Top Of The Lake Episodes 3-7 Recaps: Paradise Isnt All It's Cracked Up To Be (Series Finale)

I finally got around to watching the rest of "Top Of The Lake". For those of you not familiar, it's a seven part mini series that tells the story of a group of strange and interesting characters in the New Zealand countryside. The show is available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and the Sundance channel. In 2013 it became the first miniseries ever shown at the Sundance Festival.

The basic premise is that a twelve year girl pregnant girl disappears into the New Zealand wilderness. Detective Robin Griffin is back home visiting her mother and is asked to assist in the case. Needless to say, everything is not as it seems in the town of Laketop. I am not giving away the plot twists here. You'll just have to watch it to find out. Definitely stay for episode 7 (where much is revealed).

The main characters include:

Tui Mitcham- a 12 year old pregnant girl who has disappeared into the wilderness. We don't know who the father of her child is. She leaves a message saying "no one'. You have to wait till the end of the show to see what that means though.
Robin Griffin- a police detective who has a number of secrets of her own that she must deal with. She is played by Elizabeth Moss (of "Mad Men" fame).
Matt Mitcham- father of Tui and head of a family of thugs. He's also the local drug kingpen so no one can touch him. Peter Mulan does a great job of portraying a character that is very hard to root for on many levels.
GJ- an American who is the head of a women's community called Paradise. They all live in converted shipping containers down by the lake. Many people visit GJ to seek her wisdom and guidance. I must say GJ (who is portrayed by Holly Hunter) is one of the strangest characters I've seen on film at some time. Some of her lines made me laugh out loud.
Johnno- Mitcham's son who begins a romantic relationship with Robin.
Al Parker- local police sergeant. Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

Favorite GJ quotes:

"There is no match for the tremendous intelligence of the body".
"You crazy bitches don’t have everything. Have you people paid your trailer rent, no freeloading, fifty bucks a week. You’ve gotta work. No closing your eyes."
"Are you on your knees?"
"Love that’s not reciprocated turns into apathy or hatred. You become completely disillusioned. Then the truth begins to express itself."
"Just get me away from these crazy bitches."
"No goodbyes, thanks."

"Top Of The Lake" has won several awards. It was nominated for eight Emmy awards and won for Outstanding Cinematography For A Mini Series or Movie. Elizabeth Moss was also up for Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy but lost out to Laura Linney (who usually wins). She did win the Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress in a Mini Series/ Movie. I found Elizabeth Moss to be a very compelling actress. I had not seen in anything else previously besides "Mad Men". Peter Mulan was up for Outstanding Supporting Actor For a Mini Series or Movie but he lost to James Cromwell from "American Horror Story: Asylum".

Grade:4 Monsters (out of 5). If you're interested in compelling characters (check it out for Holly Hunter's portrayal of "GJ" if nothing else) and exquisite scenery, it's definitely worth a watch. If you need a lot of action in each episode, this might not be the show for you.