I've watched the first two episodes after being tempted by a promo prefaced by 'from the producers of Breaking Bad'. Reading reviews about its slow pace put me off slightly, but I went ahead with the first episode and was hooked about 15 minutes in by the writing, the excellent use of silences and the sheer quality of the performances. Aden Young is mesmerising, his thousand yard stare bringing nuance to every scene he is in, and he is ably supported by a cast I know from nowhere else, with the exception of Adelaide Clemens. The pace is slow, but not in a frustrating way - it seems entirely appropriate to let the audience experience the bewildering, overwhelming experience of being free after two decades on Death Row, and while after two episodes, I am no wiser as to Daniel's innocence, I do find that I genuinely care about it, and that's pretty much the most important thing to me in any drama: I should care about the people (like them, hate them) otherwise I'm just watching moving images. Having said that, the moving images are pretty compelling also - the use of light and the photography are evocative, as is the atmosphere of the small, southern town and the sometimes claustrophobic interiors. Genuinely impressive TV-making; I'm pleased to know there's more to come.
