Netflix’s original content output is much larger than other streaming services, so we are here to help you distinguish the decent enough options from the not-quite-acceptable ones. Who Is Erin Carter? is the latest crime miniseries to stream, certainly falling into one of those two categories: most everyone will feel at least a little lukewarm here. Read below and see which side of mediocre Who Is Erin Carter? falls on.
Who Is Erin Carter? Plot and Cast
A seemingly average British woman lives with her daughter and husband in Barcelona, working as a substitute teacher. In the first episode, she stops an armed robbery at a grocery store, and this chance encounter enters her into a world of violence that appears to be returning from sins of the past. Evin Ahmad plays the title role of Erin Carter, who has many more violent interactions before the grand conclusion in Episode 7.
Though this is Ahmad’s first English-language showing as a lead performer, you might recognize some of the supporting cast. Sean Teale, also known as the lead role in Syfy’s Incorporated, plays the husband, and we also see sizeable appearances from Douglas Henshall (Primeval) as a mysterious individual and Denise Gough (Andor) as a former associate of Erin.
Serviceable Story, Tediously Told
Who Is Erin Carter? currently has very little critical discourse despite recently being a Netflix #1 series, but those reviews even out to be positive, sometimes even glowing, overall. However, any familiar with the action-drama genre, particularly those in the “violent past re-emerges” archetype famously used in A History of Violence (you could even boil it down to the arc for Michael Corleone in The Godfather), will likely find some problems. Like countless miniseries that the producers should have had carefully edited into a movie-length experience, Who Is Erin Carter? fills more space with pretty shots of Barcelona without much moving forward than effectively grips the viewer.
Stereotypical elements aside, Netflix’s newest single-arc crime show is likable, if not loveable. Ahmad and her relationship with the daughter character (Indica Watson) have their moments, and some developments in their interactions as more is revealed lead to a wrapped-up ending that is not universally disappointing. However, the unoriginal lead-up, as surprising as the writers think it is, might push viewers to switch to one of Netflix’s many other original options.
Who Will Be Satisfied by Who Is Erin Carter?
Oddly, the answer to “Who is Erin Carter?” comes halfway through the limited series, in Episode 4. This strange pacing gives us three remaining episodes of concluding material, one of which drops a dramatic bomb that shakes things up for an exciting ending. Unlike some of the usual action fare, Who Is Erin Carter?‘s lengthened pacing does not reward the cheap thrill crowd with its violence, with most episodes only getting two or three quick action scenes in an otherwise drama-filled one-hour runtime. Those who are patient and invest in the handful of worthwhile pieces here might get their percentage of the Netflix subscription fee’s worth, but if you cannot see anything but stock characters and standard genre tropes, do not bother going past the first episode.
Who Is Erin Carter? is streaming now on Netflix.
