The Guest - Season 1

In The Guest, Ria starts working as a housekeeper for the wealthy Fran. This seemingly innocent job will forever change her life as she becomes entangled in her employer's mysterious life. In The Guest, Ria (Gabrielle Creevy) is a cleaner struggling with her bank account. She hasn't had much luck in life and lacks prospects. When she encounters the wealthy Francesca Sharp (Eve Myles), her life changes forever. Fran offers her a job as a cleaner for a generous salary. Ria decides to accept the offer. She steps into Fran's luxurious life but gradually becomes more than just a cleaner for her.

I didn't come across any real element of surprise.

Fran runs a successful business, is married to Simon (Julian Lewis Jones), and has no children. When Ria enters her life, she takes her under her wing as a sort of mentor. She influences Ria to do things outside her comfort zone. Eventually, she even seems to develop maternal feelings for her. However, behind Fran's luxurious life, many secrets are hidden. Initially, Ria is intrigued and somewhat jealous of Fran's life. But the more she gets involved in her life, the more this perception changes.

The Guest is a BBC miniseries with a total of four episodes. It's a thriller with surprisingly much character development for the characters in such a short story. The acting is convincing, and the casting is very good. The storytelling is also captivating. The episodes feel like watching a long movie. The content is easy to understand. However, the creators do drop the ball when it comes to details. A lot of questions remain unanswered, and some important storylines are completely forgotten towards the end.

Ria's boyfriend Lee (Siôn Daniel Young) is unemployed and spends his time gaming. At Fran's urging, Ria decides to sign up for a dating app. She meets Mike (Joseph Ollman) this way and decides to go on a date with him. They hit it off, and although Ria finds it difficult to lie to Lee, it still leads to a second date with Mike. This pleasant evening ends in drama when both men discover Ria's infidelity and don't take it kindly. Ultimately, it's Fran who saves Ria after this evening spirals out of control, but not before the police get involved.



Although the series is well put together, I didn't find it innovative. The events were somewhat predictable. I didn't come across any real surprise elements. Moreover, there are already many stories with a similar theme. It's a plus that the series is so short. It's unfortunate that not all storylines are equally well developed because of this. But it makes it less noticeable that the story isn't very strong. If the series had ten episodes, it would have quickly become tedious. Because it's only four episodes, there's enough left to keep the series entertaining.

The Guest is a nice short series for thriller genre enthusiasts who aren't too critical.

The story of The Guest revolves around unraveling Fran's secrets. Why is she so interested in Ria? Where has her previous cleaner Anna gone? What happened in the hidden rooms in the house? What quickly becomes clear is that gardener Derek (Clive Russell) knows more, but finds it difficult to express due to his dementia. His son Richard (Emun Elliott) seems to benefit from this. Besides being Fran's business partner, he seems to know more. He is not very happy with the fact that Ria is becoming increasingly curious.

My opinion of The Guest is, to be honest, not very clear. On one hand, I didn't find it surprising and was irritated by the rushed nature of some storylines. On the other hand, I was entertained while watching and thought it was a decent series. The Guest is a fun short series for not-too-critical fans of the thriller genre. However, if you prefer more realism, attention to detail, and unexpected twists, The Guest is not the right choice. The Guest was enjoyable to watch, but it's not a title that will stay with me. However, due to the good cast and enjoyment while watching, I still give it a passing grade.