Amazon Prime Video’s latest Tamil web series, Snakes and Ladders, embarks on a riveting journey through the unpredictable ups and downs its title implies. Inspired by the classic board game where players encounter the mercurial highs of ladders and the menacing lows of snakes, the series attempts to mirror this concept by exploring the tumultuous experiences of its lead characters. However, the series starkly contrasts these symbolic highs and lows, leaving viewers largely facing more serpentine challenges than ascending ladders, akin to searching for a ladder at a snake park.
Set against the backdrop of 2006 in the fictional hill station of Rettamugadu, Snakes and Ladders centers around a group of young friends: Gilbert (M.S. Samrith), Iraiyan (S Surya Ragaveshwar), Sandy (S Surya Kumar), and Bala (Tarun Yuvraaj). Their seemingly mundane lives take a dramatic turn when they inadvertently become entangled in an ominous event following the death of a gangster named Blade (Ramachandran). Blade’s disappearance after a heist involving a priceless locket triggers a domino effect that sees gangsters, law enforcement, educators, parents, and even the local school bully unwittingly drawn into the fray.
The series initially draws one in with a nostalgic semblance reminiscent of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’, stirring memories of iconic titles like ET, Stranger Things, and India’s own Anjali. As the narrative transitions from a gripping thriller to a dark comedy, shades of Panchatanthiram with a cast of pre-teens surface, painting a vivid picture that one of the characters could easily have been named Suyambulingam, suggesting a cheeky prequel to Kamal Haasan’s Papanasam.
Snakes and Ladders crafts its young protagonists with a refreshing maturity, avoiding the pitfalls of infantilization or precociousness that befalls many youthful characters in similar genres. Ironically, the adult characters often emerge as caricatures, depicted in surprisingly juvenile roles. The series portrays the young leads as perceptive individuals, aware of the repercussions their impulsive actions could unveil. This nuanced outlook serves both as a strength and a weakness. Fascinatingly, despite focusing on a youthful ensemble, Snakes and Ladders refrains from becoming a mere children’s adventure.
. It involves an expected level of violence and profanity typical of Indian OTT content, perhaps an ode to series like Game of Thrones, ensuring its dramatic spectrum remains unfettered.
Yet these glimmers of insightful writing are sporadic. Instances, like the episode where the kids almost escape scrutiny only to be foiled by a vigilant parent or the poignant depiction of a man’s vacillating mind through the metaphor of a swinging child, compete with narrative inconsistencies and an identity crisis. Snakes and Ladders finds itself ensnared between truly becoming a young-adult thriller and embracing a dark comedic veneer. Consequently, the series finds itself falling short on both fronts.
Character development, especially for adults, suffers from a lack of depth, painting them in broad, often clichéd strokes. Male characters primarily oscillate between nefarious figures adept at survival and benevolent, mystery-solving officers, while the female characters remain trapped in outdated damsel-in-distress roles. The core cast’s portrayal is formulaic: the scholarly member dons glasses and stammers, and the sole female protagonist is burdened with a medical ailment, underlining the uninspired characterizations.
Moreover, the series treats its narrative as if it were part of a giant contrivance rather than a finely-tuned puzzle waiting to be pieced together. Instead of exploring the deeper moral and psychological dilemmas faced by the children amidst their trying predicaments, it opts for predictable resolutions, creating a blend that veers into excessively dark realms at times.
The less said about the gangster subplot, the better, as it regrettably fails to contribute meaningfully to the series. A baffling Rolex-esque ending in the season finale leaves one questioning the otherwise constant bar of quality set by performers like Naveen Chandra, Nandaa, and Manoj Bharathiraja. It’s a disappointment, especially given Naveen Chandra’s previous successful outing with Prime Video in the much-acclaimed Inspector Rishi. Regrettably, Snakes and Ladders fails to match the thriller genre’s benchmark set by other platforms’, as inconsistent writing and narrative tone derail its potential.
Currently streaming on Prime Video, Snakes and Ladders attempts to navigate the complex maze of its title, but the odds stack heavily against it, leading to more missed opportunities than triumphant climbs.
