The World's End

The End of the Fucking World is a story of two rebellious teens who decide to run away from home in order to escape their boring and unfortunate lives. James, who considers himself to be a psychopath, enjoys killing animals, but wants to expand his killing to something much bigger; a human. In particular, he wants to kill Alyssa, which is why he agrees to run away with her in the hopes that he will have the opportunity to kill her. The two develop an unusual relationship after some misadventure.

The cynical style of this show is what kept me watching persistently. While the characters initially appear to be unemotional, bleak, and to deviate from society, the show itself is actually exceedingly emotional. The bond that the teens form is completely riveting due to their circumstances and strangely similar personalities, even though Alyssa seems much more complex than James. They both have a distrust for authority figures and are extremely impulsive. As the show goes on, though, many unexpected narrative turns happen, and the teens sensitivity becomes more prevalent.

One of the most compelling things about this series is how unique it is in many different ways. I have never seen a directing style like the one in The End of the Fucking World. The graphic and disturbing visuals portrayed through different camera angles and James’ killing fantasies are unusually interesting. The title that appears at the beginning of every episode is oddly comedic looking. Also, every episode starts with the ending scene of that episode, therefore they rewind from that point. I think this creates more curiosity among viewers because they want to know what happened in order to get to that point. The perspectives and thoughts of both characters are understood through their own voice-overs. I find this intriguing because there are not many shows in which viewers can this kind of insight into a character’s mind, let alone multiple characters. The soundtrack throughout this series also adds to its peculiarity because the songs tend to convey a lot of feelings that are not voiced but can be interpreted through the music.

This show would be appropriate for anyone who struggles when watching shows that are extremely complex or difficult to understand. Because this series is so straight-forward, it is pretty simple to grasp. The End of the Fucking World keeps its viewers entertained with fast paced episodes and making the storyline easy to follow. Viewers are also able to binge watch this series easily due to the short length of its episodes. While the underlying meanings of this show require some thought, the plot is understandable and concise. It also is a great watch for those feel as though they don’t fit in or may be considered weird because the two main characters are outcasts among their peers. I would recommend watching the entire series all in one sitting because it somewhat resembles a movie and should be watched as such.