Kiss Me First - TV Series Review

Originally from the book of the same title by Lottie Moggach, the story Kiss Me First follows a plethora of themes and characters, revolving around virtual reality gaming.
  Going into this show, it establishes its unique ideas and taste instantly, with one girl – the protagonist – Leila logging into an online game, set in the fictional land of Azana. She is shown floating in the sky of this world and combating with another online player; that is, until she is spotted by another player and lured into the forest.
   I believe that the idea of the film was to spread awareness of how dangerous the online world can be to us, especially in terms of the gaming universe. It shows the power that people we don’t know in real life can hold a certain level of power over us and push us to do things that we wouldn’t usually, and that is what happens to our protagonist, Leila.
   In this series we are introduced to a variety of characters and it shows that they are three dimensional and can be both good and bad people and it all depends on their circumstances, which is instantly something I admire within screenwriting. They can be violent, angry and manipulative and then be supportive and caring, just as those in our real lives can be and is really wonderful to watch, because it really immerses you into this world, whether it is the online, fictitious world of Azana or the real world, mostly set in London.
   Something else that this show does well is pacing, it seems to both escalate and settle at the right moment, which always helps captivate an audience. Sometimes it seems like something is going to drag and the moment you begin to think this, you are dropped straight into the drama, which is just incredible to watch.
   The series also relies on a major contrast between what is real and what is fake, and it draws attention with what could be perceived as a threat in our real world, rather than within this story. Using virtual reality, people can become so engulfed within the world in which they play that they only care about that and don’t care about their real lives. This is the case for all of the troubled characters in this series, especially Leila, Tess and Denier (James). However, these virtual realities do not simply take over, they choose for it to be taken over by this world, because they would rather live there (in the world of Azana) than reality.
   The final thing I would like to add is how the film uses the idea of online grooming, with an online presence known as ‘Adrian’, who is technically anonymous in real life to the characters. He chooses a specific group of people with traumatic and troubling home lives, pasts and mental states to – preys on the weak – to be able to achieve his ultimate goal. By the end of the series it becomes clear that he wants each of his victims to kill themselves, which he manages to convince multiple characters to do throughout the duration of the series, until its climax, when they are all summoned to a beautiful house and the danger begins to become more apparent, as the suicide cult unfolds.
Overall, I would say that the cinematography, graphic design within the gaming world, and overall storytelling to this series are inspiring to me, it’s a story I would one day like to continue, due to the cliff-hanger ending. It was truly incredible, it’s such a shame we have yet to see the next series, after the initial release of the first in April 2018. The directing was done to perfection, with taste, but also fearless with what extent they would go to show the full, unfiltered side to mental illness, family trauma, terminal illness and grooming. There was never a moment that I did not relate to one of these characters, which often shifted through the course of each episode. I managed to empathise with each one. It also highlights the dangers of meeting people in real life, that you otherwise only know online and how much people can hide. I would rate this series a 4/5 stars.
Originally broadcast on Channel 4, Kiss Me First is now on Netflix. I've seen no other reviews on it, making the assumption that this series was highly underrated when it came out. You don't need a big name to sell a product when it's as good as this.