The Third Day
Click the button below for my review of the Autumn TV event
If you follow me on social media, or have even done a bit of digging on this website, you’ll know that I’m a massive fan of Channel 4’s short lived thriller series Utopia. As disheartened as I was that the series was criminally ignored by everyone and swiftly dropped after just twelve episodes, Amazon swooped in and picked up the series for a remake which aired around the same time as Utopia creators’ new project aired on Sky & HBO. So I got more Utopia and more Dennis Kelly, life is good…not so much for the people on Osea Island though.
The Third Day is an experimental psychological thriller series that is effectively split into three parts; Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Whilst Summer and Winter are a traditional TV format consisting of three episodes per part, Autumn was planned as a live event that spectators could participate in. For more on Autumn, check out my dedicated review for that part. Here I want to focus solely on Summer and Winter; what worked, what didn’t, and is the show as incredible as Utopia was?
The Third Day is an experimental psychological thriller series that is effectively split into three parts; Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Whilst Summer and Winter are a traditional TV format consisting of three episodes per part, Autumn was planned as a live event that spectators could participate in. For more on Autumn, check out my dedicated review for that part. Here I want to focus solely on Summer and Winter; what worked, what didn’t, and is the show as incredible as Utopia was?
In Summer, Sam (Jude Law) travels into the woods and mourns the anniversary of his son’s death, ten years after his murder at the hands of a mentally unstable immigrant. Whilst in the woods he spots a young boy that looks like his son participate in the hanging of a pre-teen girl. Sam rescues the girl before she is strangled to death and offers to take her to her home on Osea Island. Osea is only accessible via a causeway that links it to the mainland of England when the tide is out. As Sam questions some of the locals of the island about the mysterious boy he saw with the girl he becomes trapped on the island due to missing low tide. He spends the night with the locals as they prepare for an upcoming festival to celebrate the islands heritage and religious roots. Whilst this happens Sam is unable to contact anyone off the island due to the telephone masts being down and him having no signal on his mobile, all whilst he desperately tries to contact someone who he has bribed to help him expand his business. Sam hallucinates that night and begins to question whether the upcoming festival is actually something far more sinister that the locals have planned as they seem to be preventing him from leaving however they can.
Winter picks up after the festival in Autumn. Helen (Naomie Harris) and her two daughters travel to Osea under the pretence of celebrating the eldest daughter, Ellie’s birthday, by engrossing themselves in the island’s rich heritage and archaeological significance; however Helen has her own reasons for wanting to go to Osea and won’t leave until she has answers. Following the events of Autumn the islanders are divided and in a bitter fight over the leadership of the colony which Helen and her daughters become entangled in.
To be blunt, The Third Day is one of the best TV shows I’ve ever seen, but it can be an acquired taste. So because I’m going to be so overwhelmingly positive to this show in general I’ll start with the negatives and there will likely be spoilers ahead.
Winter is not as enjoyable as Summer. This is mainly due to Helen being a really crappy person and you have almost no reason to root for her survival. Naomie Harris delivers a strong performance, but the character is just written in a way that makes her extremely irritating, short sighted, and a bad mother. Her youngest daughter, Lou, is also extremely irritating because she only serves to be a bratty little shit that constantly puts her and her families’ lives in danger because of her inability to do as she is told. The conflict that is happening around them with the islanders that we have come to know over the course of the series is very interesting, because the dynamic between them has shifted so dramatically, unfortunately though we don’t get to see a whole lot of this play out because the focus is on Helen.
I’m not too keen on what happened to Katherine Waterston’s character, Jess, during winter. She becomes the villain of the story to an extent and it seems like a massive departure from how she acted during Summer. In fact Waterston’s performance is almost unrecognisable as the same character across the two parts. Emily Watson’s character, Mrs. Martin also grates me at times because of her constant and unnecessary vulgar language. Whilst the performance and character are both enjoyable, I feel the swearing went slightly overboard at times.
The ending of the series is also too inconclusive for my liking. I can only assume it’s left so open ended so a second series may be possible, but I almost felt cheated when I got to the end and there was no ending as such.
Winter picks up after the festival in Autumn. Helen (Naomie Harris) and her two daughters travel to Osea under the pretence of celebrating the eldest daughter, Ellie’s birthday, by engrossing themselves in the island’s rich heritage and archaeological significance; however Helen has her own reasons for wanting to go to Osea and won’t leave until she has answers. Following the events of Autumn the islanders are divided and in a bitter fight over the leadership of the colony which Helen and her daughters become entangled in.
To be blunt, The Third Day is one of the best TV shows I’ve ever seen, but it can be an acquired taste. So because I’m going to be so overwhelmingly positive to this show in general I’ll start with the negatives and there will likely be spoilers ahead.
Winter is not as enjoyable as Summer. This is mainly due to Helen being a really crappy person and you have almost no reason to root for her survival. Naomie Harris delivers a strong performance, but the character is just written in a way that makes her extremely irritating, short sighted, and a bad mother. Her youngest daughter, Lou, is also extremely irritating because she only serves to be a bratty little shit that constantly puts her and her families’ lives in danger because of her inability to do as she is told. The conflict that is happening around them with the islanders that we have come to know over the course of the series is very interesting, because the dynamic between them has shifted so dramatically, unfortunately though we don’t get to see a whole lot of this play out because the focus is on Helen.
I’m not too keen on what happened to Katherine Waterston’s character, Jess, during winter. She becomes the villain of the story to an extent and it seems like a massive departure from how she acted during Summer. In fact Waterston’s performance is almost unrecognisable as the same character across the two parts. Emily Watson’s character, Mrs. Martin also grates me at times because of her constant and unnecessary vulgar language. Whilst the performance and character are both enjoyable, I feel the swearing went slightly overboard at times.
The ending of the series is also too inconclusive for my liking. I can only assume it’s left so open ended so a second series may be possible, but I almost felt cheated when I got to the end and there was no ending as such.
But onto the good and there’s a whole lot of it. Summer is damn near perfect, in fact there’s almost nothing about it I have issues with. Jude Law is fantastic as Sam and whilst like Helen he is definitely a flawed human being who has made bad choices, you always feel as though he has learned from these mistakes and wants to be a better person. The first episode acts as an excellent way to lure the viewer into the twisted tale with its constant drip feed of new information and twists you don’t see coming. The drama then escalates over the next two episodes as the islanders seem to be undecided about what they want to do with Sam and he is unsure of who to trust. It gives off some strong Wicker Man vibes but goes in a completely different direction with it.
On top of this Marc Munden reunites with Dennis Kelly for the Summer episodes to continue providing some simply spectacular visual delights that always match and sometimes exceed what they created together with Utopia. The way the camera interacts with the scenery and the use of colour is simply incredible and makes the show such a delight to watch. In a stark contrast Winter is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. Colour is almost completely drained from the visuals and the techniques on display are far more erratic. Winter feels considerably more claustrophobic than Summer despite the island setting and geography remaining unchanged. Whilst I personally prefer Munden’s directorial style, Lowthorpe’s style brings a completely different energy to the show that works within the context of what is happening at that point in the story. Cristobel Tapia de Veer also reunites with Kelly from Utopia to provide a haunting and extremely memorable score that is equal parts beautiful and terrifying.
The show manages to weave the stories of multiple key players on the island together expertly over the six episode run, as well as regularly give viewers a heavy dose of the island’s history and somewhat curious religious practices. You learn an awful lot about Osea as a place, and as a result the island becomes as much of a character as any other. The place becomes somewhat ethereal with you being unsure of what is real, and whether the island has a role to play in the events that transpire.
It's a short yet utterly thrilling series that I cannot recommend enough. Whether you choose to watch just Summer & Winter’s six episodes, or whether you also choose to also dip your toes into Autumn’s live performance, The Third Day is simply unmissable TV. It is proof that Dennis Kelly is among the best creative minds working in TV today and if The Third Day was to return for a second series I hope that it too tries to push the boundaries of what TV can be the same way this first series has. Whilst The Third Day may be a little too intense for some viewers with its violent imagery and occult themes, it is something I urge everyone to at least try as you may also find it to be one of the best things to come out of British TV in years.
On top of this Marc Munden reunites with Dennis Kelly for the Summer episodes to continue providing some simply spectacular visual delights that always match and sometimes exceed what they created together with Utopia. The way the camera interacts with the scenery and the use of colour is simply incredible and makes the show such a delight to watch. In a stark contrast Winter is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. Colour is almost completely drained from the visuals and the techniques on display are far more erratic. Winter feels considerably more claustrophobic than Summer despite the island setting and geography remaining unchanged. Whilst I personally prefer Munden’s directorial style, Lowthorpe’s style brings a completely different energy to the show that works within the context of what is happening at that point in the story. Cristobel Tapia de Veer also reunites with Kelly from Utopia to provide a haunting and extremely memorable score that is equal parts beautiful and terrifying.
The show manages to weave the stories of multiple key players on the island together expertly over the six episode run, as well as regularly give viewers a heavy dose of the island’s history and somewhat curious religious practices. You learn an awful lot about Osea as a place, and as a result the island becomes as much of a character as any other. The place becomes somewhat ethereal with you being unsure of what is real, and whether the island has a role to play in the events that transpire.
It's a short yet utterly thrilling series that I cannot recommend enough. Whether you choose to watch just Summer & Winter’s six episodes, or whether you also choose to also dip your toes into Autumn’s live performance, The Third Day is simply unmissable TV. It is proof that Dennis Kelly is among the best creative minds working in TV today and if The Third Day was to return for a second series I hope that it too tries to push the boundaries of what TV can be the same way this first series has. Whilst The Third Day may be a little too intense for some viewers with its violent imagery and occult themes, it is something I urge everyone to at least try as you may also find it to be one of the best things to come out of British TV in years.