There are some works of fiction that simply feel as though they were personally constructed in a lab for one's own enjoyment, possessing all of the genre trappings necessary to ensure that the brain's pleasure center is firing at its utmost potential. Before entering into my first watch-through of Apple TV+'s upcoming series The Essex Serpent, my instincts were that its premise was perfectly suited to my personal interests. Not only am I always somewhat drawn to the period drama as a general rule, but I couldn't help but be intrigued based on the names that were attached. Given that I'm not personally familiar with the book by Sarah Perry on which the series is based, I can only judge the final small-screen product, adapted by Anna Symon and directed by Clio Barnard, on its own merits — and fortunately, The Essex Serpent delivers in just about every facet. From performances by Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes that are infused with a delicious note of inward yearning that slowly displays itself on the outside to the fog-blanketed marshes of the Essex village in which the bulk of the story is set, the resulting product is an atmospheric, Gothic romance that doesn't retreat from indulging in its overall foreboding while it ultimately looks toward the possibility of an optimistic ending.
It's with Danes' character, Cora Seaborne, that we're first welcomed to the plot; the newly-widowed woman seems to be mourning her late husband by all appearances, until we discover that his death has acted as the more important catalyst to free her from what was once a horrifyingly abusive marriage. Cora has been the wife confined to the gilded cage of their London townhome for so long that she's willing to grasp for the first chance of real escape that falls into her lap. Enter the titular Essex Serpent, a mythological creature who has featured in several reports of recent sightings in a small village — and given her own personal fascination with fossils and paleontology, Cora seizes the opportunity to pack up herself, her young son Frankie (Caspar Griffiths) and her housekeeper Martha (Hayley Squires) and travel to Aldwinter so that she might be able to verify any proof that this monster of legend — one that has the locals utterly terrified, no less — could actually exist. It's where her path initially crosses with that of Aldwinter's vicar, Will Ransome (Hiddleston in lots of good knitwear), and from their first meeting, it's evident that they share an unexpected connection in spite of the fact that neither of them is even remotely prepared for it or know what it signifies.
Here is where The Essex Serpent establishes itself as a romance between its leads, one that plays out in the form of glances held for just a little too long or a clear preference to spend the afternoon in each other's company, stomping through the muddy marshes for any evidence of the serpent's presence. It would be one thing if Will's visible attraction toward Cora was the only emotion she was positioned to be on the receiving end of, but as the story continues, it's made plain that there are several others who find themselves irrepressibly in love with her over the course of the series' six episodes. That doesn't mean Cora isn't deserving of a relationship established on admiration and respect, but by the time a third character goes as far as to propose marriage to her, prompting an incredulous reaction, it only results in rendering her more of an idealized figure that everyone can't help but fall on their knees for — with her wide-eyed naivety of anyone else's feelings seeming as improbable as the existence of the Essex serpent itself.
The only person that Cora seems to be the most believable, and by extension most vulnerable, version of herself is with Will — which doesn't escape the notice of Will's wife Stella (Clémence Poésy). Fortunately, the series doesn't fall prey to the lazy trope of making her character a mere obstacle to be surmounted, a meddlesome presence that only needs to be cleared aside so that Will and Cora can finally be together in the way their yearning stares and lingering touches signal. On the other hand, Stella is presented as someone who is a little too obliging given the situation that later arises — in one scene, she encourages them to dance with one another at Cora's birthday party, which results in one of the most tension-laden moments transpiring between the two up until that point. Stella may not be naive, but her overall response to the possibility that Will and Cora will act on their burgeoning feelings seems consigned to one of resignation, as if it is really only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.
As much as The Essex Serpent builds itself upon the romance aspect and the importance of forging connections, it also explores individual journeys for its cast of characters — many of them revolving around what happens when someone is forced to reexamine their sense of self, especially when they've possessed a singular view of their skills and worth up until the present of the story. This happens for Cora most significantly, of course, as she not only has to come to terms with what she suffered at the hands of her late husband rather than continue covering it up with scarves and high necklines — but the dilemma is also rendered firsthand for one of her growing friends from back home in London, surgeon Luke Garrett (Frank Dillane). Against the conventions of known medicine and risking censure from his peers, Luke has dared to perform open-heart surgeries on consenting patients where others won't — which has resulted in some failures but, more importantly, one very promising success. His overconfidence in his abilities, however, foreshadows a significant unseating, which transpires as one of the series' cruelest moments.
It makes The Essex Serpent's efforts to be more optimistic all the more surprising, but no less welcome when they occur. That's not to say that the show doesn't also lean into its strongest Gothic potential either — much of the local superstition surrounding the myth of the Essex serpent only leads to what can be described as a religious fervor or hysteria, with Cora at the heart of the most impassioned ridicule and ostracizing that results. Will, then, is left in the unfortunate position of coming to the defense of a woman he admires while risking scorn himself, or suspicion around the reasons why he's aligning himself with an outsider. It leaves the vicar wracked with a conflict of conscience as well as one of faith, and while Will does perform the honorable route of loyalty in most of its forms, there's still a lingering sense of affairs left unfinished.
How the series chooses to resolve its most poignant and stirring storyline — and where it leaves Cora and Will by the conclusion — may come as a surprise to those viewers who are well-versed in Perry's original book, but this is one of those cases in which changes to the source material make for a significant improvement over the original ending. It matters even less, by then, whether the serpent of myth and legend is proven to be real; The Essex Serpent deals more in what we uncover by searching within ourselves, and by allowing those we love to really see what we were once willing to leave buried deep beneath the surface.
Rating: A
The first two episodes of The Essex Serpent premiere on Friday, May 13 with the remaining episodes airing weekly every Friday thereafter, exclusively on Apple TV+.