Entertainment
Netflix’s Mindbending 2-Part Sci-Fi Series Remains One of the Greatest Thrillers a Decade Later
As Netflix established itself as the destination for high-quality series, many bold, risky sci-fi shows pushed the envelope, going where few other shows would. One such series was The OA. Created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, The OA was a sensational, high-concept masterpiece that invited viewers to embark on an extraordinary journey. A supernatural mystery drama, the series followed a young woman who forces both the viewers and characters to consider her credibility based on her claim that she’s the “Original Angel.” The OA was a time-bending, multidimensional thriller that knew that making big, daring decisions would help it stand out. Fortunately, it worked in its favor. Ten years later, The OA remains a mindbending masterpiece that no one has dared to try to replicate.
A general synopsis of The OA might baffle you to the point that you may scroll by the series when searching for something to watch. But the truth is, The OA was far too complex to be put into a box. The drama follows Prairie Johnson (Marling), a woman who resurfaces after seven years. Once blind, she has her sight restored and now calls herself the OA. She recruits five strangers, known as the Crestwood Five — Steve Winchell (Patrick Gibson), Alphonso “French” Sosa (Brandon Perea), Buck Vu (Ian Alexander), Jesse Mills (Brendan Meyer), and Betty Broderick-Allen, better known as BBA (Phyllis Smith) — to help her save captured people held by Hap, also known as Dr. Percy (Jason Isaacs) by traveling between dimensions using near-death experiences and five specific “movements.” It’s a wild concept that sounds like it’s far too bizarre to work, but it did.
The OA first took on the appearance of a science-fiction story and then a mystery thriller, all the while maintaining its question of asking who Prairie is. Dimension 1 included the initial kidnapping, where Dr. Hap experiments on Prairie and four other NDEs, and also included the movements preventing a school shooting. In Dimension 2, Prairie jumps into a new dimension where she inhabits a version of herself named Nina Azarov, who helps PI Karim Washington (Kingsley Ben-Adir) search for a missing girl. Yet still, the Crestwood Five and the Haptives — Homer Roberts (Emory Cohen), Scott Brown (Will Brill), Rachel DeGrosso (Sharon Van Etten), and Renata Duarte (Paz Vega) — remain a necessary piece of the evolving puzzle. Though they may not overlap on screen, the parallels and the connections to Prairie become crucial clues to the many conspiracies created along the way. No other show could undergo such drastic narrative shifts and still remain true to itself like The OA.
Netflix’s 2-Part Sci-Fi Series Remains One of the Best on Any Streaming Platform 8 Years Later
No sci-fi show dared to go where this Netflix series went.
With a fervent intensity and a surreal concept, The OA tasked viewers with deciding whether Prairie was a prophet or experiencing a mental health crisis. The story’s ambiguity allowed daring plot moments to carry the series. Using the meta-narrative of Prairie telling her tale to the Crestwood Five, the audience becomes part of the gang that is hearing the story in real time. The OA thrived through its audacious, uncompromising, and deeply emotional storytelling that forced viewers to suspend their disbelief and lean into believing the extraordinary. By consistently surprising viewers through its unconventional narrative constraints, The OA started as a highly original passion project and evolved into a cult classic.
Where ‘The OA’ Might Have Headed Next If It Got More Seasons
For some critics, Marling was too close to the material, leading to some questionable and confusing narrative decisions, which included included the visceral and polarizing Season 1 finale. With co-creator Batmanglij, the series remained true to their vision without compromise. The OA was distinctly unique even as a sci-fi series. The technology was never flashy and straying from a modern technological perspective gave the story a more intimate, timeless feel. The series leaned into the metaphors of resistance, sacrifice, and human connection through shared trauma to carry over into whatever dimension Prairie brought us to.
Without spoiling anything major, by the end of Season 2, a third dimension is discovered— a dimension that creats another massive shift that even breaks the fourth wall. Unfortunately, fans were left with a cliffhanger ending. The OA never found its closure. Originally intended to be a five-season story arc, The OA only had two seasons to capture audiences’ attention. And although it did just that, the business of show became the reason why The OA was cancelled. Even a niche following wasn’t enough to save the series. Everything The OA did was unlike anything that came before or after it. Through two impactful series, The OA encouraged more risks in sci-fi and pushed the viewer to expect the unexpected.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2019-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Andrew Haigh
- Writers
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Dominic Orlando, Henry Bean, Damien Ober, Ruby Rae Spiegel
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