Unbelievable – A NetFlix Web Series

Two novels “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and “Anatomy of Doubt” shed light on serial rape cases in Washington and Colorado in-between 2008-2011. Unbelievable, the American miniseries is based on these cases making it stirringly unbelievable. It is released on Netflix in 2019 with 8 episodes, the genre being Drama-crime-suspense, and language is English.

Episode 1 (59minutes)

A visibly distressed Marie is seen at her apartment with her former foster mother. Officer Curran visits the apartment. “I was raped” that's the first sentence she tells him. And the officer asks her to keep telling everything that happened. And that's what she does. Two detectives arrive at the place who will be investigating the case. She is asked to narrate everything again that happened to them. And she is asked to visit the station for further inquiry where she has to repeat what happened to her over and over again. Upon investigation, the detectives determine there are inconsistencies in her Unbelievable ‘story'. And they assume she cooked it up all for attention.

Colleen and Al also her foster parents standby her and help her. Confused, misunderstood, and upset, she retracts her statement only to refute it again. Now, she is on the verge of being arrested for making a false statement. In which case, she could also lose her stipend and accommodation. It is a tough decision but she has to make one. She finally withdraws the case.

Episode 2 (47minutes)

Marie quits the plan to kill herself by jumping off a bridge. She has caused confusion and discontentment among her people. Though the case is closed, the case details are leaked to the media. And Marie must avoid them to stay on track of her life.

Scene changes to Golden, Colorado in 2011. Detective Karen Duvall is at a sexual assault crime scene of Amber Stevenson. A considerate and soft-spoken Duvall takes down details of what happened to Amber. Rolling back to Marie, she is struggling to move on with her life.

The story develops rolling back and forth between two cases now. Unlike Marie, Amber is more clearheaded and shares valuable info with Duvall. Maybe Marie deserved a Duvall in her case too for someone to believe her unbelievable story. Duvall's family is introduced. She tells her husband, Max about the case and how smart the perpetrator is. Max works for the Westminster police and he suggests calling their detective on a similar case. Detective Grace Rasmussen is on night duty when she notices a suspicious nightcrawler.

Episode 3 (52minutes)

The nightcrawler is detained for questioning. However, after a stimulating conversation between them, Rasmussen has to let him go free. Duvall visits a busy and fizzy Rasmussen, and they both drive off to see one of Rasmussen's victims. Rasmussen is annoyed when Duvall asks a few questions to the victim. But they soon patch up and decide to work in tandem. Meanwhile, Marie continues to be struggling. She gets anonymous messages and calls as her name and number are now leaked.

Duvall locates a suspicious white pickup van on a surveillance camera. She also realizes stations don't talk to each other or share information. Hence, she presumes that the assailant is also aware of it. She and Rasmussen have a load of analysis to do. Marie gets a notice from the police charging her with false reporting. Rasmussen and Duvall decide to bring in the FBI, CBI, and everything possible to arrest the culprit.

Episode 4 (45minutes)

Rasmussen and Duvall visit an old victim in search of new evidence. And they were not disappointed. Marie has to be in front of the judge to avoid arrest. Before that, she needs the help of a public defender. And she pleads not guilty at the court. Duvall's search for the white van continues in vain. Their team is narrowing down the list having considered the data they have from victims. They assume their assailant is a police officer.

Marie is at Colleen and Al's place when news of another rape flashes on the news and similarities of what Marie claimed to have happened to her is reported. Rasmussen tries to get help from her husband in collecting data from the attorney general's office where he works. “NO” is his outright answer as he doesn't want to misuse his power.

Episode 5 (44minutes)

Rasmussen visits Lily who escaped from the vicious attack by jumping off the balcony. Even she expressed her doubt that the attacker was a policeman. Marie has another tough day at her workplace, shouts at her only friend, and quits the job after her manager interferes. Rasmussen and Duvall and their teamwork hard, create hypothetical scenarios to inch closer to the offender. They have narrowed it down to a few names.

Episode 6 (45minutes)

Duvall gives a copy of ‘Rape Forensics Guide' and expresses her apprehension that such copies may have ended up in the wrong hands. Lily walks in with a knife to the office demanding to see Rasmussen. The knife was used by the attacker and left in her garden which the police failed to retrieve. Rasmussen has a surprise package awaiting her at home. Her husband decides to do the wrong to do the right thing. Duvall, Rasmussen, and their team discuss, and they realize they have a lot of data on the suspect yet nothing concrete. But Omar the data analyst in the team comes up with intel on the white van and driver's details. Marie has a hearing at the court. Duvall and Rasmussen are split into two teams and are following the suspect(s).

Episode 7 (54minutes) & Episode 8 (45minutes)

Not disclosing much on these two episodes to keep the suspense element going. An unbelievable turn of events ends. With little action, the suspects are overpowered. Rasmussen gracefully let Duvall take the honors. Huge moments in the lives of the victims. Marie's unbelievable story finally becomes believable, and she drives to her freedom.

Reasons why you shouldn't miss UNBELIEVABLE:

• First season is complete
• There are only 8 episodes
• And each one is less than an hour long.
• Acting isn't messy but more realistic
• No gory or obscene scenes
• No superhuman action acts
• Each episode doubles your curiosity