirdly gruff and cheery Martins are keeping us interested.
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HBO’s latest limited series fights to be formally experimental at every turn, but its core narrative is a tad too predictable for its pedigree. Fans of creepy mysteries, potent atmospherics, and anyone in this sterling cast should be satisfied, but few will be blown away by how it unfolds.
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The Third Day works best when it’s not teasing out this or that secret about Osea and its cagey inhabitants. A strong undercurrent in which characters wrestle with their grief keeps wrenching the story away from its somewhat ambling mystery plot.
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It may work better if you parcel it out – maintaining, I would suggest, at least the once-traditional week between episodes – rather than binge-watching. That way you can revel in the atmosphere and enjoy the performances and the broad sweep of the thing without getting overwhelmed by the not-quite-crisp-enough plot details, underwhelmed by the various payoffs or distracted by the mounting absurdities.
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The Third Day is as lost and directionless as its characters. By the time you reach the end of the “Summer” section, you’re left with as many — if not more — questions as you have answers. You’ll feel slightly dazzled from its aesthetic pleasures, as it’s a show where the setting is as much as characters as the bodies that populate it, but your mileage may vary on how invested you feel by the time you get to the hurried, slightly sweaty second half to the final “Summer.”
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It’s a puzzle show, buoyed by some good acting and cinematography, but there’s not much there there.
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A structurally intriguing limited series, The Third Day takes that context and uses it as a flimsy foundation for what is basically a more polished TV remake of The Wicker Man. Although it's made fairly watchable by several strong star turns and some lovely visuals, the fiction in The Third Day proves far less interesting than the verifiable history, layering on one unsurprising genre twist after another with almost no real visceral impact.
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The problem is that the uncanny Wiccan hamlet, full of people in animal masks and weaponised Morris dancers, is a cliche that has already been flogged to death (and really cannot be presented with a straight face in the wake of League of Gentlemen). Law’s character, meanwhile, is too dull for us to care what he’s secretly up to. Fireworks may follow further down the line as the pagan festival kicks off in Osea. For now, though, this isn’t so much Burning Man in Essex as a prestige TV damp squib.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 14
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Mixed: 7 out of 14
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Negative: 2 out of 14
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Jan 25, 2021
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Sep 16, 2020