Co-created by Dennis Kelly and Felix Barrett, the series unfolds in sections dedicated to two different seasons, “Summer” and then “Winter.” In its first three episodes for “Summer,” Sam comes to the island of Osea after saving a young girl named Epona (Jessie Ross) from a suicide attempt in the forest out in the mainland. He brings her back home to this place that celebrates the Christianity in its own special way, and is isolated from the rest of the world. This moment comes with odd timing in Sam’s life—he was only in the woods to let out emotions regarding a young son who was recently murdered, having sent a piece of the boy’s clothing down a river while crying his eyes out to Florence + The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.” Sam is also having problems with money, regarding missing cash that he was going to use as a bribe to start a business. He’s clearly in a bad place in his own life—maybe it’s Epona who saved him? 

The island of Osea is referred to by some of its residents as the center of the world, an important part of its balance. Sam experiences a bit of that tranquility as he decides to stay on the island overnight, befriending another outsider named Jess (Katherine Waterston), an expert in the bizarre traditions of the island, including a music festival based in letting criminals experience unmitigated catharsis. The two start an emotional connection that makes Osea seem all the more inviting to Sam, if not escapist. And as much as Sam worries initially about Epona’s suicide attempt, he still finds comfort in the wonky explanations by hotel owners Mr. and Mrs. Martin (an affable Paddy Considine and a guarded Emily Watson). But anxiety is a corrosive force, and, like Sam, we feel like something is off. That nervousness is amplified when Sam starts chasing after a mirage of a young boy, desperately running through unknown fields. And because Sam chooses to stay a little longer on the island, he starts being hunted by people wearing sacks on their heads. 

The main spectacle in the series is Law’s face and all of the anguish packed behind it, as the actor makes this his own type of “The Revenant” ordeal when the walls start to close in, and the vicious intent of the islanders starts to become real. He’s bruised, bloodied, and beaten as he loses his sense of reality. His eyes becoming progressively sunken, a parallel to the grief inside of him, his nightmarish ordeal supplanted by the baggage he’s already brought to Osea. It’s brutal physical and emotional work for something that only starts with the impulse of Sam choosing his own adventure, and Law creates an excellent through-line. By the time that his character reaches a definitive third day on the island, the series’ ambitions and his own work create a powerful unity. There’s even some emotional release when Sam, after all that he goes through and has to fight for, finally gets to change his clothes on the third day. 

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