Jane Campion doesn't do "easy." If you went into Top of the Lake expecting a standard police procedural where the rugged detective solves a clean-cut mystery in forty-five minutes, you probably felt like you’d been hit by a freight train. It’s heavy. It’s weird. Honestly, it’s one of the most polarizing pieces of television to come out of the last decade, and that is exactly why it sticks in your brain like a burr long after the credits roll.
The show first landed in 2013, a co-production between BBC Two, Sundance Channel, and UKTV. It felt different immediately. Set against the jagged, almost extraterrestrial beauty of Laketop, New Zealand, the scenery isn't just a backdrop; it’s a character that wants to swallow you whole. Detective Robin Griffin, played with a raw, vibrating intensity by Elisabeth Moss, returns to her hometown to investigate the pregnancy of a twelve-year-old girl named Tui. But the "case" is barely the point. The show is really an autopsy of a broken community and the specific, suffocating brand of misogyny that thrives in isolated places.
The Haunting Legacy of Top of the Lake
Most crime shows are about the "who." Top of the Lake is obsessed with the "why" and the "how did we let this happen." When Tui Mitcham walks into the freezing waters of a mountain lake, she isn't just a victim; she’s a symptom. The town of Laketop is a powder keg of masculine ego, represented largely by Tui's father, Matt Mitcham. Peter Mullan plays him with a terrifying, low-boil menace that makes your skin crawl. He’s a local drug lord, sure, but he’s also a patriarch who treats the entire valley as his personal fiefdom.
Then you have the "women’s camp." This is where the show gets truly bizarre and brilliant. A group of middle-aged, traumatized women set up a shipping container village on a plot of land called "Paradise." They are led by GJ, a silver-haired, cryptic guru played by Holly Hunter. If you think she’s there to provide sage advice and healing, you haven't watched enough Campion. GJ is nihilistic. She’s blunt. She tells these women that their pain isn't special. It’s a jarring contrast to the hyper-masculine violence happening just down the road.
The tonal shifts are wild. One minute you're watching a tense interrogation, and the next, you're observing a surreal, almost comedic interaction between broken people trying to find a reason to wake up in the morning.
Why Robin Griffin Isn't Your Typical Hero
Elisabeth Moss won a Golden Globe for this role for a reason. Robin Griffin is a mess. She’s a specialist in child protection, but she’s also a survivor of the very town she’s trying to police. The show doesn't treat her trauma as a "superpower" that helps her solve crimes. It’s a weight. It makes her erratic. It makes her vulnerable.
In the first season, her return to New Zealand forces her to confront a past assault that the town conveniently "forgot." This isn't just a plot point; it’s the structural foundation of the series. The mystery of Tui’s pregnancy is inextricably linked to Robin’s own history. It’s messy. Sometimes it’s hard to watch. But it feels deeply, painfully real in a way that Law & Order never could.
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China Girl and the Shift to Sydney
Four years later, we got Top of the Lake: China Girl. It moved the action from the wilderness of New Zealand to the urban sprawl of Sydney. Some people hated the shift. They missed the mountains. But Campion and co-writer Gerard Lee were interested in a different kind of isolation—the kind that happens in a crowded city.
This season introduces Gwendoline Christie as Miranda Hilmarson, Robin’s towering, awkward, and desperately eager partner. The chemistry between Moss and Christie is fascinating. It’s not a "buddy cop" dynamic. It’s two deeply lonely women trying to navigate a case involving a dead body washed up in a suitcase and the complex ethics of international surrogacy.
Season two is even more divisive than the first. It tackles the sex work industry, the "incel" subculture (long before it was a mainstream talking point), and the commodification of women's bodies. It’s dense. It’s arguably overstuffed. Nicole Kidman shows up in a grey wig as a protective, prickly adoptive mother, adding yet another layer of "complicated motherhood" to the mix.
The Problem With Modern "Grim" TV
We live in an era of "prestige" TV where everything is dark and gritty. But there’s a difference between being grim for the sake of it and being purposeful. Top of the Lake isn't interested in shock value. It’s interested in the mechanics of power.
- The show explores how men protect each other.
- It looks at how women internalize shame.
- It examines the failure of institutions to protect the vulnerable.
Often, the pacing is slow. You might find yourself frustrated by Robin’s choices. That’s intentional. The show refuses to give you the catharsis of a "perfect" ending because, in the real world, these kinds of stories don't end with a neat bow. They just leave scars.
Technical Mastery and the Campion Touch
You can't talk about this show without talking about the cinematography. Adam Arkapaw (who also worked on True Detective) shot the first season, and it looks like a series of oil paintings. The light in New Zealand is notoriously harsh and beautiful, and he uses it to make the landscape look both divine and indifferent to human suffering.
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Campion’s direction is tactile. You can almost feel the dampness of the bush and the grit of the Sydney streets. She has this way of lingering on small, seemingly insignificant details—a hand brushing against grass, the way a person breathes when they think they’re alone—that builds an atmosphere of constant, low-level anxiety.
Critical Reception and E-E-A-T
When it premiered at Sundance, critics were floored. The Hollywood Reporter called it "masterful," and The Guardian praised its "unflinching" look at sexual politics. However, some feminist scholars have pointed out the "trauma porn" aspect of the series. Is it necessary to show this much pain to make a point? It’s a valid question. Campion argues that to look away is to be complicit.
The show holds an 8.2 on IMDb and high scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s not a "crowd-pleaser." It’s a "thinker." If you’re looking for a show to play in the background while you fold laundry, this isn't it. It demands your full, undivided, and often uncomfortable attention.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
People often complain that the resolutions in both seasons feel abrupt or "unsatisfying."
Actually, that’s the point.
In Season 1, the "villain" isn't just one man; it's the culture of the town. Arresting one person doesn't fix Laketop. In Season 2, the resolution of the "China Girl" mystery is almost secondary to Robin’s personal journey regarding the daughter she gave up for adoption. If you’re looking for a puzzle to solve, you’re watching the wrong show. You’re supposed to be feeling the weight of the themes, not just checking off clues.
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How to Watch It Today
Depending on where you are, Top of the Lake usually lives on platforms like Hulu, BBC iPlayer, or Sundance Now. If you’re going to dive in, do it when you have the mental bandwidth for something heavy.
Actionable Steps for the Best Experience:
- Watch in blocks: The episodes are cinematic. Treat each season like a 6-hour movie rather than a weekly procedural.
- Don't skip Season 2: Even if you prefer the New Zealand setting, the Sydney storyline provides crucial closure for Robin’s character arc.
- Research the filming locations: Looking up the geography of Glenorchy and Queenstown adds a layer of appreciation for how the environment influenced the production.
- Look for the symbols: Pay attention to water. It’s everywhere. It represents birth, death, secrets, and cleansing.
The show doesn't offer easy answers. It doesn't tell you that everything will be okay. It just shows you the world as it is—beautiful, brutal, and deeply complicated. Whether you love it or find it too intense, there’s no denying that it changed the landscape of the modern crime drama. It paved the way for shows like Sharp Objects and Mare of Easttown by proving that a "detective story" could actually be a profound character study in disguise.
If you haven't seen it, prepare yourself. It’s a long way down into the lake.
Next Steps for Viewers:
To fully appreciate the evolution of the "Campion Style," watch her 1993 film The Piano immediately after finishing Season 1. You will see the same themes of female agency and hostile landscapes mirrored across twenty years of filmmaking. Additionally, if the psychological aspect of the show intrigued you, look into the works of clinical psychologist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, specifically The Body Keeps the Score, which provides scientific context for the type of developmental trauma Robin Griffin navigates throughout the series.