A complex unraveling of a mother-daughter relationship and family mystery that reveals the more you learn about those closest to you, the less you may know.

Pieces of Her is a suspenseful and intriguing series adapted from the novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter. The beginning is startling and immediately engrossing as the two main characters, Andy and her mother Laura, are exposed to a random act of violence. Andy is shocked at her mother’s reaction to the event and her subsequent insistence that Andy escape the town. Viewers are left to follow Andy on her journey as she discovers the truth about her mother, her family, and herself through a puzzle-like structure of flashbacks and plot twists. Ultimately, Pieces of Her is about a relationship between a mother and daughter, and how people will desperately keep secrets to protect themselves and the ones they love.

The older I get, the more I am in awe of my mother and the person she is. But Pieces of Her is a dramatic reminder that, as close as we feel to someone, it’s impossible to know everything about them. Before her own mother passed away, my mother mentioned that they were thankfully able to have conversations that transcended the typical mother-daughter dialogue. I am beyond grateful on my mom’s behalf for this because through her I know my grandmother better, and it’s a reminder to me to not take for granted being her daughter. It’s devastating how quickly life can end and the vacuum of questions and uncertainty that may be left behind, as Pieces of Her clearly depicts.  

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Though Pieces of Her is an exciting and unpredictable thriller, I found the best aspect of the series to be the portrayal of Andy and Laura’s relationship. The scenes in which they are together illustrate the complexity of feelings between mothers and daughters, and especially the complicated strength of maternal love. On her journey, Andy is struggling to find out who she is as much as she is pursuing the truth about her mother. This presented an interesting conflict for me watching. I kept asking how I was letting the past define my present and how much I, or anyone, could really protect ourselves and the ones we love with secrets. Though I don’t expect to find that my mother is drastically someone other than she appears to be, I am reminded that she is a person all her own outside of being my parent—and I will appreciate every chance I have to learn more about her.

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Find Pieces of Her on Netflix!