All Her Fault Review: Sarah Snook’s New Thriller Is Packed With Clichés

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After the huge success of the HBO series, everyone wondered what the actors would do next. Kieran Culkin has continued to impress with his role in A Real Pain. While Jeremy Strong remains a talented actor, he seems to be taking on less challenging roles in commercial biopics, often playing minor characters. Sarah Snook recently starred in the acclaimed productions The Picture of Dorian Gray and Memoir of a Snail, but her new TV series All Her Fault on Peacock isn’t living up to that level.

The trailer for All Her Fault was exciting. The story starts with Marissa Irvine (played by Snook) arriving at 14 Arthur Avenue to pick up her son, Milo, from a playdate, only to find the address is wrong and Milo is missing. Instead of showing a happy family life, the series immediately throws you into the drama of a child’s disappearance, which initially feels promising. However, the show’s simple storyline struggles to maintain that initial momentum over eight episodes. While the kidnapping plot has some thrilling moments, they feel more like quick wins than a truly satisfying arc. This raises the question of whether stories with familiar, dramatic setups work better as books than TV shows. Is the original novel by Andrea Mara as overly ambitious as the series? The only thing truly saving All Her Fault is Snook’s performance; she carries the show almost single-handedly, and it’s no surprise her character spends most of the time in distress.

All Her Fault Gives Mothers a Voice

From the start, All Her Fault deeply examines the expectations placed on women, the burdens of traditional femininity, and the pressures of motherhood. It captures the complexities of womanhood with remarkable accuracy. The husbands of Marissa and Jenny (played by an actress who surprisingly seems too young to portray a mother) are frustratingly irritating. They’re depicted as lazy, self-centered, and completely incapable – the kind of people you’d despise being stranded with, especially compared to someone obsessing over ruined clothes during a survival situation. Essentially, these men are the last people you’d want by your side in a crisis. Jake Lacy delivers a believable performance as Marissa’s husband, Peter, who immediately blames her for a small error that might be connected to his son’s disappearance.

This is just one instance of a man criticizing women’s imperfections as a way to feel superior and present himself as flawless. Revealing more would ruin the show, but it’s admirable how All Her Fault directly challenges traditional male dominance. Typically, stories portray women as the ones obsessed with perfection, but in this series, the women would welcome a little imperfection if it meant some relief. Even other women around Marissa and Jenny adopt traditionally masculine attitudes – like criticizing working mothers – in an attempt to be seen as more appealing.

Despite aiming to be a feminist story, All Her Fault has a significant flaw. It focuses heavily on the experiences of wealthy mothers, which makes its universal themes feel limited. When the show briefly touches on the lives of mothers with fewer resources, one is sidelined by a male character, and the other is depicted negatively as a criminal. While the show might suggest that financial hardship led this mother down a difficult path, the narrative clearly favors and celebrates financially successful women as powerful figures. This creates a disconnect, and All Her Fault risks appearing insensitive to the issues it’s trying to address.

All Her Fault Meanders In Its Bloated Plot

While dealing with the everyday challenges of parenting, a mother’s world is turned upside down when her son, Milo, goes missing. This disappearance exposes hidden truths about Marissa and Peter’s family and their inner circle – Peter’s siblings, Lia and Brian, and Marissa’s colleague, Colin. The intense stress causes long-held secrets to surface, though these secrets don’t always connect to the kidnapping and sometimes distract from the central mystery. Instead, they threaten to tear the family apart at a time when they need each other most, making everyone a potential suspect. Unfortunately, these dramatic revelations aren’t developed enough to be truly impactful, which ultimately overshadows the search for Milo and the reasons behind his disappearance.

Sophia Lillis delivers a compelling performance as Carrie Finch, Jenny’s nanny. She stands out as one of the few relatively grounded characters in a world of privilege, though even ‘normal’ doesn’t quite fit her. Lillis is particularly strong in Episode 7, which reveals Carrie’s past. While many shows offer backstory around the mid-season point, All Her Fault makes it particularly engaging. Carrie is the most complex character in the series, fearlessly falling into troubling behaviors, and Lillis subtly conveys that something deeper is driving her actions with a vulnerable and sympathetic portrayal.

Initially, the show effectively draws viewers in by presenting a story that feels realistically possible – highlighting how easily a child could go missing with just a moment of inattention. However, as the series progresses, it loses its initial depth. Instead of focusing on the emotional impact of such a tragedy, it becomes more interested in delivering surprising twists. While it starts as a sensitive and thoughtful portrayal, it ultimately feels polished and predictable, resembling many other crime dramas.

Sarah Snook Gives Her All in All Her Fault

The subplot with Detective Alcaras (Michael Peña) feels like it was added later and doesn’t really connect with the main case. He’s dealing with personal issues, including a difficult decision about how far he’ll go to provide for his son, but these struggles don’t have much impact on the overall story. Similarly, Dakota Fanning’s character, Jenny, a kind and ambitious mother, isn’t used effectively. The show often focuses on unimportant details about her life – like getting a new client – at a time when a child is missing, making it hard to understand why we should care about these moments.

The finale was ultimately a bit of a mixed bag – not amazing, but still enjoyable. The show relied too much on shocking twists and unbelievable storylines, but Sarah Snook’s performance was truly exceptional. It’s no exaggeration to say she spent almost every scene crying, and she convincingly portrayed her character’s pain throughout the entire season, demonstrating her dedication. She was supported by a strong cast who knew when to let her shine and when to contribute their own talent. While his character wasn’t perfect, Lacy delivered a uniquely compelling performance, capturing a reckless energy that some might dismiss, but which he portrayed with impressive depth.

“All Her Fault” is a show that’s both shocking and emotionally engaging. It tackles difficult topics and keeps you hooked as Marissa fights to find her son and unravels family secrets. Despite some predictable plot twists, the show is compelling, making you want to see how everything unfolds. Whether that makes it truly good or simply an easy-to-follow story is up for debate.

All Her Fault premieres November 6, 2025 on Peacock.

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2025-11-05 19:37