'The End of the F***ing World'

WARNING!: SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD AHEAD!"

When it's really cold out, I tend to never leave my house. When I never leave my house, I get bored pretty quickly. So, while browsing on my phone for a bit, I found an advertisement for a show on Netflix called The End of the F***ing World. No joke, that's actually the title. I was pretty intrigued, mostly because the advertisements looked pretty funny.

I got on Netflix, watched the pilot, and then finished the entire series in less than 24 hours.

Based off of a graphic novel of the same name, the story follows 17-year-old James, who believes he's a psychopath. He feels nothing for life, and feels no emotion.

Enter Alyssa, a 17-year-old bad girl type. Her home life sucks and she feels drawn to James. She's got a bad attitude, a foul mouth that would make a sailor blush, and a hopelessly romantic outlook. Her commentary on most everything is one of the most hilarious parts of each episode. She finds herself wanting to be with an outcast like her, so she approaches James, asking him to be her boyfriend, and kisses him the same day, which James is hilariously inept at reacting to.

James decides he wants to kill her, so he plays along and pretends to fall for her, intending on killing her as soon as he can, so he can find out what it's like to take another person's life. After all, he's killed plenty of animals, so why should humans be different?

After a chain of events, the two go on a road trip together, their destination unknown. James begrudgingly listens to everything Alyssa says, mostly responding with "Yeah," "Okay," "Sure," and "Yes." At first, I thought it was kind of stupid, but given who James is, the show became quite entertaining.

Alyssa shows James how to let loose, to bring him out of himself. It was comical at how socially inept he was, and I felt embarrassed for him. Eventually, his plan to kill Alyssa fades into the back of his mind.

As the show goes on, Alyssa and James do something extremely bad that sets the police on their tails, and they wind up getting into even more trouble. They go on the run, intending on staying with Alyssa's estranged father until things blow over.

By now, James is realizing that he may not be a psychopath, considering he's developed some feelings for Alyssa. At first, he sees himself as her protector, but then he realizes she's his protector. His once fake feelings are now genuine, and the viewer notices little changes. He begins wearing color, something that seems a bit mundane, but when you take into account the darkness of the show, it's a big change. He smiles a bit more, something he couldn't do without looking creepy, he dances, and he laughs more. Not forced laughter, either.

As for the quality of the show itself?

The camera work and editing is brilliantly done, and the actors are hilarious. You can hear James and Alyssa's thoughts, which gives you insights on how they feel around each other and about their situation. It's different, I'll admit, but it's a good different. The use of lighting is used to show the mood, and the well-chosen music adds feeling to each moment. The episodes are relatively short, about as long as an episode of Parks and Rec or any other sitcom, really.

I was reluctant at first to check this out, as I had been disappointed with Netflix Originals before, and I can honestly say I was really surprised. If you're bored or just looking for something to watch next, I would highly recommend this show. It's clever, fast-paced, and full of dark humor. After you finish the first season that ends on a cliffhanger, you'll definitely want to see a second season hit the web ASAP.

Here's to Season 2!