agmtw logo
search

Penelope

Penelope

7.5

A quiet but engaging survival and coming-of-age tale

TV Show

United States of America
English
Drama
2024

TLDR

As long as you don’t get stuck in the details of her runaway, the show is a fine fable about growing up and feeling lost.

What it's about

Sixteen-year-old Penelope (Megan Stott) runs away from camp and sneaks into a park in the Pacific Northwest with nothing but the clothes on her back, and some help from friendly strangers she meets along the way.

The take

If you’ve seen one too many true crime documentaries, you might shake your head at the things sixteen-year-old Penelope does upon running away from her high school camp. You might (rightly) ask, why is she camping in the middle of nowhere all alone? Why is she trusting all these different strangers who, for all she knows, could be a serial killer or a trafficker? And why approach that bear? Why sleep in that clearing? But the sooner you let go of those worries and accept that Penelope is more of a fable about growing up and finding yourself than it is a literal survival tale, the better. Which isn’t to say it fails as the latter—Penelope is surprisingly watchable as she learns the ways of the wilderness. In fact, one near-silent episode is dedicated to just Penelope learning the ropes, literally, and it’s one of the season’s best. As long as you don’t get stuck in the details of Penelope’s journey and take aside your cynicism for just a while, you’ll find something touching and humanizing in this short but sweet series.

What stands out

Penelope is one lucky girl to be bumping into all that good luck.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

One Hundred Years of Solitude

An ambitious mini-series that succeeds in adapting the classic magic realist novel

8.0

Ethos

A level of attention to aesthetics usually reserved for the most elaborate films, mixed with a complex and relevant story, make this series from Turkey unmatched in its quality

9.9

Black Doves

A tale of espionage, romance, and friendship all tied in a neat bow, just in time for Christmas

8.1

Caliphate

A psychological thriller that provides insight on what drove so many young people to ISIS.

8.9

Say Nothing

A powerful take on the Northern Ireland conflict that smartly shows all sides

8.5

Occupied

Norway's most expensive show ever is a timely thrill ride with a grim geopolitical premise.

8.7

Unorthodox

A well-acted fact-based thriller about untangling the grip of a close-knit community

8.5

Escape at Dannemora

Based on a true prison escape story, this slow-burn suspense thriller features once-in-a-lifetime performances by a star-studded cast

9.3

The Sticky

Margo Martindale stands out in this true-story-based Canadian maple syrup heist

7.1

The Looming Tower

A well-written thriller miniseries about the rivalry between the CIA and the FBI and how they failed to prevent 9/11.

8.1

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.