‘The Dropout’ on Hulu Shows Elizabeth Holmes Like We’ve Never Seen Her Before

If you haven’t heard the name Elizabeth Holmes before, you’ve probably been living under a rock (just kidding, but only partially). But, if you don’t have the slightest idea who this person is, there is a new Hulu mini-series that will tell you everything there is to know about her.

The Dropout stars Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, the founder and CEO of Theranos, a company that aims to revolutionize the world of blood testing. The youngest self-made billionaire went from a global sensation to losing it all in just the blink of an eye.

To give a little background info, Holmes created a needle-free rapid test that uses a small drop of blood to diagnose patients. However, her invention didn’t work at all. Holmes’s company later collapsed, and she was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury.

Just from my knowledge of the scandal, this was a show I had to check out. But the real question is, was it worth the watch?

Today's premiere episode starts with an audio recording taken from Holmes’s trial testimony in July 2017 and we’re first introduced to the young entrepreneur, who appears to be a little disheveled.

Then, we’re transported to the past, where we see a more put-together version of Holmes. We see her giving a televised interview, detailing her innovative product. Right in the middle of the interview, we’re brought back to the trial hearing.

While watching this play out, I wanted to admire this method of storytelling. For one, the sudden jumps between events made the viewing experience even more immersive. I love how this only emphasized the speed at which Holmes’s rise and fall from grace happened. That said, the manner in which the time jumps occurred became jarring as the episode went on and made it much more difficult to follow the narrative.

Although the sudden jump cuts made the premiere episode a disjointing watch, I think it’s still worth checking out, especially if you’re curious about Holmes’s backstory. Aside from learning about the creation of Theranos, we really get a side of Holmes we've never seen before.

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