Why you should watch Netflix’s ‘The OA’

We all have that one person whose judgment we trust when it comes to what sci-fi series and movies to stream.

Mine happens to be Luqman Ahmed, an endearingly awkward and geeky Capetonian who, like me, lives for all things sci-fi.

So, when he tweeted about the second season of Netflix’s The OA having started, I made a point of checking out the first season – in spite of the promotional trailer not doing much to entice me. And I am glad I did.

Brit Marling in The OA. Picture: Netflix

The story focuses on a young woman, Prairie Johnson (played by Brit Marling), who disappeared seven years ago, then turns up on a roadside and is taken to hospital after trying jump from a bridge.

She is confused and disoriented and when her parents rush to her bedside, they tell the nurse their daughter has never seen them until today – because she was blind when she left home.

How is it that she can now see? What are the hieroglyphic-like scars on her back? Where has she been all this time? These are the questions that will grip views right from the first episode and give The OA it’s compelling, disturbing and yet equally comforting eeriness.

As it turns out, Netflix had deliberately designed the promo trailers to create an element of eerie secrecy because, as you’ll discover, if you decide to watch this series, it uses an interesting form of storytelling where the protagonist is the only one who can reveal what happened to her, which she does bit by delicious bit over the entire first season.

The OA. Picture: Netflix

In addition to brilliantly playing the role of the main character, Brit Marling also happens to be the creator and executive producer of this mind-bending series, which received an impressive 75% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

So loyal are the viewers of The OA to the code of secrecy that I am yet to see one spoiler about this series, which is a refreshingly cerebral approach towards spirituality and the hereafter.

Roshan Naahar, from the Hindustan Times, summed it up perfectly when he said: “The OA is consistently challenging, refreshingly ambitious and a bittersweet reminder of the Golden Age of Netflix, back when the streaming service had cultivated an identity for itself with consistency excellent programming.”

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