Alrighty. Obviously I binged this in one day. I read Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson ages ago, so I really didn’t want to do a book vs. tv show. I will, however, mention some of the things that were glaringly obvious. Other than that, though, this is a strictly tv show review that will mention the book briefly. 

With that being said, I still don’t think Ravi (Zain Iqbal) and Pip (Emma Myers) have chemistry on screen, which definitely causes problems because their relationship develops a lot more in this season. In the book, they were dynamic and fun and adorable but it just didn’t translate well into the show. 

Besides that minor/major (depending on how much you loved their romance in the book) thing, the acting in this show is pretty good. I still love Max (Henry Ashton) in a “I love to hate you” kind of way. The only other prominent person for the show was Connor (Jude Morgan-Collie), who I, oddly enough, couldn’t even remember from the first season. Cara (Asha Banks) shows up a little, but definitely not as much (however, I’m SUPER excited to see her in Your Fault: London in June that follows up after My Fault: London).

With the plot and story, I seem to remember the book focusing a lot less on the Hastings’ trial and a lot more on the other stuff that’s going on towards the end of the season (I’ll talk a little more about that in the spoilers). Everything followed a really good narrative, and I didn’t see any glaring holes, but the stakes didn’t feel as high for some reason. The main mystery was trying to find Jamie, Connor’s brother. Maybe because I had already read the book the stakes didn’t feel high? I’m not sure, but I didn’t feel the pressure to find Jamie until like the last two episodes. Then, you get introduced to something completely unrelated to everything else that had been going on (which happens in the book, too, in the show’s defense). I think in the show it just feels more abrupt. I really did like the focus on the Hastings’ trial, though, and getting to see a little more of that. I also LOVE how you get to see Pip progress as a character. It’s definitely leading into the third season super well.

The mystery itself is honestly really satisfying because it all makes sense in the end even if it didn’t make sense along the way. I love how Holly Jackson was able to weave together these mysteries in such a wonderful way that’s so magnetic and alluring. You end up caring for a character you barely have time to get to know, and then questioning what Pip will do next (and I still question what she did next in As Good As Dead to this day…).  Not to mention, it’s only six episodes, so it’s easy to binge and can’t have nearly as much detail as the book. I really do wish, though, they would’ve introduced the pivotal character you end up caring for in season 1 like they were supposed to.

Spoilers ahead.

Here we are. The spoilers. Everything good, bad, and ugly. There are a couple of things that are different from the book that I’ll mention super quick:

• Jamie wasn’t a witness for the trial, but I think this addition was actually super good at adding to the stakes. 
• Max actually accuses Sal of raping those girls (thus removing blame from him and helping his not guilty plea). 
• The Max Hastings’ trial is super central to the show and his mother becomes a big part of making him feel guilty for what he did. 
• Stanley Forbes (Misia Butler) is a security guard (but in the books, he’s introduced in the FIRST book as a journalist). 

This is all I can remember from the books, so if you remember anything else, let me know!

For the other spoilers, I have some unfiltered thoughts to share, but I’ll sum up the season for you first. Max is found not guilty. Pip discovers that Layla Mead, the person catfishing Jamie, is actually Charlie Green (Jack Rowan), Pip’s neighbor. Jamie is being held by Stanley since he found out that Stanley is Child Brunswick (a notorious child serial killer’s son who helped his dad lure in children so his dad could kill them). Jamie is unharmed and okay, but Charlie confronts Pip and Stanley and ends up killing Stanley in front of Pip because when Stanley was helping his serial killer father, he led Charlie’s twin sister to her death. This leads to some SERIOUS trauma that we’ll see in season 3 (as long as it follows the book). 

As for my unfiltered thoughts, here ya go (be warned, there might be semi-spoilers for season 3 if it follows the books):

• I wish people would get upset no matter who it was who got raped. Dan only cared when Pip told him about Nat. Like, dude, what about the other women he raped?
• This season did a great job about building Pip’s hate for Max up. It’ll definitely come in handy for season 3.
• Oooh. Is that warehouse place the scene for season 3 👀👀👀
• I don’t remember Max accusing Sal of attacking and raping those girls….
• Jeez. I really hope they change the ending of the third season. Charlie saying that she’s just like him and her proving him right by serving her own “justice”? Yeah. That doesn’t sit right with me and is the EXACT reason I hate the third book.
• They sure dropped a lot of hints about what is going to happen next season. Jamie saying she’d never kill anyone. Cara saying she’d help her hide a body. 

Please let them change the ending of the third book/season….

Overall, it was a good binge watch. It wasn’t my favorite thing ever, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m looking forward to the third season, but really hoping for some changes. I think a lot of people need justice….

Where to Watch: