“Missing You” gets off to a convincing (if somewhat silly) start in Episode 1

I miss you gets off to a typical but nonetheless propulsive start in Episode 1, with the introduction of several interlocking mysteries.

The first episode of I miss you involves introducing various plot threads that seem entirely disconnected, but will turn out not to be in a series of contrived revelations. We get a few of those connections here in Episode 1, “Every Breath You Take,” but it’s largely a premiere that’s a lot to think about and a little to laugh about. Lots to laugh about, actually.

But there are the bones of an intriguing mystery here in this premiere, make no mistake. And they play the role of some fascinating characters, almost all of whom are hiding some pretty big secrets. Despite some nonsense, how are you going to launch a Harlan Coben series?

Meet Kat Donovan

Our protagonist is Detective Inspector Kat Donovan, a brassy girl who has never truly recovered from two traumatic events in her life that happened one after the other: the death of her father, Clint, who being murdered by an assassin named Monte Leburne, and being inexplicably ghosted by her former fiancé, Josh, who disappeared from her life shortly after.

Naturally, these two things are linked. But Kat is also investigating – alongside her colleagues Nia and Charlie, the latter a newcomer who can be said to be a tech savvy because he openly Googles Kat in the middle of the office – into the disappearance of a man named Rishi Magari. It’s probably also related, but it’s not immediately clear how.

Kat is the proactive type, who nevertheless deals with her share of trauma, and Rosalind Eleazar (at the end of Slow horses) does a really good job of playing the game here. It’s introduced in a slightly ridiculous way during a date with Matt Willis of the band Busted which goes south when a chef goes crazy in the kitchen, but from a practical point of view it’s a scene decent, as it gives us clues about Kat’s personality, skills, romantic history, and general temperament. It’s a bit ridiculous, though.

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Monte Leburne didn't kill Kat's father

Things get underway when Kat learns from her boss, Stagger, that Monte Leburne will die of cancer in a few days. Since Kat never found out why he killed her father – the working theory is that it was on the instructions of a gangster named Calligan – she desperately wants him to reveal the truth before he expires.

To this end, Kat has her friend Stacey take her to the prison hospital wing where Leburne is being held, then a kind nurse drugs him into a stupor so that he says the truth. He admits to being responsible for Clint's murder, but claims he didn't kill him. It was someone else. And since Stacey also learns from her prison guard, Tamsin, that Josh visited Monte before he disappeared, maybe it's him.

There's supposed to be an element of ambiguity around Leburne – he's a deathbed hitman, after all – but I believed him immediately and so did Kat, which naturally tilts his whole world into a twist. its axis. This scene is completely ridiculous – why does Stacey, a detective who tracks cheating spouses, have more connections than a police officer? How many prison protocols is this nurse breaking? – but it’s a functional way to inject some excitement into the narrative.

Ashley Walters and Rosalind Eleazar in I Miss You | Image via Netflix

Unbalanced melody

Speaking of Josh, Kat sees him for the first time in 11 years on a music-based dating app called Melody Cupid. She "harmonizes" with him, sending him the John Waite song "Missing You" that they both once sang at karaoke, although with a message saying that she doesn't really miss him at all , then he says they shouldn't talk and mutes her. Ouch.

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You can see a very obvious musical connection starting to form here. The series takes its title from this song by John Waite, and episode 1 of I miss you is called “Every Breath You Take”, after the hit by The Police. The Melody Cupid app is designed to match people based on their musical interests, hence Josh as a suggestion for Kat. But – minor as it may be – the show really has nothing to do with music and doesn't use music particularly effectively. The flashback karaoke scene is, as far as I remember, the only sequence It really depends on a specific song.

None of this matters, especially. I find that weird.

A stay in the countryside

About Rishi Magari, briefly.

This guy's disappearance is the case looming in the background of the premiere, and some progress is being made on it. Kat and Nia investigate a country house that Rishi booked for two but disappeared alone. Whoever intended to meet him didn't. We know he's still in the country because we see him staggering. His frequent imaginings of YouTuber – among other things – GK Barry imply that she was the person he was supposed to stay with.

Rishi is eventually chased by a man in a tractor and pushed cattle into unconsciousness, and I miss you Episode 1 ends with him chained in captivity. It's a sudden dose of immediacy that drives the final moments, and it does its job in forcing viewers to hit the "next episode" button.


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