The 1st season takes quite a few episodes to really grab you, and at 49 minutes each, the episodes feel too long, but it does keep you guessing, and if you've grown tired of the wishy-washy endings of so many slasher films and series before, you'll appreciate the ending here: it packs an extremely violent just-desserts punch.
The 2nd season is gripping right from the first few minutes: tight, tense, claustrophobic, ingeniously constructed, with well-developed characters far beyond the call of duty, pays homage to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (with its isolated location cut off from civilization), and has a brilliant final twist which makes you wanna see the entire season again to check if it holds up (it does!). It's amazing what they pull off right under your nose.
The 3rd season gets off to a rocky start, because it tries to bite off more than it can chew (xenophobia, homosexuality, voyeurism, social media culture, etc.). Also the cinematography looks more shaky and amateurish than before. But gradually it finds its footing, and the last couple of episodes are pin-drop intense. It also ups the ante in gore, with generally very convincing makeup effects. The entire series is extremely gory and gruesome, but the 3rd season is probably the nastiest and most unrelentingly graphic.
The 4th season plays mostly like a (twisted) family soap opera rather than a slasher show. It has several flaws, like for example the unconvincing flashbacks with the same actors looking exactly the same playing their 25-year-younger selves (!), also giving away who is gonna get knocked off at the start of each episode. And the killer looks very obvious from around episode 3. But is he? Ultimately the season does manage to come up with its own set of surprises, and if it adds anything new, it's that the killer, although well-acted, is almost secondary to this story; nearly EVERY character has a nasty and sadistic killer streak inside them, ready to come out. The finale is a wild, gnarly ride, and riveting to watch.
The 5th season is perhaps the most ambitious: set in 1904 (with lots of 1892 flashbacks), with an adequate period reconstruction given the limited budget, and well-plotted. I found it an improvement over season 4 mainly because, although the majority of characters are again utterly vile, at least there are some good or halfway-good people as well, driven by a strong sense of justice. The finale is chillingly effective.
All five seasons are unrelated - they just share some of the same cast members, in different roles. If you just want to watch one season, the 2nd is still the best, but I would recommend all five to fans of the genre (and would advise anyone with a weak stomach to avoid them). 8 out of 10 for the show as a whole.
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