The Essex Serpent<\/em><\/a>, an Apple TV Plus adaptation of Sarah Perry\u2019s 2016 novel, might depend on how much you enjoy seeing Tom Hiddleston brooding in a misty field while wearing cozy wool sweaters. For a lot of people, that will probably be enough of a hook. (It was for me.) But thankfully, the six-episode series offers a lot more than great hair blowing in the wind \u2014 it\u2019s a tense and heartfelt exploration of grief and belief and how much those two things can mess with you. The great sweaters are just a bonus.<\/p>\nThe show primarily follows two characters. One is Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes), a recent widow and a budding natural history scholar who has quite the fixation with sea serpents. She spends her spare time researching them via old books, maps, and newspaper clippings. When rumors pop up that a serpent has been terrorizing a small fishing village in Essex, she \u2014 along with her young son (Caspar Griffiths) and friend \/ housekeeper (Hayley Squires) \u2014 boards a train from London to investigate.<\/p>\n
What she finds when she arrives isn\u2019t a serpent \u2014 at least not initially, no spoilers there \u2014 but rather a town steadily going mad with fear. A missing child has everyone on edge, blaming the mythical creature, which, many believe, is attacking the most sinful of the bunch. As bad things continue to happen to pretty much everyone, the tragedies are inevitably blamed on the beast. One of the first people Cora meets in town is Will Ransome (Hiddleston), a local pastor and one of the few people who doesn\u2019t<\/em> think the serpent is a bad omen from God.<\/p>\n