A handful of Rotten Tomatoes users seemed to like Saint X, so it must be okay, maybe? This new Hulu show can’t be that bad, right? Time to find out! Here’s our take on TV writer Leila Gerstein’s recent book adaptation that is not exactly sweeping the nation.
Saint X tells the story of three to four characters tied together for life thanks to the death of Alison Thomas (West Duchovny) while on vacation with her family. The loss traumatizes her family, and years later, her younger sister, Emily (Alycia Debnam-Carey), comes across one of the resort staff who many believe was involved in Alison’s death. As promising as the premise is, there are quite a few problems right away, as this is not only the point of view of Emily but also of Alison and the two resort workers as children, young adults, and older adults; and their friend Sarah; and occasionally the Thomas family parents as well. From the onset, Saint X tries to juggle a lot and quickly collapses under its weight from the very first episode.
The Island of Unoriginality on ‘Saint X’
If adapter Gerstein could have kept the thrills rolling through these eight episodes, we could forgive her for stretching the source material too far, similar to the recent Toni Collette vehicle Pieces of Her on Netflix. Instead, Saint X lurches from scene to scene with tension-building red herrings that are both obvious and intentionally misleading (hesitant viewers: beware any potential comparisons to the far cleverer resort murders of The White Lotus). The clues point only to the person who is not the “villain,” as is typical for this style; writers in this genre should know by now that this could only fool someone who has never seen a thriller before.
On a technical level, Saint X fails most evidently. Despite renowned directors like Dee Rees (Mudbound) at the helm, the middle episodes especially demonstrate an almost purposeful lack of cohesion. The biggest crime here is the confusingly fragmented editing, with sequences containing as many as five days’ worth of different storylines in one episode. As a result, the thrills are seriously dulled by wheel-spinning, with resolutions saved entirely for the final episode.
The Verdict
In short, Saint X is a show for only one group of viewership: people who want to see a popular new book as a TV show rather than just reading it. Without fleshing out the characters as a book allows, the Hulu adaptation gives us nothing to look forward to in each episode (unless you are dying to see the noncommittal conclusion). As a thriller, this is far too boring to sustain over six combined hours of investment.
Hulu is streaming all eight episodes of Saint X right now, but they have plenty of other recent shows, including Under the Banner of Heaven, Single Drunk Female, and the 2023 comedy Unprisoned, that are much better.
