Netflix’s newly released, limited series, “The Residence” is a binge worthy murder mystery for people who thought “Knives Out” wasn’t long enough.
The show follows the main character, Detective Cordelia Cupp, as she searches through the enormous white house’s residency floor for clues of who murdered the white house usher, A.B. Wynter. Throughout her investigation, she finds many seemingly guilty people who keep you engaged and make you wonder who the culprit really is.
One of the best things about “The Residence” is it’s impressively fast-paced. The show is a complicated puzzle piece that keeps you on your toes. Throughout its playtime, the sheer mass of the white house is overwhelming making the murder investigation a very complex uncovering.
Although the storyline seems hard to follow, the writers explained it in an impressively fast and effective way. The dialogue timing is also noteworthy with characters delivering sharp lines that are greatly timed as various actors proved to have great comedic timing in this piece.
The series has a certain deadpan humor that lands well enough.
The series features a good sense of comedy. Many jokes land well, making the dialogue witty and fun, which adds a certain charm to the show.
Uzo Aduba, who plays Detective Cupp, delivers a great performance, showcasing a smart, Sherlock Holmes or Benoit Blanc-esque character with a few quirks.
One of them being her fascination with birds, as Cupp keeps a list of many birds that she has seen, draws them, and even goes birding at times when she has more important things to do.
Multiple times throughout the show, she goes on long rants about different birds and explains their importance. While it’s interesting at first, it can start to feel a bit repetitive.
The rants can be sometimes important to a scene, these bird analogies seem like they’re trying to add intellectual depth but come off as filler that is trying to be something deeper than it is. It’s nice for a moment but as the show progresses, it starts to feel like a distraction from the mystery itself.
The mystery storyline is the star of the story. Unraveling the clues and figuring out who might be the killer keeps you hooked, but when the murderer is finally revealed, the payoff feels way too rushed.
After the buildup, the reveal happened fast and without much explanation, which made it feel unsatisfying. The way it played out, it felt as if Detective Cupp was wrong about who the murderer was because the culprit never explained anything and set up many other scenes where an innocent character was accused.
This lack of explanation from the killer is a major letdown. Other characters get some backstory through flashbacks, but we don’t get much of that for the murderer.
It would’ve been nice to see more from the killer’s perspective in the final episode or a few words from them as to why they did it, but they leave without a word, and we only get Detective Cupp’s interpretation of the events.
Having the explanation would have added more depth to the story and made the ending feel more earned.
‘The Residence’ is a fun and entertaining show that is worth recommending even with its flaws. It is one of Netflix’s better releases that stray from their usual trash dumps for cash grabs.
It has great visuals, solid comedy, and a mystery that keeps you invested from the beginning. While the rushed ending leaves you feeling a little disappointed, it is worth a watch.
