TV Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Episode 1

Friends. It’s finally time.

If you know me then you know how much I love A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (truly, my favorite book series of all time) and that I have been eagerly — to put it mildly — awaiting the release of the TV show. Well, at the beginning of this month, my wait was finally over as the series came to Netflix here in the States and if you think that the first thing I did once I was home and settled after work on the first was watch episode one…then you would be correct!

Please note that in this review series, there will be spoilers for the TV show and the entire book series. If you haven’t read all the books in the AGGGTM series, you will get spoiled throughout these posts, so keep that in mind before reading!

Now, sit back, relax, get cozy and comfy, and let’s talk about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Episode 1.

Episode 1
Length: 43:17
Content Warnings: Language, sexual violence, smoking, substances, death, murder, mentions of suicide, blood, grief
Episode Description: Pip decides to do her project on a local murder case. But when she starts her investigation, she learns some people would rather it was left in the past

The first episode of any show sets the tone, and I think when you’re adapting a book, that first episode is even more important. Most of your audience will have a reference point of the story, how the characters should act, and how the story should progress. The first episode can make or break audience members who love the source material, and luckily for me, the first episode of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder set the exact right tone.

I am not kidding when I saw that the opening sequence gave me chills. Starting the show with Andie walking down the street in the middle of the night is the perfect setup. It’s ominous and you know right away that something isn’t right. Then, we get the close-up of the back of her head and you see the blood dripping down her hair as she keeps walking — thinking about it is giving me chills; it was the perfect way to set up the show.

Personally, when it comes to adaptations, I do like to think of them as separate entities from the source material. I take the source material as just that — I know that things are going to be changed. What works on paper does not always work on screen and vice versa; I expect changes, and I expect lots of them. To me, what’s most important is that the integrity and core of the story stays the same. Just within the first episode, there are a lot of changes from the book to the show, but the changes didn’t bother me. I feel very strongly (and do still feel this way after finishing the season) that the integrity of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder stays intact from page to screen.

I love Pip; she’s one of my favorite characters in recent memory, and probably one of my favorite characters of all time. She’s smart, sharp, quick-witted, determined, single-minded, fiercely protective and she stands up for what is right. So much of the series hinges on understanding Pip and I think that Emma Myers was the perfect choice for Pip. From the get-go she nailed those important personality traits of Pip’s and Emma has some of the funniest facial expressions. The first scene alone had me cracking up because she’s so expressive.

Something that I love about screen adaptations of mystery stories is flashbacks. Since so much of AGGGTM is told either through mixed media or Pip’s point of view, in the book we’re learning things alongside her, but since the show exists outside of just Pip’s POV we get to have a slightly different narrative that works really well through a screen. The flashbacks of Andie and Sal, as well as seeing the photos of the two of them were so sweet, and really helps remind audiences that above anything else, they were just kids. It was so bittersweet to see them young and in love knowing how things turn out.

I loved the flashback to young Pip in the school hallway. That moment of her seeing Andie, Andie making the “shh” motion on her lips, signaling that she shouldn’t tell anyone where Andie went, and then Sal coming in asking where Andie went and Pip telling him added so much to Pip’s motivations. Not that Sal being a nice guy and always being kind to her isn’t motivation enough, but the added element of Andie seeing both of them the night that Andie died adds a whole new layer to the situation, and I think that was really smart storytelling on the screenwriter’s part. 

My favorite scene of the first episode was absolutely Pip and Ravi’s meeting. I liked the change of her trailing after him with Barney (<3333333) and the bribery muffins. The easy and relaxed banter that the two of them fall into right away that shows their connection. The fact that Ravi remembers Pip from school. When he’s eating the muffins and guessing the ingredients then she calls him a “muffin genius”, I lost it, it was SO cute. Everything about their first interactions were so perfectly Pip and Ravi — they had just met and they were already a team. I loved everything about it. It also has some fantastic acting from both Emma and Zain Iqbal, our lovely Ravi. Ravi is so carefree and happy in this scene; you see the boy he would be all the time if it weren’t for Sal’s death, and then when Pip mentions her EPQ, his entire face falls and he transforms into the more closed off and muted version of himself that he’s been since Sal’s death. It’s really very subtle, but done beautifully and it was one of the things that really sold me on Zain as Ravi; though I had no doubts about his abilities.

Things definitely moved much quicker than I anticipated they would — I didn’t expect Naomi to reveal that Sal did have an alibi in the first episode, however, with only 6 episodes, I do understand why things were moving so quickly. I don’t think it would’ve felt so fast to anyone who didn’t know the books; I think they did a great job of making things flow, I only noticed because I’ve read the book about 5 times and have most of it memorized. They covered a lot of ground in the first episode, and I thought it was done very well.

My little loves of the episode:

• Pip and Cara holding hands as they walk
• Emma’s delivery of “I don’t want to be an accessory to a crime”
• “You dropped your communal brain cell” I am Pippa Fitz-Amobi
• Pip turning her wall into a murder board and using Posca Pens (I think) directly onto the wall, iconic behavior
• Naomi’s unicorn sweatshirt
• Cara’s outfits in general
• The party costumes ⭐️
• Victor’s existence (I love him, okay)

Overall, I think the first episode set the correct tone for the series, and I really enjoyed it! It left me excited to continue the rest of the series and see how things would develop. I’m so excited to share my thoughts on the rest of the season with you!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the first episode in the comments!

Until next time 💜