It’s surely entirely coincidental that, at a time when practically the entire population of the Earth is being advised to keep away from one another and ‘social distancing’ has become the public norm, TV has turned its attention to the eternally vexed question of intimate human relationships and how people come together to find the one person they’d quite like to spend the rest of their lives with. Netflix’s The One has just arrived but stealing the march by a few weeks is Prime’s original anthology series Soulmates, potentially frustrating viewing not just for lockdown lotharios but also for casual viewers who would rather appreciate the opportunity to go out and meet any real human being regardless of their potential as lifelong romantic partner material.
Set in an unspecified ‘near future’ (subtly visualised by the predominance of wafer-thin transparent mobile phones and super hi-tech computer screens – no jets packs or futuristic space cars here!) curious romantics can avail themselves of the services of a company called Soul Connex, which has developed an algorithm than can determine a person’s perfect partner with 100% accuracy. Once the test is taken, it’s up to the applicant to decide whether they want to locate and meet up with their ‘soulmate’ bearing in mind that the test can also reveal that their soulmate hasn’t yet taken the test so is entirely unknown to them. Across six intriguing episodes, Soulmates asks the audience to ponder whether love really can be determined by predestination or whether the right to choose and make an informed decision is an implacable and fundamental part of the human experience.
Soulmates offers up some tantalising possibilities, ranging from the vexed question of an already married couple, their curiosity piqued by their acquaintances’ experiences with ‘the test’ quietly wondering if they are really with the person they are meant to be paired up with to the terrifying questions that arise if you discover that your ‘soulmate’ has distinctly psychopathic tendencies in series finale (and strongest episode) The (Power) Ballad of Caitlin Jones. If you’re paired with him… what does that make you? Episode 2, The Lovers, is a sinister – if ultimately predictable – Fatal Attraction-like thriller starring David Costabile as David Maddox, an esteemed college lecturer with a bright future ahead of him whose soulmate Allison (Sonya Cassidy) has tracked him down, even though he is already married to much younger woman who just happens to be his boss’s daughter. Layover is a gloriously madcap and breathless romp set in Mexico in which Mateo (Bill Skarsgård), en route to meet his soulmate Miguel in Colombia, encounters plausible grifter Jonas (Nathan Lewis-Jarrett) who promptly steals his passport before leading him into a wild night of gambling, theft and drugs. Break on Through is a sobering study of grief and how Kurt (Charlie Heaton) comes to terms with the death of his soulmate before he even has a chance to meet her. The only weak link in the series is the slightly tiresome Little Adventure, which treads ground already familiar from first episode, Watershed, and is undermined by an irritating performance from Laia Costa as the needy Libby.
In fact, the whole issue of the series’ potential for revisiting familiar themes does lead us to wonder where the second series – already commissioned – can go and how many variations on this particular concept there can actually be. Series co-creator/co-writer Brett Goldstein (an underrated British comedy talent) has spoken of the show having the legs to run for a good five series. We’re not too sure about that but we’re happy for now to give him the benefit of any doubt on the basis of this promising, compelling and thought-provoking first series.
Where to watch: Prime Video / Reviewed: All Episodes
