Hightown Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Love You Like a Sister
Paul Dailly
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Monica Raymund picked the perfect role for her full-time return to television.
As Jackie Quinones, Raymund is portraying a hard-partying woman, whose life is changed the moment she witnesses the dead body of a young woman washing up on the beach.
It's an inciting incident that sets up Hightown Season 1 very well, and after Hightown Season 1 Episode 1, I want more.
Many series premieres struggle to strike a balance between plot and characterization, but "Love You Like a Sister" was handled very well, introducing the characters on a need-to-know basis, before starting the process of fleshing them out.
Jackie's drive to crack the case, while simultaneously trying to kick her vices makes the show infinitely more interesting.
Jackie feels like the kind of role that would typically be written for a man, and the show brings a lot to the table by breaking the status quo.
There's no getting away from the fact that Jackie is selfish, but I'm fascinated by her determination to solve this crime, even if she doesn't have much skin in the game.
I found a dead body today. Wanna buy me a drink?
Jackie
Taking drugs herself, I dare say that Jackie is wondering whether a similar fate awaits herself, so the whole process of finding the people responsible could prove to be therapeutic for her.
Indeed, Jackie makes terrible decisions, and I shudder to think where she would have found herself had she not crashed her car.
That scene was about as out there as you can get, but it explained to viewers how reckless the character is very well.
She and the person she was giving oral sex while driving under the influence could have died. Even worse, they could have killed innocent bystanders had it been at a busier time of day.
Jackie is a character with layers. It's evident she's battling the darkness, and once you get over some of the initial outrageous things she does, there's a character in there that will benefit from her story being told over a longer arc.
Therapist: So, Jackie. Why are you here?
Jackie: You know I found a dead body yesterday?
Therapist: No, I didn't know that.
The most appealing aspect, however, was the way it looks like Junior is going to be involved in the killing. They both have so much in common that I can understand why they connect.
Their pasts have both involved hard drugs and terrible decisions, but the thing that could drag them apart is that Junior could have been the person to dispose of the body.
Junior was a compelling character even before that development. It means we are heading towards some crazy moments for Junior and Jackie, and I'm not so sure their friendship will be able to survive the onslaught of revelations that are about to come to light.
If we look at the final scene, in particular, Junior was clearly hiding the victim's nail, all the while trying to hide it from his father.
It certainly suggests Junior is using the boat for some unsavory things after dark, and disposing of bodies for the bad guys seems to be par for the course in Cape Cod.
Ray trying to get the answers, while going to some wild lengths, is going to put him in the crosshairs of Frankie.
Threatening, one of the most well-known drug lords in Cape Cod is going to come back to haunt him. He doesn't strike me as a very smart man.
There's trying to piss off your enemy, and then there's rubbing it in their face. There's an attraction between Ray and Renee. That was blatantly obvious from their first scene together, but Frankie is not going to take too kindly to it.
Renee is visibly struggling with her lover being in prison. Forced to look after herself and their child, she's also working as a dancer with an alter ego.
There's a lot of pain behind those eyes, and it looks like the creative forces behind the series are going to set up even more tension as the storylines continue to gather steam.
It's rare for a show to hook you from the first scene, but Oscito killing the victim was shocking. Krista is never going to be able to forget the moment her life was changed forever.
It's like damn, these white girls love trouble.
Jackie
She made a lucky escape, and now she's not going to be able to open up to anyone about it. If anyone gets wind of her being at the scene of the murder, she will be disposed of swiftly.
It's a harsh reality she's going to have to face, and I hope that she doesn't return to the world of drugs.
Despite only having minimal scenes in the series premiere, Crystal Lake Evans' portrayal of a young woman trying to do some good struck a chord with me.
In a sea of unscripted content, Hightown offers something for everyone, and I hope that it manages to break through during these troubling times.
What did you think of Raymund in the lead role?
Which character did you connect with the most?
Were you surprised we learned who the killer is straight away?
Chat with me in the comments.
Hightown airs Sundays at 8 pm on Starz.
Scroll down for interviews with the cast and crew.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
