Netflix’s six-episode limited series Unchosen is supposed to be about cults, but it really isn’t. It wants to be. It opens with a statement about how there are all these tiny little cults peppered throughout society that most of us never even realize exist. Right down the street, there could be a quiet little cul-de-sac where every family shares the same bizarre beliefs, and nobody outside of that neighborhood would ever know. That’s a genuinely fascinating premise. The idea that a cult can exist right in the middle of suburbia, living alongside everyone else while still remaining completely isolated from society, is a concept I’d happily watch six episodes explore. Unfortunately, that’s not really the story Unchosen decides to tell.
Instead, the series quickly shifts into being about an escaped convict named Sam, who stumbles across one of these small religious communities and immediately realizes they’re far easier to manipulate than the outside world. The news is portraying him as a dangerous criminal on the run, but after he saves Rosie’s young daughter from drowning early in the series, Rosie begins giving him the benefit of the doubt. Sam lingers around the community, receives a little help here and there, and before long he’s working construction alongside Rosie’s husband, Adam, after convincing everyone he’s exactly the kind of hardworking man they should trust. Little by little, Sam manages to bamboozle nearly everyone around him, and before long this supposedly devout community is protecting an escaped convict from the outside world.
At the same time, Rosie finds herself wrestling with an attraction to Sam while trying to maintain her marriage to Adam, whose strict religious beliefs have made him controlling and emotionally abusive. He’s not the kind of television husband who flies into outrageous screaming matches every episode. Instead, he’s the kind of guy who genuinely believes his behavior is justified because it’s backed by the teachings of his church. That almost makes him more unsettling. Adam is also dealing with problems inside the community, including his brother being effectively excommunicated after cheating on his wife and refusing to accept the punishment demanded by the cult. He leaves behind his children and spends much of the series lingering around the edges of the story, regretting the decision but unable to undo it.
Eventually Sam’s own brother enters the picture, insisting Sam is simply misunderstood and really isn’t the dangerous man everyone thinks he is. The series spends the first half almost encouraging you to believe that might be true, only for the second half to gradually reveal that Sam is benefiting far more from the cult’s protection than the cult is benefiting from his presence. That becomes the show’s central conflict, almost completely replacing the questions it originally raised about the psychology of cults.
I don’t know that there’s a true standout performance, but there are some strong individual storylines. I especially enjoyed the material involving the cult leader and his wife. He’s an alcoholic, she’s spent years being taught to obey both her husband and the religious doctrine that governs the community, and together they’ve cut off all contact with their grown son after he left the cult. Her internal conflict wound up being one of the most compelling parts of the entire series because it actually felt like the show about cults I wanted to watch. She’s constantly torn between what she’s been conditioned to believe and that instinct every parent has to be there for their child. Even though she’s ultimately a supporting character, I thought her storyline intertwined nicely with the larger narrative and paid off in satisfying ways.
Rosie follows a somewhat similar path, although hers gets sidetracked once Sam enters her life. She starts entertaining fantasies about leaving with him because he rescued her daughter, never really stopping to question whether that’s exactly the kind of emotional leverage an escaped convict might exploit. That’s where the series almost finds something really interesting. A cult manipulates its followers into believing whatever the leader wants them to believe. Sam manipulates the cult into believing whatever he needs them to believe so they keep him hidden from the police. Those two ideas should complement each other beautifully. Instead, it feels like one sacrifices itself for the other. Rather than weaving those themes together, the show gradually abandons one in favor of the other, making it feel like two different series awkwardly stitched together.
One of the bigger surprises for me was realizing Asa Butterfield plays Adam. He’s really the only actor here I was already familiar with, and he ends up delivering one of the more layered performances in the series. Adam is constantly balancing multiple pressures. He’s trying to earn a promotion to elder within the community, he’s expected to continue building a larger family with Rosie, he’s dealing with the fallout involving his brother, and then Sam’s arrival begins challenging everything he believes. As restrictive and frustrating as Adam can be, Butterfield manages to make him more complicated than simply turning him into the obvious villain.
The audio description, which I believe was produced by Adrenaline Studios, is perfectly serviceable. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it because it never really drew attention to itself, either positively or negatively. It kept me aware of everything that was happening, and I never felt lost or confused by the action. At the same time, it didn’t do much to elevate the material or add extra personality to the world. Sometimes that’s enough, and here I’d call it solidly adequate.
Unchosen also arrives during an era of peak television where there are simply too many great limited series competing for your time. Whenever I review something, I don’t just ask whether it accomplishes what it sets out to do or whether I enjoyed it. I also ask whether it’s worth recommending over everything else that’s available. In this case, not only are there better limited series out there, there are better limited series sitting on Netflix right now, and the service seems to release another one every couple of weeks. I don’t really see much reason to tell people to go back and catch up with Unchosen. There could have been something special here, but what we’re left with feels like a pale version of a much stronger alternate reality that never actually existed.
Should you choose Unchosen? No. Leave it unchosen. It’s practically asking you to. That’s a pretty bold title for a series this underwhelming. It’s almost as if it’s encouraging you to pick something else instead. Honestly, I think that’s exactly what you should do.
Rotten: 5.4/10
