Star-Crossed Review

 Warning: Spoilers below!

My husband and I just finished watching Star-Crossed (2014) on Netflix.  It was such an intriguing and thought provoking show, I decided I had to review it.  The plot is pretty simple, but the execution is extremely well done and dare I say, unique.

It's about a human girl and alien boy who fall in love, but unlike most stories that begin this way, the aliens are out in the open.  It's similar to the show Roswell, which I also love, but in this world, everyone knows the aliens crashed.  They came in 2014 and the show goes forward 10 years into the future.  Now, in 2024, the aliens, called Atrians, are all living in a "sector" because the humans are trying to determine if they are a threat.

My first thought about these aliens was "How convenient they look just like us, with the exception of their markings."  But the more I thought about it, I realized it would actually make more sense that other intelligent life in the galaxy would resemble humans, rather than look like the strange creatures we're used to seeing in science fiction.

Star-Crossed is loosely connected to Romeo and Juliet as every episode title, and even the show title, is based on lines from the play.  It also has a lot to say about racism, particularly showing similarities between the real life integration that occurred in the 1950's and the alien integration program portrayed in the suburban high school, which is one of our main backdrops.

This is a CW show, so of course, all the actors are physically attractive.  I think they did an excellent job with casting, and the main characters are all very likable.  Emery and Roman are the leads and their chemistry is captivating.  There is always an undertone of longing when they're together.  I also like the fact that there are many characters, like Drake, Teri, Grayson, and Eric, who go through changes that cause them to be on the side we're rooting for.  They are more complex as the story progresses, which keeps things interesting.

The driving force of this show is of course, the enthralling romances we get to explore.  It's mainly focused on the slow burn between Emery and Roman, but I have to mention Drake, an Atrian, and a human girl named Taylor.  They have several intense trysts throughout the season, which results in a hybrid pregnancy.  It's clear the show intended their love scenes to be rough and fast compared to Emery and Roman whose scenes are much more gentle and romantic.  This is a true representation of each couple and their stories.

The alien mythology is also quite fascinating.  Atrians have two hearts and can breathe through their skin, even in water.  A plant called cyper grows from Atrian corpses and when combined with their blood, can cure and heal both humans and Atrians.  Atrians are born with markings that look like tattoos, individual to each one.  I thought they did a great job making the marks look natural and badass at the same time.

Since our setting is the year 2024, we get some great predictions about the future.  I appreciated the subtlety compared to what we've seen in other futuristic portrayals.  They seemed to really look at what we have currently and tried to treat it with a realistic progression.  Cell phones are similar to what we have now, but the touch screens are clear and glow bright blue.  The only thing is, this didn't seem very private.  There are screens all over the school and in the tables at restaurants.   The fashion is sleek, but not too far from what we have now.

This is a show targeted for a young audience and it did have a few cliche moments, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  We are left with many unresolved issues and a big cliffhanger in the season finale.  Unfortunately, they were not able to continue with a second season.  Even so, I still say it's worth watching.  I'm hoping some day it will get the Gilmore Girls treatment and come back!