Stream It Or Skip It: ‘If I Hadn’t Met You’ On Netflix, A Headtrippy Sci-Fi Series Sending a Sad Sack To Parallel Universes

Netflix series If I Hadn’t Met You may suffer from being released on the heels of the extraordinary Russian Doll. The Spanish-language series mines similar headtrip territory, albeit with more of a poker face and less colorful direction and characters. It’s some high-concept sci-fi ripe for promising stories, but whether it achieves its potential will be revealed in subsequent episodes.

IF I HADN’T MET YOU: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A knot of highway traffic in downtown Barcelona.

The Gist: Dude, turn on your defroster: Eduard (Pablo Derqui) drives home from work one rainy night, his windshield foggy. Whump. He stops. A human hand slaps its palm on his driver’s side window. A white-haired woman walks through his headlights. He gets out, pokes around, doesn’t see anything, doesn’t call the authorities to report it, and just goes home and acts like everything’s normal. Curious.

Eduard and his wife Elisa (Andrea Ros) argue about their work schedules and who will drive the kids to school tomorrow. He reneges on a promise. The family eats dinner in awkward silence. She wants to use his car to take them; hers is making a troublesome noise. He says no. She steals the keys; he steals them back. She ends up driving her own car in the morning. Cut to a few days later, and Eduard sits in his living room with his mother, siblings, father-in-law and other relatives. Elisa’s car broke down, she pulled over, there was an accident, and she and the kids were killed. He’s devastated, and wracked with guilt. If Eduard hadn’t been selfish, his family might still be alive. He sends all his friends and relatives away. He just wants to be alone.

Deep in despair, Eduard watches old home videos. He decides to kill himself. Near the location of the hit-and-run or whatever it was, he finds a bridge over commuter train tracks. As he begins to fling himself over the edge, a hand grabs him and pulls him back. Cue the Law of Economy of Characters: it’s the same white-haired woman from the episode’s opening scene! She brings him back to her home, introduces herself as Dr. Everest (Mercedes Sampietro) and explains she was a quantum physicist this and NASA that, and now she needs a guinea pig — preferably someone with nothing left to lose — to test her portal to other universes. He laughs, then says yes, because there wouldn’t be a show if he didn’t.

After walking through a special effect and putting another one around his wrist, he finds himself dropped on a commuter train. It slams to a halt. He gets out and finds a dismembered body on the tracks — and it’s him! Eduard! But from a parallel universe! And with visible intestines!

Our Take: Despite some pacing issues in the pilot — including a drawn-out middle act that strains to introduce what are likely to be recurring supporting characters — the premise is compelling and outlandish. Dr. Everest explains that he can visit any number of different universes, and a peek at future episode summaries suggests that time travel will play into this. Hopefully that means some garish displays of funny ’90s haircuts.

Once the rules of its reality are established, If I Hadn’t Met You could be a more interpersonal version of Quantum Leap, and Eduard already appears to be a complex character, a blank slate for some soupy moral quandaries. If it doesn’t take itself too seriously, the series could potentially offer some quality Charlie Kaufmanesque inside-out psycho headtrips, although the pilot keeps the tone mostly serious and sincere. Of course, plot holes are always a concern when crafting this brand of sci-fi, and if any wear through the fabric of the storyline, the internet will surely tell us about them.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Eduard looks up from dead Eduard II and sees Dr. Everest on the bridge, watching the scene. She turns and calmly walks away. How can you not let the next episode autoplay?

Sleeper Star: As Dr. Everest, Sampietro keeps her cards close enough to her vest to have us wondering what she isn’t telling Eduard about this grand experiment. What’s her motive? Is she a noble scientist like she says, or a mad one? Is she earnest or nefarious? There’s just enough of a twinkle in Sampietro’s eye to concern us.

Most Pilot-y Line: “I need someone who is willing to die,” Dr. Everest tells Eduard. No doubt, he’ll come close many times in the next nine episodes.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Anyone with the slightest bit of sci-fi-story sixth sense probably saw that final-scene plot grapnel coming. But it’s some tasty bait anyway. It won’t hurt to watch a few more episodes, and find out if the series offers some fresh riffs on a somewhat familiar theme.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream If I Hadn't Met You on Netflix