Netflix's Dogs: Full Season Review

If there's a topic out there, Netflix can probably find a way to spin it and make a substantial show about it. And its latest original aptly named "Dogs" centers around the undeniable bond humans have with these four-legged creatures. Unfortunately, the full season was a mix of great, good, and hardly-acceptable episodes all across the globe. While some episodes left us truly inspired and heart-felt, some episodes felt forced and one-sided.

"Dogs" features six stand-alone episodes looking into how humans and dogs interact with each other in different yet significant ways every day. The first episode features Rory and his role as a medical service dog. The second episode centers around Zeus, a Siberian Husky stuck in Syria while his owner Ayham is a Syrian refugee living in Berlin finding a way to get his dog back. The third episode features Ice, who has a close bond with a fisherman and restaurant owner struggling to make ends meet as the fish population in his hometown's lake is dwindling year on year. The fourth episode takes a look into the secret world of dog grooming. The fifth episode is about a Costa Rican sanctuary trying to protect abandoned and neglected dogs who is on the cusp of being illegal themselves. And the sixth and last episode features New York City and its unique love for dogs.

While we wanted to give high praises and love to "Dogs", the series heavily-struggled to maintain its quality on its six episodes. Don't get us wrong though, "Dogs" was actually an emotional watch on both its human and dog aspects. Most importantly, "Dogs" was able to convey the importance of these four-legged creatures in human society - big, small, or even the seemingly mundane. Our favorite episodes would be the one featuring Zeus and Syrian refugee Ayham, Ice and his Italian fisherman owner, and the one that focused on the Japanese dog groomers and how Japan's love for dogs is also a reflection of their society's population and working condition issues. The best episodes felt well-researched and ones that featured the biggest connections between animal and human and presented those in a well-balanced manner. What we mean is that the best episodes also focused on the issues human and dog faced outside their relationship from each other. It was also pretty interesting that the show was bold enough to go around the globe to showcase a more balanced approach on the topic - we completely didn't expect that. But there are some episodes that failed to get our interest or had substantial topics that made us wonder why it even made the cut. Overall though, the series was an eye-opener not only on dogs but also the conditions and struggles people all over the world are facing. It may be a simple competition, environmental issues, life-threatening sicknesses, or even war. But here's the thing, there's always hope to overcome with hard work, perseverance, and maybe a dog beside you along the way.

Rating: 3 and a half reels




Why you should watch it:
- heart-felt and emotional
- a global look into the intricate relationship of humans and dogs

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- some episodes felt forced