https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltq_PLhc_d0
Season 1 |
Episode Guide
If I Hadn’t Met You
The Key
They Won’t Meet
I Shouldn’t Have Met Him
The Kiss
I Don’t Go In
It Is and It Isn’t
The Wings Of A Butterfly
Science Or Arts
Universe Zero
If you could go back and do things differently in your life, would you? It’s a tantalizing question for sure and one Netflix’s latest Spanish thriller If I Hadn’t Met You sets out to explore. With a story boasting multiple parallel universes and a well written protagonist at its core, If I Hadn’t Met You is a surprisingly enjoyable sci-fi thriller. Although its story does take a while to get going, the various episodes are varied, chock full of interesting ideas and themes that are explored in a variety of different ways.
The story begins with an introduction to our main protagonist Eduard. A seemingly innocent disagreement with his wife Elisa over their car winds up being the catalyst for a tragic accident to follow. Upon hearing his wife and two kids have died in a car accident, Eduard’s life comes crashing down around him. Ready to end it all and join them in whatever lies beyond this world, a mysterious woman known as Dr. Everest stops him, telling him she can help find what he’s looking for.
This acts as the start of a 10 episode journey into alternate universes, utilizing the same core cast in the show but changing subtle differences as Eduard travels to various different moments in his life, trying to save his wife and kids. What begins as a relatively formulaic journey does get more interesting around the midway point as the plot mixes things up and delivers a few well written twists along with an exploration into both Eduard and his wife’s early lives.
Thematically, the show is all about dealing with grief and moving on. Both physically (traveling to different universes) and mentally (Eduard’s various discussions with Dr Everest and seeing his own alternate self in these worlds) this is explored time and time again and really makes up the crux of drama here. Now, having said that, If I Hadn’t Met You does feel a tad overlong and the series is deliberately slow paced to really make the most of building its characters up. At times, the show plays a little too heavy on the melodrama but does manage to maintain its excitement and intrigue throughout the show.
Despite the concepts being a little different, If I Hadn’t Met You reminds me a lot of another Spanish time-bending thriller, The Ministry Of Time. While the series isn’t anywhere near as long as that colossal show, the themes and general concepts do feel pretty similar, especially the way they’re presented within the special effects and lighting of the series.
It’s worth mentioning too that the start of each episode does recap the events of the previous 5 minutes of the last episode. While this isn’t a deal breaker, it is a little distracting if you intend to binge watch this one given it was clearly aired in episodic format. On top of that, the dubbing for this is really quite bad and I strongly recommend watching this one in the native Catalan tongue for maximum emotional impact.
Overall then, If I Hadn’t Met You is an enjoyable but slightly overlong sci-fi thriller. There’s a conscious effort to try and inject the series with some curve-ball twists and the story doesn’t always go in the direction you expect it to across the 10 episodes. With an ending that leaves the door wide open for a second season and a story dripping in themes around grief and moving on, If I Hadn’t Met You is a pretty decent show. While I still think The Ministry Of Time is the definitive time-hopping Spanish thriller to beat, there’s enough here to make for a compelling watch nonetheless.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10
It also shows the path we travel is the correct path and trying to change it does not change the wanted ending. Accept and make good use of our given life
I loved this series and I am intrigued by the concept of a Multiverse. Sometimes however it felt as if the hero were more going back in time rather than going to an alternate universe. And also his actions were really narcissistic, meddling in other people’s lives. Because after all, he was not going back in time… he was visiting other universes where people looked just like himself and others that he had known in his own universe.
Hi Matt, thanks for reading the review and commenting.
Ah that’s good to know, I had no idea! I’ve just updated the review with this as well, thanks for pointing this out again, much appreciated!
Just a quick addition to the article: the original language of the series in not Spanish, but Catalan; the language spoken alongside Spanish in north-east Spain (where Barcelona is). The Spanish audio version on Netflix is also dubbed and just as terrible as the English!
I loved this entire series start to finish. It was amazing.
I almost didn’t give it a chance but am glad that I did. Although I understand what a previous reviewer being able to grasp what was happening quickly, skimming to the end of episodes definitely won’t replace watching all the details IMO — though I guess if one is mainly concerned about figuring outcomes that would be one way to do so. The series ends on a note that will be enough for completion, leaving just a bit of mystery. But it also leaves open the door for more possible episodes.
At first, I was enthralle; I love the idea of parallel lives. I wanted Eduard to eventually find a version of life in which he could join his wife and children, or even just his children. That his learning and growing would eventually give some reprieve to his pain. But no, after 5 episodes or so, I began skimming through to the end of each episode – that’s how quickly a viewer can grasp what’s happening. Overlong and repetitive. Heads up: this is a depressing series.
After a slow beginning, I felt the show was more about the choices we make everyday but don’t think about, and the regret of the path not traveled and more importantly that you can’t change fate.
While I enjoyed(maybe not the best word) the series, I felt the ending was perfect. We know who the old lady is and why she saved the main character. Another season would dilute that IMHO. Just sad that it will get lost on Netflix.
The concept of going back in time to change your life isn’t a new idea, it’s been around since people first began wondering ‘what if’…
I’m neither a big sci-fi fan nor a romance fan, but this one grabs me so I’m hoping for more season(s). I just hope it doesn’t become Americanized like so many series have been.