9/10, that’s how I rated the first mesmerising episode of “Maniac.” Did the rest of the first half of the season live up to that inspirational start? In essence, yes! Episode 2 is Annie’s partial backstory, while we see some of Owen’s fraught past in Episode 3. Episode 4, their first shared adventure while within the pharmaceutical testing, bewilders a bit, then Episode 5, set in a 1940s séance, takes off. I was hooked. Emma Stone and Jonah Hill fill their screens with riveting acting, the cinematography and music are superb, and the supporting characters keep expanding. Best of all, the sumptuous baffling plot continues to play out under perfect control, mystifying even more as it reveals. Bring on the season’s second half.
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