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.
"It’s refreshing to see an indie TV series forge its own identity, rather than try to ape the standard studio formula"
— Ben Travers
"Much like its titular character, you end up swallowed up by the quiet majesty of what’s in front of you."
— Clint Worthington
A restless teenager who questions her place in the world embarks on a soul-searching journey into the remote wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.
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.
Penelope is one lucky girl to be bumping into all that good luck.
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.
