Malice lets you in on what it’s doing right away. From the moment we meet Adam (Jake Whitehall), we’re informed that he is here to ruin the life of this rich family. He doesn’t say it, but the way his kind mask drops when alone gives it away. Specifically, he’s here to ruin the life of venture capitalist Jamie Tanner (David Duchovny). The type of noble cause that would normally put us on Adam’s side were it not clear that he’ll eventually go way overboard in search of revenge.
Vengeance is the core theme of Malice, something the show never lets you forget. This is a series that ends its opening scene with a snake in the swimming pool. Moments later, Adam arrives. Later in the same episode, he gives a whole monologue about the Greek god of retribution. You see, Adam is a tutor for the Tanner’s friends/clients Damien and Jules (Raza Jaffrey and Christine Adams). They invite him on their vacation to Greece, and that is where the most one-sided game of cat-and-mouse begins.
While Malice lets us in on Adam’s deal early, it keeps his actual motivations a secret until shockingly late. Instead, the viewer watches his plan unfold with no real context for why it’s happening. That his reasoning is easily predictable just makes the secretive nature even more confounding. It is one of many elements in the series that kindly asks the viewer to turn off their brains.
Still, there’s a certain charm to this kind of dull eat-the-rich style story. Most of that charm comes down to Duchovny and Whitehall. While the story keeps them from truly being at odds until the end, the duo have an energy that keeps the whole affair breezy. After all these years, Duchovny still has a way of making even the sleaziest asshole seem fascinating. To his credit, Whitehall captures the intensity of Adam’s commitment to this scheme. Their ability doesn’t elevate the material like other recent shows have, but it’s an admirable effort.
When it’s not hitting you over the head with visual metaphors, Malice is gorgeous to watch. That’s part of the advantage of starting your show in Greece. It’s a shame that most of the actual events are so flat. The bones of a great thriller are here, but they never come together. What we’re left with is another streaming miniseries that feels like a novel you buy for the beach. Fun in the moment, before your brain picks it apart.
Malice is currently streaming on Prime Video.