The Clearing season 1 review

Here’s our 2023 Hulu series The Clearing Season 1 review, with no spoilers.

The Glade is a psychological thriller based on The book by JP Pomare In the clearing, which was inspired by an Australian cult. The main roles play in the eight-part series Teresa Palmer starring as Freya, Miranda Otto plays cult leader Matriah and Guy Pearce plays Dr. Bryce Latham.

The Clearing season 1 recap and plot synopsis

The Glade is about a woman who is forced to confront the nightmares of her past in order to stop a cult from gathering children to carry out their grand plan.

The show begins with an abduction that leads us to meet The Kindred. There is a cult of well behaved kids with those blonde bob hairstyles introducing themselves to their new sister. The group is led by their “mother” Matriah, who has this power over them that instills godlike fear in them. Even at a simple glance, they are afraid.

The Glade is told from the perspective of Freya, one of the little girls kidnapped by The Kindred. Freya relives her past with The Kindred after a kidnapping in her hometown left her suffering from PTSD.

This allows us to witness the trauma she suffered as a child and how being so protective of her son Billy affected her. Her struggle with the past is not over as she still has a relationship with Matriah.

The Glade Is inspired by real events happening in the 1960s with a cult called ” The family abducted the children and raised them to believe that they were the apostles of Jesus.

This cult was run by Anne Hamilton Byrne, who made those around her believe she was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Our Anne Hamilton-Byrne was in the form of Matriah, who played Miranda Otto.

Otto has been an actor for well over thirty years, so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that her devious, haunting role as Matriah is absolutely perfect. She puts on a performance that is sure to instill fear in viewers. If Matriah looked me in the eye and told me to do something, I would do it without hesitation. Otto is fantastic in this series.

I have trouble with shows that balance past and present without laying the foundation. You get thrown into things that lack the right structure and that causes things to get a little muddled. Another thing the series suffers from is Every episode feels like a grind.

As each episode surpasses the almost 50 minute mark, there are certain elements that could have been left out, and that even speaks to the eight episodes in which the story could have been told in 4-6.

Is The Clearing season 1 good or bad?

The Glade is a fascinating look into the world of cults, showing how they work and how things can ultimately go wrong. The creators do a great job of bringing us into this world, not only with outstanding lyrics and performances, but also with attention to detail. From the haircuts, to the build up of the godlike complex, to the post traumatic stress disorder one can experience after being kidnapped.

Notwithstanding minor issues with storytelling structure and runtime, The Glade Authors are good at keeping you in the dark at every turn.

Is The Clearing Season 1 Worth Watching?

The stunning performances of Miranda Otto and Teresa Palmer coupled with the suspenseful psychological mystery makes a series worth watching.

However, I would say that The Clearing is better viewed as a binge game than a weekly release. Not sure if there is enough juice to watch weekly. Anyway, enjoy it however you want, but be prepared to be hooked for eight episodes.

What do you think of the first season of Hulu’s The Clearing? Comment below.