Firstly the pros. I thought the acting was very good, good setting, interesting premise and a controversial topic to draw you in. Nothing like a juicy scandal.
However I feel the cons bring this series down. When the true identity of Kate Woodcroft is revealed I found myself saying what? How could someone physically change so much and sound so different? Remember the Libertine incident was at Oxford, so these are university days not high school. It is unrealistic to claim she can look and sound so different. Moreover, how come Sophie (her study partner) did not recognise her after seeing her on TV, newspapers and in the courtroom? She only conveniently recognises her at the end of the show. As Sophie has young children and is not too old herself we're also not talking about decades after her university days.
The other major con is the use of a stereotype. We are shown the white entitled male stereotype who behaves poorly during his university days and supposedly gets away it. It would be nice for a show not to push an agenda but rely on it's rich subject matter instead. I think this fictitious Libertine era storyline could have been omitted. In fact, what if James Whitehouse was an admirable character and this scandal leaves viewers questioning everything? It would have been better viewing if it made it more about the twists and turns of the trial. For these cons I'm sadly giving this show a 6, I had hoped for more.
However I feel the cons bring this series down. When the true identity of Kate Woodcroft is revealed I found myself saying what? How could someone physically change so much and sound so different? Remember the Libertine incident was at Oxford, so these are university days not high school. It is unrealistic to claim she can look and sound so different. Moreover, how come Sophie (her study partner) did not recognise her after seeing her on TV, newspapers and in the courtroom? She only conveniently recognises her at the end of the show. As Sophie has young children and is not too old herself we're also not talking about decades after her university days.
The other major con is the use of a stereotype. We are shown the white entitled male stereotype who behaves poorly during his university days and supposedly gets away it. It would be nice for a show not to push an agenda but rely on it's rich subject matter instead. I think this fictitious Libertine era storyline could have been omitted. In fact, what if James Whitehouse was an admirable character and this scandal leaves viewers questioning everything? It would have been better viewing if it made it more about the twists and turns of the trial. For these cons I'm sadly giving this show a 6, I had hoped for more.