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Why Mr. Mercedes Is Stephen King's Scariest TV Show Yet

Though it did not gain as much mainstream attention as some of the more recent adaptations, Mr. Mercedes remains one of the most haunting—and scariest—TV shows based on Stephen King books. King's Bill Hodges novel trilogy was developed for the screen by David E. Kelley; the first of three seasons premiered in 2017 on Audience Network.

Named after the first book in the series, Mr. Mercedesexplores the evils of humanity, basing its scares in reality as opposed to the supernatural, contrasting the otherworldly occurrences in many of King's television adaptations. Consisting of Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch, the lengthy trilogy follows gruff detective, Bill Hodges and his harrowing encounters with some of the most dangerous minds in King's literary realm. Screen depictions of King's work have always been popular. In recent years, there have been a notable amount of both film and television adaptations, many of which focus on the author's supernatural subjects such as Pennywise from ITand El Cuco of The Outsider. This is where Mr. Mercedes deviates from and breaks the mold.

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The show's first season introduces detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) while he is still mentally stuck on an unsolved case, despite his department urging him to move on. Hodges's interest in serial killer Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway), publicly dubbed Mr. Mercedes after driving the titular car into a crowd of people, is further heightened when he begins receiving taunting messages from the young man. Their cat-and-mouse relationship spans two seasons; season 2 sees Brady's perpetual torment of Bill continue even while the latter is in a comatose state. While season 3 ventures away from the show's namesake, the narrative delivers an equally horrific depiction of human wickedness.

Mr. Mercedes Is Stephen King's Scariest TV Show

In Mr. Mercedes, King does not use monsters or mind tricks to get his scares across, but instead explores the darker sides of the human psyche. While this exploration is not rare for King, as much of his writing is heavily based within the horrors of humanity, it is one of the few television adaptations of his work that does not revolve around the supernatural. In contrast to popular shows like Castle Rock, The Outsider, and Salem’s Lot, Mr. Mercedes infuses all its terror into human villains whose minds more than measure up to any paranormal force King could summon. Bringing together the plots of both Mr. Mercedes and End of Watch, season 1 and season 2 introduce Brady Hartsfield, a prolific King villain, and detective Bill Hodges's favorite antagonist.

Brady Hartsfield embodies such a stunning lack of empathy; there is seemingly no limit to the harm he can cause. A victim of abuse himself, the young man is a chilling portrait of nature versus nurture and the type of disgust someone can develop for a society that’s failed him. Brady's dysfunctional and abusive upbringing earn him some sympathy, though it is continuously squandered by his shocking acts of violence. His ultimate goal is to bring pain onto others, whether it be emotional or physical, and his steadfast need to destroy is what fuels Bill's hatred of him. Through Brady Hartsfield, King reminds his audience just how evil humans have the potential to be, and the ways in which abuse trickles down generations.

Though the first two seasons of Mr. Mercedes focus on Brady and the brutal chaos he causes in Bill's life, season 3 follows the narrative of Finders Keepers. The second book in King's trilogy, Finders Keepers is centered around a literary mystery that is set into action when famous author, John Rothstein, is robbed and murdered in his remote home. The perpetrator, Morris Bellamy (Gabriel Ebert) is a Rothstein super-fan whose disappointment in the way the author chose to end a long-running book series manifests in a homicidal rage. Along with his cohort, Rothstein's sociopathic ex-lover, Alma Lane (Kate Mulgrew), Morris attempts to get away with the crime by any means necessary. With Alma coaxing Morris along, the pair wreak havoc on anyone who threatens their freedom, Bill Hodges and his loyal associates included. While King's supernatural creations are undoubtedly terrifying, Mr. Mercedes illustrates just how much human villains can haunt an audience through its shocking realism.

Source: screenrant.com