LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The global streaming giant has fallen short with its South African erotic thriller series ‘Fatal Seduction’ to entertain the masses. Adapted from the Mexican show, ‘Dark Desire’, the show fails to make an impact in the genre eternalized by shows like ‘Elite’, ‘You’ and ‘Behind Her Eyes’. Instead, it comes across as a rushed and shoddy attempt to narrate a story without any gravitas. A married professor has an affair with a young man on a weekend getaway as her marriage is in shambles.
However, the twist in the tale comes when the married professor Nandi’s friend Brenda is murdered and the accused is Jacob, the man who she had an affair with. Leonard, Nandi’s husband, is adulterous too, having an affair with his assistant. He had also blamed Nandi for her miscarriage but later apologises for all his sins and begs for Nandi’s forgiveness. But Jacob continues to seduce Nandi and tells her that he loves her. Nandi is torn, especially when Vuyo, a private investigator and Leonard’s brother, informs her about Jacob’s hideous past and his apparent involvement in Brenda’s murder. The show dives into exploring Jacob’s past and Nandi’s continuous battle to choose between her husband and her lover. But overall, the show fails to excite and explore any concrete opportunities to entertain viewers.
Sex, lies, and murder are just not enough
‘Fatal Seduction’ has all the ingredients for a perfect erotic thriller but the synchronicity between the components of sex, lies, and murder is missing. The passion is truly missing and the series comes across as a desperate attempt to capitalize on the sex scenes. The characters of Nandi, Jacob, Leonard, and Vuyo lack chemistry and even the passionate affair between Nandi and Jacob seems a bit off. The duo look neither in lust nor in love but the plot demands they remain fixated on contemplating their relationship. Even though Jacob has a reason to hurt Leonard, it never feels that he wishes to put his plan into action.
Nandi begins the affair with Jacob only because she’s angry at her husband for all the lies but when Leonard begs for her forgiveness, she leaves Jacob in the dust. Nandi doesn’t love Jacob but only uses him to satiate her lust but Jacob falls for her and tells her that he was there to hurt her husband as Leonard had sent Jacob’s father to prison in the past. But he’s willing to forget everything and spend time with Nandi as he’s now "in love." For seven episodes, love was never a factor, and towards the end, it was love that overcame the show’s theme of sex, lies, and murder, eventually defeating the purpose of the show.
Lack of intensity mars ‘Fatal Seduction’
The show at its core is a revenge story. Nandi wants to irk Leonard by starting an affair, Jacob wants to avenge the death of his father and Vuyo wants to avenge Brenda’s death. But none of these characters stay on course except for Vuyo who tries hard till the end to nail Jacob. But the unnecessary sex scenes take away from the intensity of the plot, making the show a shabby representation of the erotic thriller genre. The first volume of ‘Fatal Seduction’ might not have revealed who killed Brenda but it sure does throws light on the fact that Jacob truly loves Nandi and will go the distance for her.
‘Fatal Seduction’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
