Netflix’s Limited Series Clickbait Deals with the Consequences
In our culture there are people out there who make horrible choices but aren’t ever forced to deal with the consequences of their actions. Stories about those kinds of people are bland and frustrating. Netflix’s highly rated limited series has Clickbait has none of that. Everyone on screen eventually faces the impact of their actions. Clickbait is fantastic. The casting spot on. Cudos to the casting director who hires actors who actually look like they could be the children of theis coupling. But I digress. The definition of “Clickbait” is “ a sensationalized headline that encourages you to click a link to an article, image, or video. Instead of presenting objective facts, clickbait headlines often appeal to your emotions and curiosity. Nick Brewer(Adrian Grenier) is every woman’s dream husband and father of two, the apple of his mother’s eye and best friend to his little sister. Nick’s seemingly perfect life is interrupted when he’s kidnapped. But, there’s no ransom. A video of Nick is posted online. He holds a card that says “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die.” The premise is simple and opens up an online Pandora’s box of chaos for Nick’s entire family.
Clickbait is storytelling at it’s best. Tony Ayres(Stateless, The Slap) is the creator, Executive Producer and showrunner. And Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is the lead director. If you haven’t seen the original Australian version of the limited series The Slap, you must see it. Tony Ayres does suburban conflict perfectly. All of these shows give us character complexity. Clickbait is a 21st century “who done it” with a bite. Each episode is a deep dive into anyone who has a relationship with Nick.
The first episode of the limited series centers Nick’s sister Pia (Zoe Kazan) which initially is annoying. She’s a hot mess, entitled and annoying as hell and I understood why she got on her sister in law, Sophie’s (Betty Gabriel) last nerves. Seeing so much of Pia in the first episode got under my skin, but I quickly understood the reasons why and was in awe of the precise storytelling craft.
In episode three we get to know Sophie not just as Nick’s wife but a woman of distinction in clear detail. In the beginning Sophie’s poise is predictable but as the story unravels, so does Sophie’s facade of strength. She is not just strong, she’s human. This character has a full life of her own and we see the reasons why she does the things that she does and boy does Sophie go through a journey in this series. So often when you have a Black female lead in relationship with a white guy you don’t see her family support. Well not here. As soon as the video goes viral Sophie’s mother Ruby (Joyce Guy) comes to support her daughter and grandsons. I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to see this mother lion defend her daughter when she needed her the most.
Nick and Sophie seem to have the perfect marriage but as the layers of complexity unfold we see how people live in complexity. Every single character in this captivating story makes mistakes and is held accountable in some way for their actions. Clickbait also made me think about my relationship with social media and technology and want to change and create multiple layers of security for all of my online accounts. What we click on matters. How we respond to posts in the heat of emotion can create a negative impact in someone elses lives that we can never take back. We are the ones who create the viral content by supporting content that is negative. Why is that?
Clickbait explores mob mentality and how easy it is to jump to conclusions instead of allowing space to find out the truth. Yes ya’ll truth does exist. Watching this series made me think about how quickly I judge people from stories I experience online. Why is it so easy to rush to defend or condemn? Why do we think we know all the answers just because we read or viewed something online? Why do we trust so easily and what are the consequences of that trust?
Although there are a few plot points I didn’t quite get and I had to rewind to rewatch and understand, Clickbait’s strength lies in compelling the audience to think before we believe. Don’t miss this limited series. It’s definitely worth the binge watch.
Clickbait now streaming on Netflix.
