Shocking mini-series gives too much away

Kira Dye

Lantern Staff

The Girl From Plainville is a recently-airing show on Hulu with eight episodes that will conclude on Tuesday, May 3. Based on true events, this show is an interesting one from the start. 

Conrad “Coco”Ryan III (Colton Ryan, left) and Michelle Carter (Elle Fanning, right) meet in the second episode when they are both vacationing in Florida. Youtube Trailer

The story follows a teenager, Michelle Carter (Elle Fanning), after the suicide of her boyfriend Conrad “Coco” Roy III (Colton Ryan). From the beginning, it is fairly apparent that something suspicious is going on. Early on, Michelle is distraught with grief and tells her parents about what happened to her boyfriend, to which her mother replies, “Who’s Conrad?” 

As the plot eases its way through the beginning, it takes an approach of following a detective investigating Coco’s death, allowing the audience to remain in the dark about what may have truly happened, though throwing in clues as the detective finds out more and more information. 

Taking place in Massachusetts, The Girl From Plainville includes the dynamic of the two families (the Carter and Roy families) living an hour apart who have almost no idea of each other, despite their children’s romantic connection. This plays very well early on in giving clues about Michelle, who deliberately organizes a memorial event for Coco in her own town as opposed to the one he was from. 

With the story giving intricate details about Michelle, almost like breadcrumbs to who she truly is, the show is a mystery in itself if you are unfamiliar with the true events that the show is based on that occurred in mid-2014. Each episode leaves you guessing what the circumstances of Coco’s death were and how much of a part Michelle played in it. 

While the show itself is fairly interesting, it wasn’t as enthralling as many other shows around are. While the story is fairly limited because it does stick to real events, I feel that too much evidence about Michelle was given too quickly, dropping me off at a point between “I know who she is” and “What is there to learn about her?”. 

Despite the critiques I may have about the show, I rate it three-and-a-half Lanterns out of five. This story was a great one to choose to adapt cinematically; however, there are only so many levels of excitement and curiosity it can keep you at when being based on a true story that discovered incriminating evidence almost immediately. Overall though, I would recommend following this show along if you are interested in true crime and mystery.