There may be no feeling more identifiable than those teenage years—the sensation of being out-of-place, clumsily mishandling your nascent adult powers and oftentimes stuck in the wrong skin altogether. This itchy sensation has long been the province of superhero comics and movies—it’s what fuels, say, the long-running “Spider-Man” franchise. And it’s put to clever and evocative use in Netflix’s “The Innocents,” a new series whose lead character (Sorcha Groundsell) has the power to shift between bodies; unlike most superheroes, though, she can barely control her gift and seeks to keep it hidden. Teens, the show’s obvious intended audience, will relate to “The Innocents’” high dudgeon, but adults will find a show that punches above its weight, defined by both its stirringly dramatic tone and the two charming performances at its center.The Innocents Season 1 Download.
Groundsell’s June, who’s on the eve of her 16th birthday as the show begins, flees her repressive home along with her boyfriend, Harry (Percelle Ascott). The pair’s destination is loosely defined: They just want freedom. “I love this song!,” June declares as they drive into their future. “I’ve never heard it before, but I love it!” The optimistic vibes are shattered when she inadvertently jumps into the body of a stranger; in a sharp touch, we see June as herself in shots from her point-of-view and as an entirely new person when Harry is looking at her.
There is a bit too much of “The Innocents,” whose eight episodes run close to an hour and could be whittled down. There’s less tension than there is amplification; key points are repeated relentlessly, and the season’s overarching plot, involving a cruel doctor (Guy Pearce) who wants to crack the secret within June’s genes, has fizzled by season’s end. But the show’s moody atmosphere, lent by locations in the U.K. and Norway photographed in dim light and shadow, casts a spell that feels dreamily teenage.