Mehnificent

It’s almost a shame, watching Untamed, to see how little faith the show has in the very wilderness it fetishizes. From its opening moments—where a body falls off El Capitan, landing with the grace of a screenwriter’s design rather than the force of gravity—we are meant to believe we’re entering that coveted realm: the prestige procedural, taut with secrets and wound as tightly as a coil of survival rope. And yet, by episode two—somewhere between the first heavy downpour (that leaves nary a footprint erased) and the second miraculous rescue in a park the size of Luxembourg—the spell begins to lift and what’s left is a potboiler searching for a kettle.

Unfortunately, while I sat to watch with a sliver of hope for a nail-biting adventure—perhaps with a clever twist or two—I quickly learned that this film wouldn't be swimming with the greats. Instead, I found myself floundering through a plot filled with superficial characters and a story threadbare enough to leave many unanswered questions in its wake.