Amazon Prime’s The Girlfriend Review: A Twisty, Messy Thriller

Amazon Prime's The Girlfriend (adapted from the novel into a six-part series) starts with a whisper and ends with a scream. The pacing is deliberate: slow to start, but the suspense creeps in episode by episode until you realize you’ve been waiting on baited breath for the next plot to drop. The next move to be made or the next puzzle piece to be revealed.

At the center is Laura, who on the surface has it all: a doting husband, wealth, and the picture-perfect family portrait. However, beneath it all is grief, the kind no parent should ever know, the loss of her daughter. That grief has turned into a suffocating devotion to her son, Daniel. Let’s just say Laura takes “boy mom” energy and cranks it up to a Freudian 11. In fact, their first scene together had me squinting, wondering if Daniel was her young lover. Nope...he's her son. Yikes on bikes.

Then comes Cherry, Daniel’s new flame with a dark past and the kind of nonchalant menace that keeps you side-eyeing her every move. She’s vengeful; after a split with a man she later stalked, she proceeds to ruin his wedding...I won't spoil it here, but it involves a cake. Cherry is opportunistic, and appears to be completely unbothered. One can tell that there is something going on with her emotionally and mentally. She comes with red flags, but she is smart, beautiful, and witty.  She has had a tough go of it and is a go-getter trying to be better than where she came from. Of course, those red flags aren’t what stands out and Daniel falls head over heels despite those red flags.

The real fun begins when Laura realizes Cherry has her bracelet on when they first meet during a dinner. One that she hadn't noticed was missing, she later checks and cue the silent war. What follows is less meet the parents and more Monster-in-Law with psychological thriller flair. Lies are told, lives are unraveled, and the back-and-forth cat-and-mouse tension becomes the heartbeat of the series.

The acting is strong, the twists keep you guessing, and the mounting tension is what keeps you tuned into The Girlfriend. There is a catch, however; none of these characters are actually likable. Laura is obsessive, Daniel is both enabler and complainer, Howard the husband loves his wife but can’t resist weaponizing her career against her when things don't go his way. Then there is Cherry… Well, she’s Cherry. At some point, I wanted to root for Cherry, because of the way the story unfolds, from her point of view. You just kind of want to see her win. That is when things get a little sinister, it is a bit of a mind game that feels intentional. However, it also makes it hard to root for anyone. 

Despite two slower opening episodes, the series kept me engaged. I found myself constantly asking: who is really the villain here? I have my theories, but I’ll save them for a spoiler-filled final review when the last episode drops.

For now, The Girlfriend earns a solid 6 out of 10. It’s messy, twisty, and occasionally maddening, but like a bad relationship, it’s hard to look away.