Glitch Season 1 Review

Episode Guide

The Risen
Am I In Hell?
Miracle or Punishment
There Is No Justice
The Impossible Triangle
There Must Be Rules

When six people raise from the dead in a quiet Australian town, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is just another clichéd zombie flick. Glitch sets its premise up early; blanketed in a layer of mud and grass, six unconnected people from different periods of history raise from their graves with no knowledge of who they are. It’s certainly an original concept but the execution is a little hit or miss at times. Despite some incredibly well acted performances, the plot is slow-paced and the lack of explanation for any of the big questions raised this season is more than a little disappointing.

Despite six individuals raising from the dead, Glitch predominantly revolves around police officer James Hayes (Patrick Brammall) and one of the returning dead, his deceased wife Kate (Emma Booth). There’s a really interesting dynamic at play here and without giving too much away, the central plot gravitates around these characters for most of the screen time. With a relatively short 6 episode season, Glitch’s story is well fleshed out although it does suffer from some pacing issues throughout. Thankfully, these are cleverly combated with clues given about each character’s life and flashbacks into each character’s past when the story begins to feel a bit stale but the lack of pay off for any of this does sour the experience.

Going into Glitch expecting any answers to the questions raised throughout the show is sure to leave you disappointed. The ride to the surprising final scene does leaves it wide open for season 2 though so hopefully that will answer some of the big questions here but in terms of the first season and reviewing this as 6 collective episodes does leave an unsatisfied itch from the numerous questions circling the characters.

Glitch’s strength derives first and foremost on being a character driven drama. Each individual is given enough time to explore their past and this is the biggest strength of the first season. Taking a glimpse into each of the characters’ past is fascinating and intriguing, especially seeing the way each meet their fate with death. If there’s one thing this season gets right, it’s the script writing and believably written characters which helps Glitch stand out from the numerous other dramas in this category.

Still, its hard to ignore the faults with the pacing and the lack of explanation for anything occurring in the story. The well written characters and mystery around why these people have come back to life should be enough to see you through to the conclusion but Glitch is one itch that refuses to be itched. If you can get past this hurdle and go in accepting no definitive answers will be given, there’s certainly an enjoyable drama here and one that’s more than competently acted throughout its 6 episode run time. With a second season green lit, hopefully some of the questions raised here will be answered but as it stands, the lack of explanation for the returning dead is a real problem and one that holds the first season back from being the great show it so easily could have been.