Peacock’s All Her Fault is one of those shows that sneaks up on you — the kind you put on thinking you’ll watch an episode or two, and suddenly it’s midnight and you’re still glued to the couch. Sarah Snook carries the thing on her shoulders, no surprise there, but the series often feels like it’s juggling more than it knows what to do with. The story, adapted from Andrea Mara’s novel, follows Marissa Irvine after her son, Milo, disappears under circumstances that would terrify any parent. What starts as a tight, tension-filled mystery slowly morphs into something much broader, sometimes richer, sometimes messier.
It’s now on Youcine as well, so if you’re curious, you can download the APK and form your own opinion.
A Strong Premise with Emotional Depth
The show opens with a punch to the stomach. Marissa heads to pick up Milo from what she thinks is a friend’s house, only to find the address is completely wrong — no kids, no playdate, nothing. The panic comes through immediately. Snook captures the sort of hollow, shaky fear that doesn’t need dramatic music to feel real. You can almost hear the thoughts racing in her head.
Dakota Fanning’s Jenny adds another emotional current to the story. She’s not just a plot device; she feels like someone you might actually know — exhausted, stretched thin, doing her best while everyone expects even more. When she and Marissa share scenes, the show finds a rhythm that feels honest. Those moments ground the story, giving viewers a breather from the constant tension. This balance is what makes the early episodes so compelling.
An Overstuffed Narrative with Pacing Issues
Once the mystery expands, though, the show starts wandering. New subplots keep appearing — office politics, relationship drama, long-buried family stories — and eventually it becomes hard to tell which threads actually matter. Some side stories feel interesting on their own, but together they crowd the main plot until the urgency around Milo almost fades.
A few episodes of All Her Fault in the middle sag noticeably. Scenes stretch longer than they need to, especially ones involving characters who don’t add much to the central mystery. By the time everything bursts into the final revelations, the show behaves like it suddenly remembered there’s a missing child at the centre of it all. The twists land, but some feel dropped in rather than earned.
Thematic Ambition: Guilt, Gender, and Society
Where the series really sinks its teeth in is the theme baked into its title: All Her Fault. Anyone who’s lived in a community where mothers are constantly judged — South Africa definitely fits that description — will recognise the dynamic instantly. Marissa is blamed for being “too busy” with work. Jenny is scolded for trusting the wrong nanny. Meanwhile their husbands, Peter and Richie, manage to dodge most of the criticism with impressive convenience.
The show calls out this double standard repeatedly. Some moments of All Her Fault hit hard, but others feel almost too eager to underline the point, as if the writers didn’t trust the audience to catch the message. The husbands, especially Peter, are sometimes written with such exaggerated flaws that they border on cartoonishly awful. It doesn’t ruin the theme, but it does soften the impact a bit.
Standout Performances Amid a Crowded Cast
Snook, unsurprisingly, is exceptional. She plays Marissa with a mix of strength and fragility that never feels forced. Fanning complements her beautifully, and their shared scenes bring out the show’s most grounded emotions. You can believe these two women would lean on each other in a crisis.
The rest of the cast is solid but overshadowed — partly because there are simply too many characters fighting for space. Michael Peña’s detective shows flashes of depth, though his storyline feels clipped around the edges.
All Her Fault: A Compelling but Uneven Ride
All Her Fault is gripping, messy, frustrating, and oddly reflective all at once. It has moments of genuine insight into motherhood and guilt, mixed with stretches that feel padded or overcooked. It won’t hit the heights of something like Big Little Lies, but it’s definitely the kind of show that sparks conversation.
If you’re into psychological thrillers that poke at social expectations, Youcine’s APK version makes it easy to dive in.
Final Score: 7/10