Before ‘Sinners,’ Wunmi Mosaku Was a Strait-Laced But Hilarious Detective in This Crime Comedy Series
Although Netflix has had a notoriously mixed track record when it comes to adapting beloved comic books and graphic novels, The End of The F***ing World was a highly underrated series that embraced the freedom of a short-form media. Based on the acclaimed comic series of the same name by Charles Forsman, The End of the F***ing World centers on two teenagers that decide to go on the run after feeling disenfranchised with their lives; James (Alex Lawther) is a young psychopath that dreams about killing someone, and Alyssa (Jessica Barden) convinces him to go on a violent crime spree. Although it is the humorous dynamic between these two young actors that makes the series so darkly hilarious, The End of the F***ing World featured a standout supporting performance from Wunmi Mosaku.
Mosaku plays the key role of Teri Darego, a police constable who is assigned to investigate the disappearance of the two teenagers alongside her partner, Eunice Noon (Gemma Whelan). Despite sharing the intent of bringing these two aspiring criminals to justice, Teri and Eunice could not be more different in their approach. At the same time, Eunice is open to the possibility of redeeming James and Alyssa by offering them rehabilitation and emotional assistance, but Teri treats them purely as criminals and is not interested in giving them the slightest bit of empathy. Although The End of the F***ing World is a series that deals with complex emotional and ethical questions, Mosaku was tasked with playing an initially unlikable character whose perspective is granted more legitimacy as the story moves forward.
Who Did Wunmi Mosaku Play in ‘The End of the F***ing World?’
The End of the F***ing World is able to keep its energy as kinetic as possible by exploring the dueling storylines of the teenage runaways and the detectives tracking them down; while James and Alyssa are often too swept up in the emotions of the moment to reckon with the consequences of what they did, Teri and Eunice are forced to deconstruct their psychology and explore the facts of the case from a more objective point-of-view. Mosaku does a great job at showing a stern, no-nonsense working professional who has been burdened by too many disturbing cases to be optimistic about the situation; while she’s often annoyed by how gleefully open-minded Eunice seems to be, her concerns are that her partner is simply hoping to ascribe value to a crime that may have ultimately been meaningless.
The banter between Mosaku and Whelan adds a more traditional sense of comedy to the series, as the sections that are centered on James and Alyssa tend to feature more gross out humor. James and Alyssa are both awkward characters that have a hard time expressing their emotions, making their dialogue more tense and stagnant; comparatively, Eunice and Teri are forced to have more active discussions as they put together clues and determine the more logical course of action. This also allows the series to develop a piece of clever satire about the unusual legitimacy that is granted to working professionals; despite looking down on James and Alyssa and assuming them to be devoid of intellectualism, Teri reveals herself to be very lacking in her ethics, as she only looks to the law to determine what she does.
Mosaku is also great at playing an unusually reserved character who plays everything very close to the chest, which makes her an anomaly within the universe of The End of the F***ing World. James and Alyssa are so confused about what they are feeling that they admit aloof their anxieties and desires to one another, and Eunice often highlights everything that is going on in her personal life as a means of breaking the tension. Comparatively, Teri does not feel that she is obligated to share any personal secrets with her professional collaborators, leading to some awkward humor as she attempts to navigate the social landscape. Silence is often the best form of comedy, and Mosaku was able to show her merits as a physical comedian.
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Teri Added an Important Perspective to ‘The End of the F***ing World’
The End of the F***ing World challenges the audience’s perception of heroes and villains by revealing how fungible the line between boldness and belligerent is. While it seems as if James and Alyssa would inherently be the sympathetic characters because they are challenged youths, they often commit actions that are highly disturbing, which makes the detectives look more heroic in comparison. Eunice’s willingness to relate to the suspects, despite seeing evidence that they have committed murder, begins to show her ignorance, and how that could inadvertently put others in danger. Despite her cold demeanor and brisk manner of conducting her duty, Teri is often proven to be the most ethical character on the series, as she is willing to look at the larger picture. Although the series is quite clever in only showing glimpses of her life based on how it relates to Alyssa and James’ crimes, Mosaku captures the burden of having to make the right choices, even if they are bound to make her unpopular.
The End of the F***ing World was renewed for a second season, which did not feature Mosaku among the main cast. The End of the F***ing World took a nosedive in quality after it expanded beyond its initial premise, as it opted to take a more sincere direction within a story that had previously prided itself on being cynical. While the conceit was that perhaps it would be interesting to see James and Alyssa come to their own conclusions, The End of the F***ing World was sorely missing a character like Teri, who was able to provide context about the situation and remind the protagonists of the collateral damage that they had caused. Mosaku’s impact on the series was evident by virtue of the fact that it collapsed almost immediately after she was no longer an active part of it.
