Intriguing Irish crime drama about the disappearance of a fourteen-year-old girl and the desperate search by her parents. Each of the four episodes covers different aspects of the same timeline, from the day she went missing to almost two years later. It makes good use of the device in slow reveals of Amber's story and its aftermath, with the slow and painful disintegration of the family, and aside from a slightly contrived third episode around a mobile phone (no spoilers) it's gripping and harrowing stuff.
In opting for the life-like route, though, it probably splits its audience. It's a haunting exploration of how much damage is caused by a lost child, but it lacks a dramatically satisfying end and leaves many loose ends: will Amber's father Ben continue his efforts on the 'dark web' and risk imprisonment? What part did the prisoner who knew about the mermaid mural play? Why did Amber get off the train in the middle of nowhere? How did her lamp end up in the water? Is the man on the beach with his dog a suspect? And what about the boy in the chatroom, who was in Nerissa's with Amber's friend who said she didn't know him? Intriguing, but frustrating.
