Parents' Guide to

Open Heart

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Teen rebellion and family drama mark so-so mystery series.

TV TeenNick Drama 2015
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Kids say (5 ):

As mystery series go, OPEN HEART does a decent job building suspense and throwing curveballs that keep viewers guessing and perhaps coming back for more. Just when you think you have the characters and their motivations figured out, a comment or flashback raises more questions than it answers, and you're left wanting to know more. And the mystery doesn't lie only in Richard's whereabouts; it also relates to the motivations of those he left behind.

What the show does slightly less well is create a fully sympathetic character in Dylan, who has no concern for either authority figures or the letter of the law. Her reasoning is understandable, as they're the very roadblocks that often stand between her and the answers she seeks, but it's still a little concerning for tween viewers, since it raises the thorny issue of the ends justifying the means. What's more, aside from Dylan's relationship with her father, which we witness in flashback scenes, her family unit is fractured by secrets and withheld emotions that compound her feelings of desperation.

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