Gypsy, A Review

Who are you when no one is watching?

I remember hearing about Netflix’s Gypsy back when it was first released in 2017 and then again when it was cancelled after only 1 season. I knew little about the premise, only that the main character was a therapist. Watching the trailer I got serious Girl on the Train vibes- both surrounding a woman who gets overly involved in the lives of others. I was intriuged.

Gypsy follows Jean Holloway (Naomi Watts), a succesful therapist who is married to lawyer Michael (Billy Crudup). As a therapist, Jean treats a variety of different people- including Sam (Karl Glusman), who is struggling to move on from his ex- girlfriend Sydney (Sophie Cookson); Allison (Lucy Boynton), a drug-addicted teen and Claire (Brenda Vaccaro), a mother who is obsessed with her daughter Rebecca’s (Brooke Bloom) life. What Jean’s clients don’t know however is that her interest in them goes far beyond professional.

Under the alias “Diane Hart”, Jean infiltrates the lives of those closest to the people she is supposed to be helping. As Diane, Jean begins getting closer to both Sydney and Rebecca- gaining insights into the lives of her patients. Whether she does this to truly understand her patients or just to exprience a thrill is unclear but Jean plays a very dangerous game. Pretending to be someone else can be deadly, especially when you know exactly who you’re dealing with.

I found myself getting completely sucked in when watching Gypsy, it was weirdly fascinating watching Jean infiltrate herself into people’s lives. Watching her get closer to the friends and family of her patients. All of it could of blown up at any second, yet she continued to live this dangerous life- like an addiction.

It was almost funny at times, watching Jean treat her patients, watching them tell her things that she was already well aware of. Sam telling her how he’s struggling to get over Sydney when Jean herself is actively pursuing her. The whole premise was wild from start to finish and I couldn’t take my eyes away.

Regarding the series’ cancellation, whilst I enjoyed watching I can sort of see why it got cancelled. Whilst the storylines were massively engaging I don’t think I could have seen them spanning several seasons. You can only have a few occasions were the patients nearly find out the truth- putting you on the very edge of your seat, until you just want them to find out. By the end of the season all of Jean’s patient’s had come come close to finding out the truth and I just wanted something to happen. The series did end on a somewhat ambiguous note- where Sydney may or may not have discovered who “Diane” really was but even if it had got a second season I couldn’t see it getting a third. Once the truth was out I don’t think there’d be many paths to go down.

Gypsy was an addictive thriller which such a wild premise. It may have only got one season but I think it actually works as a miniseries. Just enough time to drag the drama out, but not too long that it became annoying. I just couldn’t take my eyes away.