Apple TV+\u2019s The Essex Serpent<\/a> is that rare, mythical beast: an adaptation that feels just as compelling as its celebrated source material.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Based on Sarah Perry<\/a>\u2019s bestselling book, the series stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston and is set in Victorian England. <\/span>Danes are heartbreakingly wonderful as Cora Seaborne, a recently widowed amateur naturalist who relocates to Essex to investigate rumours of a monstrous serpent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cora is traumatised by years of abuse at the hands of her sadistic late husband: a coiled (perhaps even serpentine) scar on her neck is revealed to have been branded into her skin by a hot, curved poker, an incident we witness in a particularly harrowing flashback.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Moments after his funeral, we see Cora impulsively throw away the earrings she\u2019s wearing, sending them down the River Thames, before explaining that her husband often bought her jewellery (in another flashback, we see him strangle her with a glittering necklace).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> However, Cora is by no means friendless: she is already being courted by her late husband\u2019s doctor, the pioneering Luke, and she is loved by her loyal maidservant Martha. With the latter\u2019s support, Cora makes the decision to reclaim her life and pursue her passion for natural history, starting with a trip to the Essex marshes to look into recent reports of a mythical\u00a0serpent, which she believes to be some kind of Plesiosaur.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Claire Danes (who was cast in the role of Cora after Keira Knightley bowed out<\/a>) completely inhabits the role, giving the character energy and nerviness in addition to a bold physical presence, striding through the Essex mud as if it\u2019s all her own.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the series is beautiful to look at, in particular, the evocation of the bleak \u2013 but bewitching \u2013 wintry landscape Cora finds there.<\/p>\n Sometimes \u2013 as with many period dramas these days \u2013 you\u2019ll find yourself squinting at the screen, trying to make out the details of a nighttime scene lit only by candlelight or flaming torches. Otherwise, many of the shots feel almost like stepping into a Victorian-era painting \u2013 although the series certainly doesn\u2019t shy away from some of the grislier realities of everyday life, including skinned animals strung up to ward off the \u2018beast\u2019.<\/p>\n Cora finds Essex to be a superstitious place (\u201cIt\u2019s witch-burning country,\u201d Martha quips), and by no means welcoming: on a walk during her first day in the county, she comes across a man \u2013 covered in blood and mud \u2013 wrestling with a sheep stuck in the marsh.<\/span><\/p>\n She comes to his aid, but gets little thanks; as soon as he realises she\u2019s a tourist hunting the \u2018Essex Serpent\u2019, he tells her to leave: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to see. Go home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, this especially rude man turns out to be Will Ransome (Hiddleston), the very vicar she\u2019s due to meet after a mutual friend puts them in touch.<\/span><\/p>\n Hiddleston gives the audience calculated flashes of Will\u2019s hidden fears and anxieties, all stemming from his parishioners\u2019 superstition about the serpent, which he sees as a threat to their faith.<\/p>\n Neither Cora nor Will is what the other expected (both initially assume the other will be old, fusty, and dull). At the dinner table with Will\u2019s wife and children, Cora challenges his belief that the monstrous serpent must be a fairytale.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf I were to let in any doubt how could I look after my flock?\u201d he counters.<\/span><\/p>\n However, by the final moments of the first episode, tragedy strikes, and Cora\u2019s arrival sees cracks beginning to appear in both the community and Will\u2019s careful facade \u2013 letting the doubt creep in. <\/span><\/p>\n The Essex Serpent will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday 13th May.\u00a0<\/strong>Find out how to\u00a0sign up for Apple TV+ here<\/a><\/strong>, check out our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub for more news, interviews and features or find something to watch with\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Flora Carr Published: Thursday, 12 May 2022 at 12:00 am 4.0 out of 5 star rating Apple TV+\u2019s The Essex Serpent is that rare, mythical beast: an adaptation that feels just as compelling as its celebrated source material.\u00a0 Based on Sarah Perry\u2019s bestselling book, the series stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston and is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15263,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed.jpg",600,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed-300x207.jpg",300,207,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed.jpg",600,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed.jpg",600,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed.jpg",600,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/the-essex-serpent-review-apple-tv-adaptation-is-a-rare-beast-indeed.jpg",600,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Flora Carr Published: Thursday, 12 May 2022 at 12:00 am 4.0 out of 5 star rating Apple TV+\u2019s The Essex Serpent is that rare, mythical beast: an adaptation that feels just as compelling as its celebrated source material.\u00a0 Based on Sarah Perry\u2019s bestselling book, the series stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston and is…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/15262"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/The-Essex-Serpent-Claire-Danes-21b71bd-e1618411359827-c8923ce.jpg?quality=90&resize=591%2C382"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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