The initial concept of this show sounded quite promising. It was advertised as a murder mystery surrounding a 16-year-old boy. When Danny returns home from juvenile hall after five years, he's ready to dive right back into his friendships with Jo and Lacey, his childhood best friends. There are subtle hints here and there as to whether or not he's really a socio. While Lacey is reluctant to believe him, Jo doesn't need much persuading to let him back into her life.
The first half of the season has a clear goal; to solve the mystery of who really killed Regina (a popular student who is murdered in the first episode). Is Danny really guilty, or is someone simply setting him up? The audience is given various clues, and the team behind the show had even set up a site keeping track of all those clues for us. The slow establishment of the characters feels raw, real and interesting.
Then comes the second half of the season. Everything that was properly established in the first half gets thrown out the window. The relationships between the three leads turns into a rather laughable, pathetic love triangle, where in the end Danny realizes that he's always been in love with Jo, leaving Lacey (his initial love interest) out to dry. Every story, every mystery, every single speech any character gives goes back to the character of Jo. Both Danny and Lacey are reduced to secondary characters. While it is essential for television shows to often shift focus so as to generate more interest, in the case of Twisted it lost its core audience completely with this move. Jo is never a likable character. While the actress is able to portray wonderfully the angst of a typical teenage girl, the writing for her is flat and often irritating.
The steady clues are erased. The murder mystery is gone, to be replaced by annoying lovers quarrels. The writers also decided to introduce more characters, none of whom are ever important to the initial plot. The twists make no sense. The reveals are shameful. The entire storyline compares to a hilarious soap opera rather than a mysterious drama.
Perhaps the creators lost sight of what the show was really supposed to be about, and decided to instead cater to the cries of a very small percentage of their audience. Do they regret it? Probably not. It's a shame too, because in the very beginning it looked like this show would be something great, something new and promising.
The first half of the season has a clear goal; to solve the mystery of who really killed Regina (a popular student who is murdered in the first episode). Is Danny really guilty, or is someone simply setting him up? The audience is given various clues, and the team behind the show had even set up a site keeping track of all those clues for us. The slow establishment of the characters feels raw, real and interesting.
Then comes the second half of the season. Everything that was properly established in the first half gets thrown out the window. The relationships between the three leads turns into a rather laughable, pathetic love triangle, where in the end Danny realizes that he's always been in love with Jo, leaving Lacey (his initial love interest) out to dry. Every story, every mystery, every single speech any character gives goes back to the character of Jo. Both Danny and Lacey are reduced to secondary characters. While it is essential for television shows to often shift focus so as to generate more interest, in the case of Twisted it lost its core audience completely with this move. Jo is never a likable character. While the actress is able to portray wonderfully the angst of a typical teenage girl, the writing for her is flat and often irritating.
The steady clues are erased. The murder mystery is gone, to be replaced by annoying lovers quarrels. The writers also decided to introduce more characters, none of whom are ever important to the initial plot. The twists make no sense. The reveals are shameful. The entire storyline compares to a hilarious soap opera rather than a mysterious drama.
Perhaps the creators lost sight of what the show was really supposed to be about, and decided to instead cater to the cries of a very small percentage of their audience. Do they regret it? Probably not. It's a shame too, because in the very beginning it looked like this show would be something great, something new and promising.