If you wanted a TV show that is a cross between The Returned, Twilight, and Skins, then The Innocents is one for you. It crosses genres from romance to crime to fantasy, and this mishmash does not make for good viewing.

Harry and June run away together on the night of June’s sixteenth birthday, escaping June’s overprotective father and Harry’s life as a young carer for his dad whilst his mother works as a detective inspector. They’re intercepted by two Norwegians who want to capture June and take her to her mother in a remote sanctuary. After they escape, June discovers the ability to take on other people’s forms. The show follows the pair running from their families and the Norwegians, as well as focusing on June’s mother at the sanctuary.

The Innocents is beautifully shot, showing sweeping Nordic countryside and bleak Yorkshire landscape, emphasizing the isolation of the sanctuary and the frustrating reality of living in the remote countryside. The soundtrack is also admirable, music by the likes of Tom Odell and Lykke Li adding to the atmosphere of the series. The show is slow burning with only brief moments of action; there’s a lot of discussion of what the characters are going to do next. The first two episodes are interesting; you’re curious about the motivations of Harry and June and you learn about every character involved and June’s power. However, it all starts to go downhill from episode 3. The dialogue becomes stilted and the main element of fantasy is how unrealistic the show becomes. Two teenagers run off to London and they’re met with open arms by complete strangers who put them up for the night within minutes of meeting them, whisk the pair off to nightclubs which they somehow get into despite looking very much sixteen. The script is lazy at times; a grown man advising June to follow him into the back of his black van because ‘he has a message from her mother she needs to see’ would terrify anyone, and no one would actually say that if they didn’t want them to run away immediately. The creators also seem intent on putting June in skimpy dresses and have grown women seduce her which makes for very uncomfortable viewing, considering she’s only just turned sixteen and has absolutely no world experience, suddenly having women trying to touch her and kiss her.

I spent most of my time watching the show feeling sorry for Harry. He’s a nice young boy who just wanted to run away with the girl he wrote love letters to and instead he’s met with a shape-shifter who regularly falls into a state of nihilism and refuses to listen to him. He’s the most level-headed character in the show, trying to get a job to support June, procuring cars to get them around, and always wanting to move forward whilst loving June unflinchingly. He’s the dream for any teenager and he gets treated really badly throughout the series. The show also takes itself very seriously: surely a teenage boy trying to calm down a burly bearded Norwegian sitting in the fetal position or a pregnant nurse in a slip dress should be a little bit funny. Instead it’s played completely straight and makes for dull viewing.

The Innocents is an enjoyable watch if you’ve ran out of shows to watch and you’re looking for a series with nice landscapes, not much substance, and plenty of tears and yelling, but this is very specific.

Creators: Simon Duric, Hania Elkington
Stars: Sorcha Groundsell, Percelle Ascott, Guy Pearce
Lauren Jones
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