After a long time, I had a nail-biting experience while watching something. Riveting and absorbing, 'The Serpent' presents the modus operandi of Charles Sobhraj, a serial killer whose victims were hippies traveling through southeast Asia during the hippie movement in an interesting chronological narrative. It is amazing how the makers have made the story thrilling even though it vacillates between two different timelines. It can be a bit confusing as most of the time we are used to just a few flashbacks in a story. But here the entire series happens that way but once you get used to it, it's quite gripping. What makes the show that good is the exceptional performances of Tahir Rahim as the protagonist Charles Sobhraj. The ice-cold, vane ruthlessness that Tahir brings is pivotal to the whole series. He is one of the perfect avatars of portrayal of evil as the central character of the plot. Billy Howle as Knippenberg is the counter to balance out Charles. His depiction of the obsession with Charles is admirable. The cat and mouse chase between these two across the Asian hippie route is kind of exotic and exciting to follow. I always wondered how the hippie culture/ movement could have been and this series definitely gives us a taste of it. Must watch!
