With a release date in the middle of the pandemicâs second March, âThe Oneâ had the opportunity to thrive in a global market of streamers still stuck at home. With a striking cast of mostly unknown performers, the show dove into deep waters, trying to make a splash as one of Netflixâs freshest originals. Its eight episodes dropped simultaneously, basically begging for a good quarantine binge. But the showâs premise, following the emergence of a dating service so perfect that it guarantees love, sounds too good to be true â and it is.
The audience is introduced to three interwoven storylines about the people at the heart and the fringe of the new matchmaking service, aptly called âThe One.â Hannah Ware stars as Rebecca Webb, the centerpiece of the show: a maniacal, scheming founder who gave up everything in the pursuit of her vision for helping people find love by pairing them based on their genetic makeup. Throughout the show, we see her flex her influence and power â never more so than in the first episode when Rebecca forces a politician, Elizabeth (Geraldine Alexander), to bend to her will by using her daughterâs match as leverage. These power plays continue throughout the season, but as she repeats the same approach each time, the impressiveness of her wealth and sway wear off. By the end, itâs almost unnoticeable.