It’s rare for true crime documentaries to take on open, ongoing cases, so Taken Together is commendable for having the courage to do that, at least. But overall, this three-part docuseries about the unfortunate abduction of young cousins Elizabeth and Lyric fails to relay the facts of its case in a meaningful or respectful way. It quickly goes off the rails as it follows the mess surrounding the tragedy, not the tragedy itself, proving that it’s more interested in scandal than the actual victims. If it were truly concerned for the well-being of the survivors (i.e. the children’s families), then it wouldn’t have the distressed parents recount the events numerous times throughout its multi-year interviews. And perhaps this is just nitpicking, but I don’t like how director Dylan Sires inserts himself into this story. His comments feel unnecessary at best and vain at worst.

There is a case for stitching together interviews of the same people answering the same questions throughout different years. If you want to see how they’ve changed, maybe, or emphasize how they haven’t. I want to believe this was Sires intent in the movie, but the execution is frustratingly muddled. It’s obvious that sometimes, he just does this to fill the gaps of an incomplete answer.