Fool Me Once (TV Mini Series) Episode #1.1 (2024) User Reviews

It's a very good, intriguing start.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 14 January 2024]

Joe Burkett is shot dead one night in front of his wife Maya. Days later, Maya checks the footage of a hidden Nanny cam, where she sees her husband playing with their daughter, reality, a trick or PTSD?

There's been a lot of hype surrounding this series, and I'm always a little dubious about number one on Netflix, but it's got a great cast, and it's Harlan Coben, it should be good.

I'll be honest, episode one done, and I'm hooked, I think it's an excellent first episode, I love the intrigue, the mystery, the sheer intrigue, already, I am booked.

Very well produced and well acted, couple that with the script, this is a winner. The main question, what happened to Maya?

Michelle Keegan is very good, I'm a fan of hers, I'm so glad Adeel Akhtar is in this, he's just wonderful.

That house is sensational, and I can truly see Joanna Lumley living in a place like that, keen to see more from her.

8/10.

Episode 1

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 20 January 2024]

Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan) attends the funeral of her husband Joe Burkett (Richard Armitage) who was apparently shot dead by some muggers on a motorbike.

A second tragedy that has been inflicted on her in a short space of time. Her sister was also killed recently.

Also there is Detective Inspector Sami Kierce (Adeel Akhtar) who is fighting some demons of his own. He might suspect that the dutiful widow Maya might have some involvement in her husband's death. She was in the army where she left under a cloud. So maybe Sami is chasing a crooked shadow.

Sami was invited by Judith (Joanna Lumley.) Maya's wealthy mother in law from hell. She runs a pharmaceutical company. Not pleased that the police has not yet caught her son's killer.

This is another Harlan Coben adaptation for Netflix. The story has been transplanted to Britain and Richard Armitage appears in it. His third time.

It opens with a creepy flashback with some kids at school. The police forensics discover that the same gun was used to kill Joe as well as Maya's sister. However Maya suddenly thinks that her husband might not be dead. She saw an image of him in the nanny cam. He had come to visit their daughter.

As for Sami, a former alcoholic who keeps passing out. No wonder he has been saddled with a new younger partner. So he can babysit Sami.

The first episode has all the hallmarks of a Coben book. It is sprawling as it introduces various characters, some shady ones and they are bound to be links that will be established in later episodes.

At eight parts I suspect this will be flabby in the middle. Both Keegan and Akhtar hold your attention. Joanna Lumley oozes hostility.

Please cast kids so they could be related to their parents!

[Fargomoviecritic · 8/10 · 6 January 2024]

So I saw this on Netflix and wondered if it was worth watching. The acting seems good at the onset but the weird hazing bs scene to start was ridiculous. Why is it always a rich hazing incident that may be the cause of how messed up or why people kill others?

Out of the shoot at the wedding I am looking for kids who could be related to Joe and Claire and I didn't see any with a skin complete "dark" enough to be theirs. Then she has a daughter who doesn't look like here. Same with her sister's children. Why did they cast this show and have kids that couldn't be possible related by not having any of their mum's traits. Why do show try to cast completely different looking offspring by skin tone, hair color, or height? It undermines the credibility of the show and sets the precedent that this casting director was completely lazy and just threw some people together. I am forever disappointed in this show because of it. Lazy lazy lazy!

So, Who will discover the truth first?

[rohanumpleby-34057 · 7/10 · 21 January 2024]

A Brilliant start to a whodunit siries, so far it's been highly entertaining, and on that note it's a very watchable siries. Episode 1 shows us the stages of pain and grief, with a mystery surrounding who had killed Mayas husband, a dead realitive of hers has is undiscovered as of this current point in time. But he was shot.

The story is however baste on real life events, covering a true story. Which makes it that little more interesting in my opinion. And with certain questions that's unanswered and haven't been told who Joe's killer is, it leaves for some interesting exploration and some exciting moments. And raises questions from the viewers watching. But so far in episode 1 their seems to be a gang type murder, with some wide and zoomed in shots of their gang like appearance, with a gun shot death after that. Leading to both cases that could in some way be related to one another.

The story is very interesting and is definitely well-paced throughout the story. First shows us the gang. And some Flashbacks which I enjoy personally, and on board with that type of approach if used well and effectively. Then we have a funeral for Joe. But, with some strange incidents, Maya for some reason keeps seeing her dead husband, leading to a possibility that he might be still alive. And it raises more questions making the story more intreging as it unfolds.

I love how the story utilises Mayas pain and grief, because it indicates that she cares and she has a decent story that isn't finished yet. Making the next episode highly anticipating for me, and makes me want to watch more as her story folds. Also having a daughter. Which makes the episode more intense, and adds to the tension. And also allows for more vulnerability and more depth to her character.

The Characters all have an interesting story that needs to be unfolded, and with time it will be. My only real issue is how will it be resolved and it could be rushed as it has to uncover the truth, the connection between the killings and the murder. And weather or not most of the questions will be awnsered, but for now the story and the characters are great, with a backstory of a connected death. Let's hope it stays good.

Would I recommend this Episode?, and Possibly the whole show?

I am saying yes, it's highly addictive! 7/10.

Quite the opening episode...

[allmoviesfan · 9/10 · 17 February 2024]

Well, if the rest of the series is as intriguing and tense as the first episode was, I'm going to find it hard to not binge. Good acting and a good premise, right out of the gate.

Maya (Michelle Keegan) is a former helicopter pilot in the British Army, who lost her sister and more recently her husband - death follows her, as someone remarks. So imagine her surprise when she logs onto a hidden camera one day soon after the funeral - ostensibly to check on the nanny - and sees her husband (Richard Armitage, of 'Spooks' and 'The Hobbit' fame) appear.

Of course, no one believes Maya, with the exception of a police detective, played Adeel Akhtar. Everyone else thinks she's mentally ill, suffering from PTSD from her combat days or just imagining things.

The final scene of the first episode offers another bombshell.

Joe's Death

[ZegMaarJus · 8/10 · 30 January 2024]

This Episode begins with Maya, she is at the funeral of her husband Joe. Joe got shot to death, that is the reason why he died. Eva gives a nannycam to Maya. Maya sees her husband Joe on the footage of the nannycam, that is not possible because he died. Izabella sprayed pepperspray in Maya her eyes and escaped. Maya tells Detective Kierce that she saw her husband on the nannycam. Detective Kierce got into a car accident, he is slightly hurt. Izabella escaped, Maya was chasing her down. Maya tells Judith that she saw Joe on footage of the nannycam. Detective Kierce tells Maya that the murderweapon of Joe his death is the same of her sister Claire's death. Nice Premiere Episode of Fool Me Once, this was a really great beginning. A dark and psychological thriller!

Immediately lost interest

[RMurray847 · 2/10 · 9 February 2024]

I can only review Episode 1 because that's all I watched or plan to watch at this point. Usually, when my wife and I start a new series, we watch a minimum of two episodes to get a sense for whether we're interested in seeing more. Well, 10 minutes into episode 1, my wife fell asleep. I found myself deeply uninterested. The behavior of the lead character after she discovers something shocking and seemingly impossible is just so terribly hard to believe. But everything about Maya is hard to believe; she doesn't really seem to be experiencing grief, despite wearing black. I know this is a thriller, and we've enjoyed other Harlan Coben adaptations in the past, but this one is completely unconvincing. The whole thing feels rushed. Generally pretty dreadful acting (Richard Armitage, in particular, is awful. I've yet to see him give a single decent performance in anything...I guess he should give hope to all wannabe actors out there.) The writing is slapdash. Editing is all fast cuts to make us think this story is hurling forward at breakneck speed.

Just yuck. When the episode ended, that was it for me. Exited Netflix, woke up my wife, and watched an old episode of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS just to actually be entertained.