This show is based on the odd couple/road trip from hell trope. Variations of this theme has been done in other dramas. However, the first few episodes are engaging, and the fables are interesting enough to hold your interest.

The FL is a taciturn author who claims to be suffering from writer's block and needs to go on a lengthy road trip to get the creative juice flowing again. The ML is a try hard graduate who is desperate to get and keep this job. Of course, they hit is off like a house on fire . . . with them screaming inside.

The FL certainly didn't make the ML's life easy but at least she did produce the odd fable for our entertainment. There is no doubt who is the OTP.

With only a dozen or so hours to fill, you would think that the story would be very tight, and it was in the beginning. The first couple of fables were suspenseful and intense but the rest of the show becomes more and more languid. The pacing is inconsistent, especially in the later eps.

It is the second half of the series that fails to fire on all cylinders. Once we are firmly back in the ‘here and now’, the series runs through several subplots. They are cliché ones delivered in workmanlike fashion.

The inclusion of the real-life antagonist feels awkward. The show tries to transplant the darkness from the fables into the real world. It could have been very immersive and confronting but it didn’t quite hit the mark. The antagonist is a sicko but oh so one dimensional. You see what he has done and what he is planning to do, but you don't feel the dread. The fact that the FL literally put herself in harm’s way is unhelpful. The whole proceeding feels staged.

This also takes the wind out of the leads budding romance. It is in the background, but the other subplots subsumed its importance. The show made it work in the end, but it is not as swoonworthy as I'd have liked.

With a short run time, the show is watchable. I'm willing to forgive some trespasses, but the original premise has more potential. It is a shame that the drama falls back to time honoured tropes too soon. It is good enough, but nobody talks about runner ups.