'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2 Review: Lizzy Caplan's Alex Forrest pales in comparison to Glenn Close
Spoilers for 'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The casting for Paramount+’s series 'Fatal Attraction' definitely raised some eyebrows. Sespite Joshua Jackson, Lizzy Caplan and Amanda Peet sharing the spotlight, fans kept comparing these actors to the original film. Undoubtedly, there’s no way of replacing the original legends, Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer, but 'Fatal Attraction' certainly did the best they could.
While all characters play important roles in this series, the spotlight of 'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2 was on Lizzy Caplan, who plays Alex Forrest. Now, you can either blame it on Caplan or the writers, but Caplan’s portrayal of Alex dulls in comparison to Close. It’s only the second episode, so there’s still time, but will it get better and crazier from here?
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Lizzy Caplan’s best attempt so far
There’s no denying that Caplan is a phenomenal actress, on-screen or in voice roles. However, it is difficult to picture Caplan as a character as complex and manic as Alex Forrest, but that leaves viewers wondering if this is the creator’s way of toning down the character. Alex from the 1987 classic had several nuances, these are there in Caplan's rendition of this character. However, 'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2 did try to be a little more edgy in its own way, but it simply didn’t come across as well as it should have.
A watered down version of the original
'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2 portrays the iconic moment where Alex snaps at Dan for the first time when he tries to leave her apartment. When he doesn’t stop, she goes a little crazy and attempts self-harm by cutting her wrists as she bleeds and he holds her close. Now, this was the original version. In the recent 'Fatal Attraction' Episode 2, Alex claims to have ingested pills, and that’s all. Dan offers to drive her to the hospital and while they’re in the car, he manipulates her, letting her know that if she goes ahead, no matter what the case is, she will be fired. Alex tells Dan to take her home instead.
This entire scene as a standalone would be great, but because ultimately 'Fatal Attraction' is a reboot, it feels like a watered-down version of the original scene. Alex comes across as a little crazy, maybe bipolar, but it isn’t nearly as crazy as Close’s Alex was in 1987. We’re hoping that things take better shape as the series moves forward, but for now 'Fatal Attraction' is playing it incredibly safe, despite trying to be edgy.