‘The Girlfriend’: Soap opera, not a thriller

‘The Girlfriend’ looks like the kind of glossy drama that pulls you in with beautiful homes, polished characters and plenty of secrets. Based on Michelle Frances’ novel, the six-part series stars Robin Wright as Laura, a wealthy, controlling London mother who can’t quite let go of her grown son, Daniel. When Daniel, a young doctor, brings home his new girlfriend Cherry (Olivia Cooke), Laura’s perfect life begins to unravel. What unfolds is a tug-of-war between two women circling the same man, with trust, obsession and deception fuelling every twist.

At first, Cherry is shown almost like Joe Goldberg’s character in the psychological thriller ‘You’. She seems intense, a little too focused on Daniel, with an ambition that makes her look slightly dangerous. But later, she shifts into someone vulnerable and insecure, even fragile. This change is interesting to watch but not always believable. The show doesn’t explain well why Cherry moves from being so strong and calculating to so soft and needy.

Cherry’s big mistake comes early. She lies about her background and pretends to be from an upper-class family. That lie is treated as the reason everything falls apart. But the truth is, the story never gives us a solid reason why she felt the need to lie in the first place. She is smart and confident enough to stand on her own feet, so the whole act feels forced.

Laura, on the other hand, is difficult to sympathise with. Instead of being a protective mother who slowly loses control, she is shown as unreasonably hostile from the start. Wright gives a strong performance, full of icy stares and sharp words, but the script doesn’t give her many layers. Laura goes straight to suspicion and obsession without the slow build that could have made her scarier and more complex.

One of the main ideas of ‘The Girlfriend’ is that it shows events from both Laura and Cherry’s perspectives. A dinner scene, for example, might first look one way through Laura’s eyes and then very different through Cherry’s. This trick should have made the story deeper, letting viewers see how the truth changes depending on who is telling it. And at times it works, especially as Laura’s behaviour grows darker and we realise she may actually be the more dangerous one. But too often, the repeated scenes feel like fillers.

The show looks stunning. Expensive London houses, luxury wardrobes and sunny getaways are shot like glossy magazine spreads. The contrast — wealth on the surface, dysfunction underneath — works well. But good looks can only go so far. Many of the big arguments fall flat because they are written as shouting matches instead of tense, layered conversations. Instead of suspense, we often get soap opera drama.

The weakest point comes in the finale. Without giving too much away, Daniel’s reaction when his mother is in danger simply doesn’t make sense. As a doctor, he should have known exactly what to do, but the writer ignores this for the sake of a dramatic ending. It feels unrealistic.

Even with these problems, there are things to enjoy. Cooke makes Cherry engaging, even when her choices don’t add up. Wright is always magnetic, even when her role is written too harshly. Their constant push and pull keeps the series moving and at only six episodes, it’s easy to watch in one go.

In the end, ‘The Girlfriend’ is glossy, entertaining and sometimes gripping, but also frustrating. It wants to be a smart story about class, obsession and lies, but often falls back on weak twists and unbelievable choices.

You’ll keep watching because of the strong performances and the stylish look, but you may finish the final episode feeling more annoyed than satisfied.