The reviews are unanimously favourable and agree on why. Most critics praise the South London setting first: the estates and front rooms are described as lived-in rather than dressed, and the dialogue as authentic. The cast is widely admired, and Variety in particular singles out the tenderness of Michael and Dionne’s relationship. The consensus is that the series works because it grounds its superpowers in ordinary pressures, and that this gives it a distinctiveness the genre has been short of.
The reservations are mild and consistent. The Guardian finds the central threat weak and the action infrequent; Empire has similar trouble with a framing subplot. Several reviews say the series takes time to get going and that its many storylines can drag. The Hollywood Reporter is the most measured, finding the superhero plotting familiar while admiring the setting, and Den of Geek is irritated by how long the plot keeps its secrets. The spread is narrow, from good to very good, with nobody against it.
