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- Apple TV+
- Sep 8, 2023
- Apple TV+
- Sep 8, 2023
- Apple TV+
- Sep 8, 2023
- Apple TV+
- Sep 8, 2023
Season Episodes
View All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
64
48% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
45% Mixed
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
64
48% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
45% Mixed
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
It’s not too tough to get lost in the proverbial woods here, but even when we do, this show has established enough trust through competent storycraft that we catch up—and know it’s worth it. The Changeling’s secret weapon is its characterization, with each actor in this cast embodying their respective role so richly.
Thanks to a fine performance from Stanfield as well as a story that’s just starting to get spooky by the end of the first episode, The Changeling hooks in the viewer and gets them ready to follow Apollo on a journey that promises to be full of scares and surprises.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 User Ratings
5.0
25% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
38% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
38% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 User Ratings
5.0
25% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
38% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
38% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
At times, especially in the season’s endgame, it feels like something is lost in translation simply because, well, it has to be translated and made real. Having said that, “The Changeling” works because everyone involved clearly was committed to LaValle’s vision. Stanfield is phenomenal, another excellent performance in an increasingly impressive list of great performances.
The acting and direction are top notch, but convoluted plot and constant twists leave the viewer a little cold. Overall, The Changeling falls short of Apple TV's best, but there's plenty to like nonetheless.
Had The Changeling followed the source material more closely, cut the dead wood and sorted out its pacing at the end, we'd certainly be looking at yet another Apple TV+ hit.
“The Changeling” offers some of the most effective horror I’ve ever seen. The show’s casual, grounded, workaday realism augments the nightmare; the contrast between those registers, whenever they meet, is sharp. Totally arresting. But as the protagonists’ quests weaken their connection to that concrete world, the show’s stakes start to scatter, too, as if pulverized by too many competing symbolic operations.
From the moment “The Changeling” begins until the final scene, it feels as if the creators have no interest in explaining any of the details needed to give this story meaning. What should have been an enchanting horror fantasy gives way to a baffling jigsaw, teetering on the absurd. Some stories, with all of their strangeness and symbolism, are better left on the page.