– compelling though this true crime story is – and it is very gripping – the pretext immanent in the title of the doc, that a bunch of “internet nerds” (as they describe themselves) tracked down and helped catch a killer, is revealed to be BS. Ultimately, the police put out a notice on Interpol and the guy was recognised and arrested. Further, the ethical dilemma the series raises about whether it’s ever appropriate to revel in and elevate the stardom of a murderous narcissistic sociopath is presented as an afterthought, and comes after three hours of glorifying, breathlessly excited footage doing just that. This is a show literally interspersing the killer with his favourite films and cinematic icons, it highlights hundreds of posed and aggrandising pictures of him, it plays extracts of his grotesque home videos, it literally spells out his names in capital letters across the screen for added emphasis. It’s insulting then, not to mention offensively hypocritical, for the series to end by insinuating that the viewer is pandering to the fame-seeking desires of serial killers by watching. Though I enjoyed the ride, with the benefit of hindsight, I’d rather have been nudged to read a Wikipedia article instead. Consider this the nudge.
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