The Survivors (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 27 June 2025

CONTAINS SPOILERS!

We head down under to Australia for Netflix’s latest murder mystery.

Kieran returns to his coastal hometown, 15 years after he survived a deadly storm that killed his brother and friend, when a young woman investigating a third death of a girl is found dead on the beach.

The murder mystery itself is a good one, but unfortunately is told in a stale and slow manner. For example, the flashback at the start of episode 4 to Brian’s CPR class makes it clear he was trying to save Bronte, but it takes Kieran the whole episode to realise this himself. Only in episode 5 when the accusations about Finn and Toby’s involvement with Gabby arise does the drama pick up.

Furthermore, the character of Kieran’s mother Verity is infuriating. She clearly blames Kieran for Finn’s death and treats him terribly, a truly horrible character. Meanwhile, Kieran’s father Brian is contrastingly kindhearted and praise goes to actor Damien Garvey for his sensitive and accurate portrayal of dementia.

The reveal surrounding what really happened in the caves and who murdered Bronte provides a decent ending, allowing Kieran to move on and Trish to finally have closure.

As an aside, The Caves would have been a more suitable name as, while the series does focus on the effects on the survivors, it is also about what happened in the caves and concludes with a return to them, making this alternative name more specific.

Overall, the series delivers a strong mystery, but is largely hindered by its poor pacing and lack of action.

6/10