The Nevers (1×01) Pilot Early Review

The Nevers looks to be the next obsession promising a fantastical world full of mystery and suspense but can the series reign in its ambition enough and pair it with a compelling enough narrative. Check out our spoiler-free review of the premiere.

Synopsis: Series premiere. London, 1899. Three years after an inexplicable event suddenly equips them with extraordinary abilities, Amalia True and Penance Adair work to protect their kind from widespread, deepening antipathy. Meanwhile, police inspector Frank Mundi investigates a string of murders at the hands of a reportedly Touched and highly dangerous serial killer named Maladie. (HBO)

The Nevers is a period fantasy action series that takes place in 1899 London following a mysterious event three years prior where the local women are saddled with special abilities and are referred to as the “touched”. The story follows a pair of women with abilities named Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) who work together to protect other touched from any wanting to do them harm and/or did not understand them, looking to bring them to an orphanage for younger touched that they ran for a woman named Lavinia Bidlow (Olivia Williams). The full extent of the touched was unknown at the time therefore many feared what they did not understand while some went to devious lengths to understand how they and their abilities came to be.

The first episode certainly did not waste any time, showing what the series could be, as it saw True and Adair in action against a group of masked wrongdoers with True being a Sherlock Holmes of sorts with Adair being her John Watson though their relationship was much more than that. Meanwhile, a touched and dangerous serial killer named Maladie (Amy Manson) was on the prowl and not helping towards the acceptance of touched. However, detective Frank Mundi (Ben Chaplin) was on the case and had been for a long time. Unlike the current establishment, he saw what was at stake the longer Maladie was at large.

The episode also worked to highlight how each of those subplots fit within the grand scheme of the series world as far as Bidlow and others were concerned and there is definitely a lot more to that but it mostly took a backseat to the main story for which there is more to as well, just being the firs episode. However, it did work here to put True on a collision course with the wildcard that was Maladie and another vulnerable touched woman. Though her true motivations are not yet known, that collision was an epic one. In the end and again being the first episode after all, this is likely not to be their last encounter. True and Adair may be down but they are far from being out.

On a technical level, The Nevers nails its period setting from the costumes, to the set design while the score and cinematography were also stellar. Meanwhile, the series has only scratched the surface in terms of touched abilities but the special effects thus far were also solid. Ultimately, the best part of the episode and what looks to be the best part of the series, the magnetic performances of Donnelly and Skelly as True and Adair and their great chemistry. While this episode was more of a showcase for Donnelly, the series looks to ride her and Skelly by making True and Adair the driving force of the story. The charisma and general badassery of Donnelly as True was a pure blast to watch while Skelly’s Adair was a worthy sidekick. Although wherever Adair goes from here remains to be seen, it will be interesting.

At the end of the day, The Nevers is off to a good start, giving viewers a just enough of a piece of an intriguing world and mystery while leaving them wanting more. How did the touched come to be and what is the extent of their abilities and how will the world respond to them? We have 5 more episodes to find out before the series takes a break and delivers 6 more episodes at a later date.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.