I took a chance on this Hindi-language Amazon Prime Original TV series and ended up enjoying it more than I expected. While I left feeling a bit disappointed, it’s always worthwhile to watch movies and shows from other countries and in languages different from the ones I know. It’s a great way to experience more of their culture, and if you keep your expectations in check, you might just have a better time with it than you initially thought.

DalDal is a dark crime series with 7 episodes. I didn’t realize until the very end that it was actually based on a novel. When I first saw the trailer, I was instantly hooked. It showed the female lead having disturbing fantasies about hurting people who rubbed her the wrong way. With that and the crime theme, I expected some clever cat-and-mouse moments between the lead cop and the serial killer. But that never happened. The show totally baited me with that trailer scene! I have no idea why they even included it, since there was absolutely no follow-up after that one moment at the start of the first episode.

The serial killer’s motive for going on a killing spree wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it worked well enough. It’s the familiar trope of a troubled childhood leading to a quest for revenge. Where the show really stumbled was in the lack of interaction between Rita and Anita. Aside from episode one, I can’t recall any memorable moments between them on screen. There was none of the witty back-and-forth I was hoping for, no tense face-offs with cop and killer trying to read each other, no near-miss where the cop was just inches away from catching the culprit. These missing elements could have added so much more to the story. Anita, as a journalist, came across as sharp and composed in public, and they could have used that to misdirect Rita and the police. They made an attempt at this near the end, but by then, it felt just a bit too late.

One thing I give the show credit for is making Rita an absolute bitch of a character. It portrays her as having serious mommy issues, and I love how the writers occasionally make her completely unlikeable instead of presenting a character who is always liked by everyone. While violence and gore are a given, I have to admit that I somehow found myself grossed out during certain wrist-cutting scenes. I think it’s because they linger on those moments a tad too long. While DalDal isn’t something that will completely blow your mind, fans of serial killer TV shows might still get a slight kick out of it. However, I have a feeling many of them would have preferred the show to go in the same direction I was hoping for.