The Fall - S1E1 - Dark Descent

The Fall is a series - exclusively streaming on Netflix- that few are watching and that’s unfortunate – it’s easy to marathon (5 episodes for season 1) and the story starts and moves quickly. Perhaps the brutal violence against woman is hard to swallow for some, and yes there is a lot of that happening in this story, but I dare venture to say The Fall is so much more than that. This show highlights two unique viewpoints of crimes being committed - from the woman investigating the crimes (or as I like to refer to her: THA BOSS) and the man behind them.

Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) is a woman who is clearly in charge as the Detective Superintendent brought in from London to consult on a case in Belfast - a woman was killed and posed in her bedroom. As the story progresses you see Stella is not only a thorough investigator able to link the crimes committed to one individual, but she is also a woman who knows, and goes for, what she wants. It’s not very often strong women are written and acted as well as this character. She’s sexy, intelligent, and meticulous.

Jamie Dornan plays Paul Spector a devoted father, husband, grief counselor, and creepy-ass serial killer. This isn’t a spoiler because all of this happens within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. This is the kind of guy who sniffs panties and draws nude pictures of his clients while they are sobbing to him about a dead child. As fine as Jamie is, his portrayal of skeezy Paul really gave me the shivers. He’s a stalker who is also meticulous enough to put on gloves and place things back where he put them after searching a woman’s home, but confident enough to take pictures of himself and leave an orange peel on her counter. Yesh. His character is a woman’s nightmare.

Another great reason to catch up on this show is the way they show how women are perceived by law enforcement. The short exchange between Sarah Kay (the woman being stalked by Paul) and the police she called to help her really shows how a woman can often be treated when she is a victim. The police not only questioned how much she had to drink, questioned why someone was calling her late at night, but they also had the audacity to ask if the cat had laid her bra and panties on the bed with a dildo underneath. Really? Instead of focusing on who might have entered her home and what their intentions may have been, they focused on what she may have done wrong. It’s why many women don’t bother to ever contact the police. For them, it’s like being violated twice.

If you like intense thrillers and a strong woman protagonist, put The Fall in your queue.

Dive into the first episode and read along with our recaps of season 1 and 2.