As if I needed another streaming service to subscribe to, but when you offer a sweet, sweet deal, then I will! And that’s exactly what AMC+ did. Lucky for me, a subscription to AMC+ also includes access to other things like Sundance Now and Shudder, but at this particular point in time, I was interested in their original series, Ragdoll.
I mean, the title and the premise sounded morbid enough, though strangely, it wasn’t as gruesome as I thought it was going to be. Anyways, before we talk about the titular ragdoll, it’s important to know about the people working on the case. Most interesting is DS Rose, who is just back on the job after a stint in the psych ward for almost beating a man to death in a courtroom. Now, that man totally deserved it because he was a serial killer, but he obtained the evidence in a way that led the court to proclaim the man’s innocence. That didn’t sit well with Rose, but his actions didn’t sit well with the department. Thus, the psych ward stay. It’s clear that he’s back in it when the ragdoll case starts, but he’s is disturbed and haunted by his past.
Also on the team are his close friend (and maybe more) Emily Baxter, along with newbie Lake Edmunds. Baxter is brash, but good at her job and the one in charge of the case, which is why Rose is involved at all. Edmunds is eager to please, but being she’s the only American in a department of Brits means she doesn’t really fit in and consistently rubs people the wrong way. Regardless, it’s these core three that get most involved with the ragdoll case, and in some instances are right in the killers line of fire. Why is the case referred to as Ragdoll? Great question. Right across the street from Rose’s new apartment, a body made up of six different people stitched together is hanging on display. Not long after, a list in sent with six names, the last being Rose’s.
In an attempt to protect the people on this list, the police just end up getting almost all of them killed! In fairly creative ways, I might add. It’s interesting that for some of the people, the killer has others do his bidding, but he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty or to get really close to the action. The twists that this show took were pretty interesting, and for the most part surprising. I was probably most disappointed by the mystery surrounding Rose’s psyche. While we got some answers, there is still a lot that could be explored there. It also seems to me that even though one bad man gets his in the end, I think there is a potential for two killers if this series would happen to get picked up for another season.
The source material the show is based on means that there could be more series, but I’ve already started the first book in the series and I can tell you already that the show has taken some creative liberties. Not necessarily for the bad, at this point at least. Honestly, American actress Lucy Hale was one of the big reasons this show even made it on my radar, but once I found out the premise I was hooked. Perhaps my biggest complaint with the show was that it felt disjointed at times. It felt like some leaps were taken or not enough was explained, but maybe I’m just dumb and missed some obvious stuff. Who knows. Either way, this was a fun start to my subscription and I look forward to seeing what else AMC+ has to offer!