Season 1 |
Season 2 |
Episode Guide
Tilt-a-Grrl
Game Night
Picnic at Raven’s Rock
The Simplex Solution
Mommy Queerest
Midsommar Madness
Trust Issues
No White After Labor Day
Amazon’s new series The Lake should have been a 90 minute movie. This is the sort of series that has a very simple and concise idea but for some reason insists on spreading it across as many episodes as possible, eventually running out of steam – and overstaying its welcome.
The story here is pretty straightforward and revolves around two central characters and their estranged relationship – Justin and Billie. Although one could argue it’s as much about Justin and his step-sister Maisy-May.
Anyway, Justin takes the summer to connect with his teenage daughter Billie whom he initially gave up for adoption. This trip to the lake is just what the doctor ordered for them to reconnect.
At the lake, Billie meets the gorgeous Killian, who happens to be the son to Victor and Maisy-May. Maisy-May is actually Justin’s step-sister and their sibling rivalry immediately ignites from the middle of the first episode until the final chapter. The prize here stems from their father’s cottage.
You see, the house is set up in a trust but at the moment, and since Maisy-May is living in the cottage right now, she’s in line to do with it what she will. Part of that comes from renovation work which she intends to start soon. Well, not if Justin has anything to say about it. He wants to fight against this, intending to battle his step-sister for the rights to this house – no matter the cost.
With the battle lines drawn, the rest of the series sees these two butt heads and compete as much as they can. There’s the usual litany of games, backstabbings and twists and turns one may expect from something like this, as the show teeters between comedic drama and outright sitcom.
At times the tone does tend to skew a little too far into the latter. That’s a particular problem late on in the show too, as the rivalry between them is drawn out across far too many episodes and takes the focus away from the more interesting division between Billie and Justin.
This is compounded further by the finale which is supposed to be subversive but just feels hollow and a bit of a cop-out. I won’t spoil what happens here but suffice to say, it’s unlikely to win over everybody who watches this.
There are also several other subplots that interweave around this though, including Billie and Killian’s romance, Justin dipping his toes back into dating and a few other subplots involving different characters around the lake. It’s all pretty standard stuff and for the most part, is actually quite enjoyable to watch.
The first episode is a bit rough around the edges, especially as the show doubles-down on its messaging but once this settles into a more consistent rhythm, it becomes much more enjoyable.
The Lake is one of those shows better watched in small doses, spread out across several weeks rather than trying to binge in one go. In doing the latter you can’t help but feel the idea would have worked so much better in movie format.
Visually the series looks great and given it was filmed in Canada, it’s no surprise to see the natural beauty of the North American country shown off in all its glory. Expository shots of the lake are a really nice touch while the filming locations are idyllic across the board.
The characters themselves are the usual array of diverse faces one may expect from a series like this, although many will come into this instantly recognizing Julia Stiles who brings a good amount of gravitas to her role of Maisy-May. Jordan Gavaris also does a decent job as Justin while Madison Shamoun effortlessly brings Billie to life.
Ultimately, The Lake is akin to booking a two week holiday and running out of things to do after 9 days. There’s definite fun here and the setting is a welcome change from the norm but it also loses that initial spark before the end. The show continues past its prime and ultimately fizzles out with an underwhelming finale.
The Lake is certainly not a bad show but it’s not as great as it could have been with a shorter run-time. Still, the shots of Canada are absolutely fantastic and for that alone, this is worth checking out.
Feel Free To Check Out More Of Our TV Show Reviews Here!
-
Verdict - 6.5/10
6.5/10
The first season was fine. I enjoyed it. The second season started out well but went downhill quickly. The runaway groom bit, then uptight Julie Styles becomes drunk at a party and runs around screaming and leaping, why? The bright intelligent, talented, Billie, who has a fantastic dream job waiting for her decides to become a tree planter and isn’t very good at it. She flirts with two tree planters, a brother and a sister. She is having sex with both, not at the same time, they don’t have a clue. When they both come to visit her at the same time, one was in the shed, and one is in the cottage. Justin is beside himself running back and forth trying to prevent them from finding out about each other. It looked like she had sex with the sister and was up for more with the brother. I found this ridiculous, embarrassing, and unrealistic and out of character. This is when I stopped watching it. It was like they couldn’t come up with anything clever and just threw in a bit of slapstick. Too bad. You are right, the first season was enough,
I liked it- I grew up in Michigan and we had cottage culture – I spent summers at Hubbard lake on one side of the state and central Lake on the others side near traverse city. My teen memories playing truth or dare, beach Fireworks, jumping off the highway bridge into a river and rowing across the lake.
I loved it!
I loved this show. There’s noting vulgar. Lisa (above) is just a bit uptight.
Call me old school, but the humor in this comedy is nasty and crass – devoid of anything laughable. I LOVE Julia Stiles. She is an outstanding actor forced to take work in – “this”. My, too bad. Such wasted talent. I clicked on to watch initially because of the series title. I continued to watch – for a while – because of the scenery. It called to me and made me hopeful the writing would improve, it did not. I sincerely hope Julia is offered more fulfilling roles. Also, a really funny lakeside comedy with an enticingly diverse cast of characters is always welcome. Next time, leave out the too frequent, vulgar attempts at humor. They are cringe inducing and never, ever funny.