★★★★★

Mindhunter makes it to my Top-5 favourite shows ever, in one phenomenal season. That’s saying a lot because I have really deep feelings about all the shows in that Top 5 bracket, but Mindhunter is just THAT good. David Fincher directs 4 out of 10 episodes of this show and they are MAGNIFICENT! Asif Capadia, Lindholm and Douglas all do great jobs as well. The direction is really what makes this show so great. It’s very unconventional in the way it frames characters and storylines. But the direction alone isn’t what makes Mindhunter so great. It’s the writing by Joe Penhall and Jeniffer Haley. These conversations contain some of the best dialogue I have ever heard.

Johnathan Groff is a revelation in this show as he plays FBI Agent Holden Ford, his portrayal of this extremely layered and complex character is phenomenal. The way the show messes with your head and manipulates your emotions can be directly paralleled to the serial killers it covers. It’s a very intelligent show that portrays characters in such a three-dimensional way. Each decision is informed by what we learn about the characters. It uses really abstract framing to enhance the message. When a serial killer describes the crimes they’ve committed, instead of showing us, it lets us imagine it and that makes it so much more effective. The way it covers the psychology of not only these horrible criminals but our ‘honourable’ main characters is so complex and unique that I can’t even begin to describe the nuance with which it treats each character.

I don’t like throwing around the ‘masterpiece’ too often but I really do think that this season of television is a MASTERPIECE. It’s executed so flawlessly and beautifully that you never feel like what you’re watching isn’t real. It’s extremely effective in its message and I’ve never watched anything like it before. Watch Mindhunter, if you love great television, you will not regret it!