In Your Dreams (2023)

In Your Dreams (2023)

A slow-to-warm fantasy mystery series that relies too much on quips over intrigue

4.9

TV Show

South Africa
English
Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
2023
FRED WOLMARANS, GARETH CROCKER
Anthony Oseyemi, Didintle Khunou, Jesse Suntele
40 min

TLDR

Maybe it would be okay for some TV characters to directly acknowledge that they're in a TV show, so they can stop making some of the dumbest decisions of all-time.

What it's about

After reconnecting with their childhood schoolmate who is now an artifact hunter, two down-on-their-luck best friends release an ancient spirit from a statue being sought by dangerous people.

The take

There are some very interesting, culturally specific touches to In Your Dreams that tease a much more interesting adventure beyond the first two episodes watched for this review. Unfortunately, these first two installments can be a real test of patience—not necessarily because of a slower pace than expected, but because of how little the main plot moves forward. The series seems to want to establish its characters before anything else, which makes it even stranger that their development is made up primarily of cheesy comedy and confusing decisions made for the sake of kickstarting the plot. And when danger finally rolls around (in disappointingly short bursts), these characters just don't have the depth to inspire any concern over their well-being.

What stands out

The difference between artifact hunter Dineo (played by Didintle Khunou, whom we first see jumping out of a plane and into uncharted territory) and bumbling Marcus and Lloyd (Jesse Suntele and Kiroshan Naidoo, respectively) is so stark and tonally mismatched that they really do feel like they belong in different shows. The actors themselves do well with what they've been given—and are the only reason that any comedy manages to land—but if the series had to pick just one perspective to focus on, Dineo's adventures really are so much more interesting, and they probably would've been able to breathe better without the two comic relief men.

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