A few episodes into The Changeling, the new AppleTV+ adaptation of the novel of the same name, I didn’t know quite what to make of the series. Was it the story of new parents, torn asunder by a horrific bout of post-partum depression? Was it a horror story of a child that wasn’t a child, that turns its mother into an avenging angel while its father refuses to see the truth? Or was it something else – something in between, a story that was more fantasy than reality, despite seeming to exist in our modern world more than in a magical land? By the midway point of the eight-episode season, I had fully figured out just what the series was trying to pull off, and I was wholly impressed and enthralled with the complex layers of storytelling, the interesting characters, the strong performance, and the fairy tale land superimposed on our world that made the darkness even darker than reading a classic fairy tale* would.
*Note that while The Changeling is meant to be seen as a fairy tale of sorts, it is very much an adult fairy tale – this isn’t a story that is appropriate for children (not that they would likely be all that interested in a story about parents and their fears and challenges). But, since fairy tales have become almost synonymous with childhood stories that offer warnings and morals to children, I wanted to be clear that this isn’t one such tale. Now morals and warning for adults? Well, that’s another thing entirely.
Starring a sensational LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo, the father who cannot understand why his wife, Emma (a great Clark Backo), is insisting that their newborn son Brian isn’t really a baby at all, the story jumps from the past – with Apollo’s parents meeting, marrying, having him, and shattering apart in spectacular fashion, along with Emma’s own traumatic childhood – to the present, weaving in mysticism, horror, and fantastical characters and themes throughout the story being told. And what a fascinating story it is. The idea of becoming a parent – and the birth of a child – is already fraught with anxiety for most. Will you know what your baby needs? Can you be the parent you want to be – the parent you didn’t have or wanted to have yourself? Will you manage not to drop the baby? (That last one might just be the fear that runs through me every time someone asks me if I want to hold their baby.) The unknowns that come with having a child are the perfect breeding ground for anxiety and fear – and the perfect opportunity for a parent to suffer a devastating psychological break in the aftermath. But what if that parent was right – what if there was something wrong with the baby? What if Emma isn’t crazy, isn’t suffering from post-partum psychosis? That’s when the story really gets interesting.
Apollo, trying to find his son and wife, goes on an epic journey into the shadow world of New York City (Emma also goes on her own complex journey in an arc that felt like it was from Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” novel), meeting individuals seeking to aid him and hinder him on his quest. But the crucial aspect of the story is that we, as an audience, start to buy into the story the series is telling. And it’s a pretty big ask – one that takes time to truly flesh out and make sense to the viewer. If you can make it through some of the more confusing elements of the show’s early episodes, you are in for a hell of a ride once things start to kick off and move more into the realm of fantasy. The series is gorgeously shot, wonderfully acted, and if you can put yourself in the mindset of “I’m watching a modern, dark fairy tale,” you should be ready to dive into all that The Changeling has to offer. I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did, and I suspect it will become AppleTV+’s next sleeper hit. I can’t wait to see what might be coming our way in a second season of this one – should it be green lit.
The Changeling premieres on AppleTV+ on September 8. All eight episodes of the season were provided for review.
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