Spoiler Alert:
It all comes down to the last minute of the show. Hooked up for 10 episodes, you are not exactly concerned about Chantal, but you wait for the next twist to understand what Dory is up against next. Search Party is nothing less than a thrill party. The plot line is simple – Dory (the lead character played by Alia Shawkat) is an assistant to a rich housewife and has no aim or purpose in life until she spots a pamphlet.
The pamphlet informs that her college friend, Chantal (technically not a friend since she hardly knew her), has gone missing. Sitting with her friends and boyfriend, Dory decides that she will find her. She sets off on a mission and bumps into clues in every episode that take her into all sorts of directions. She meets a crazy woman who says that she saw Chantal as well, gets stalked by a stranger only to find out he is a private investigator and was looking for Chantal as well, and attends a weird yet petrifying ceremony.
Through all this, her shallow and self-centered friends and insecure boyfriend tag along. Through the series, all "her people" are unsupportive and de-motivating Dory. But with every episode, Dory finds clues after clues to reach Chantal. Standing in front of a mirror, the last minute of the show sees Dory looks at herself unable to wrap her head around what had just happened.
With every passing episode, you tend to ask yourself, "but she hardly ever knew this woman, then why is she even taking the effort to find where she has gone?" The answer you can find in the fifth episode. Dory visits a social gathering at an art and craft store. The ambience of the gathering is philosophical as everyone is seen discussing about the changing moments of their live. Dory is seen talking to the host of the evening, discussing about her motive to search her lost friend. "Ever since she went missing, I realized I over looked her. It might sound annoying but I feel like people overlook me sometimes," and this is where the viewers swiftly shift gears from the search to Dory.
Based out of Brooklyn, the show draws a cynical picture of the 20-somethings as they create a twitter hash-tag for the missing Chantal, their screwed up priorities and emotions, and their loss of actual purpose in life. The show also highlights the new-age craze of always being under the spotlight, no matter how you achieve the spotlight.
The characters are so real and relatable. And they are penned down well. The best aspect about the show is that it has a well-written script and every episode in well-edited. Every episode is made of 20-odd minutes and is packed with melodrama, black comedy and good story. Created by Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers and Michael Showalter, the show's primary focus is the suspense and it delivers it bang on.
Reasons to watch it:
- The cast: All the characters, except for Dory and her friends, have a short time span in the show and yet they do justice to their role. Playing Dory's ex-boyfriend's role, Brandon Micheal Hall portrays an up-tight narcissist who loves to be right. Ron Livingston as Keith the private investigator gives you the chills as the seasons begins to conclude. John Reynolds, as Drew, convincingly proves times and again in the show that Dory and he are not meant to be together (and accepts it the last episode admits to it too). And Shawkat proves that she is a good actor. She takes us through the Dory journey that we feel, at some point of time that the show should have been Finding Dory.
- The music: Brian H Kim has done an excellent job with the background music. The title track is extremely catchy and the background score supports every moment well. Another thing to note is that the music transition, within the same scene, is so clean that you do not realise when the music stopped.
- It is worth binge watching: The show takes at least three episodes to actually get you hooked on to it but once it does, it gets a little difficult to stop watching. The twists are well-placed and believable.
- Where to watch: You can stream the show on TBS's official website.
