Review ‘Nemesis’: an exciting crime drama
In Netflix’s latest crime series “Nemesis,” “Power” Universe creator Courtney A. Kemp and co-creator Tani Morale explore the differing prisms of morality through the eyes of two vastly different men as they attempt to build a legacy for themselves. One man works within a system that should never embrace him, and the other in an environment that threatens to consume what is left of his genius and humanity. A twisted, high-stakes cat-and-mouse game, Nemesis is a thrilling rollercoaster.
The eight-episode first season kicks off on Halloween at a lavish Beverly Hills estate. Beloved businessman Coltrane Wilder (an incredible Y’lan Noel) and his wife, Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman), are dressed as iconic “New Jack City” characters for the occasion. (The director Mario Van Peebles directs episodes 1 and 2.) However, viewers soon realize that the couple isn’t attending the fancy soiree to listen to music and network. After throwing a guard off their trail and appointing Ebony as a lookout, Coltrane escorts his crew, Stro (Tre Hale), Choi (Jonnie Park), and Deon (Quincy Isaiah) to the mansion, where they rob the homeowner and his high-stakes poker game.
A few miles south in Inglewood, Lt. Isiah Stiles (Matthew Law), a detective in the LAPD’s homicide and robbery division, delivers cash to his father, Amos “Nightmare” Stiles (Moe Irvin). The father-son relationship is disgusted by Isiah’s profession and is full of tension and distrust. Despite his talented wife Candice (Gabrielle Dennis) and 15-year-old son Noah (Cedric Joe), police work is the center of Isiah’s life. Isaiah is also convinced that Coltrane is the true culprit behind the death of his intern Manny Shaw (Tristain ‘Mack’ Wildes). Although his worried partner, Yvette Cruz (Ariana Guerra) and police Captain James Sealey (Michael Potts) have tried to reason with him, Isaiah is so fixated on destroying Coltrane’s pristine image that he has become radioactive on the force and a stranger in his own home.
After Isiah hears about the Halloween heist, he becomes obsessed with taking down Coltrane, even if it means burning everything and everyone he loves. For his part, Coltrane is determined to keep the criminal parts of his company far away from the life he and Ebony have worked so painstakingly to create. What then follows is a bloody, tantalizing battle between wits and guts, as the two men set out on a collision course to destroy each other.
Like ‘Power’ and all its spin-offs, ‘Nemesis’ is full of stunning twists that will shock even the most attentive audience. Isiah and Coltrane are intoxicating enemies because they do what is least expected. “Nemesis” brilliantly opens up the worlds of both Coltrane and Isiah, with memorable side characters (“Power” Universe fans will recognize several familiar faces) such as the stoic Stro and his impulsive baby uncle Deon, as well as Ebony’s depraved and impeccably dressed older sister, Charlie (Sophina Brown). This vast web of characters provides varied textures and points of view within the show.
Like Charlie, all the women in the series have power. Seeing their husbands on the brink of self-destruction, Ebony and Candice make tough, unexpected choices to turn their lives around: these ladies are able to see the bigger picture when the men around them remain hyper-focused on one goal. When the plot starts to get a little too complicated and the action starts to feel overdone, the women in this world give “Nemesis” the foundation it needs.
While the majority of “Nemesis” is well-paced and brutal, the series hangs a bit around Episode 6, “The Die is Cast,” where the first six minutes feature a blast of gunfire and explosions. It feels overdone and way too soapy, taking away some of the authenticity of the narrative beats. Furthermore, instead of delving into the plot, the episode becomes an hour-long chase that only moves the story forward at the end. If the sequences had been shortened and tightened, the episode would have kept the rhythm of the rest of the show, while still bringing the series and the audience to the same shocking conclusion.
“Nemesis” asks its viewers a long-standing question: “What will the total destruction of another cost you?” It’s certainly a question that other crime dramas like Peacock’s ‘MIA’ and BBC’s ‘Killing Eve’ have tried to answer. Yet, for all its intense cliffhangers and sexy sequences, it’s still incredibly fun to watch Isiah and Coltrane discover what the answer is.
“Nemesis” is now streaming on Netflix.
