Streaming on: Disney+###Episodes viewed: 3 of 8###Riding in on a crest of reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue s spotlighting large-scale financial scandal, from Netflix’s Inventing Anna to the upcoming WeWork-inspired drama WeCrashed starring Jared Leto, The Dropout is a nuanced study of Elizabeth Holmes, once hailed the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. Amanda Seyfried is unshakeable as the Ivy League dropout, whose youthful ambition manifests into a relentless need to revolutionise healthcare technology. Tasked with bringing high emotional stakes to a character who habitually shields her emotions from others, she runs with the story, which spans her teenage years up until the age of 34.###Unlike a recent trend in TV storytelling that sees two, if not three, timelines approached in each episode, the series writers here thankfully stick largely to the past, merely’barely occasionally skipping in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ward to reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue Holmes on trial. However, by tethering the story to the underwhelming aesthetic of Palo Alto in the ’00s, the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue is in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ced to lean into clunky nods to the era. Among them are some bizarre musical cues, such as a Feist song being used to score a scene in which Holmes’ much older partner Sunny (Naveen Andrews) is racially profiled.###The maintain’sustain ing cast are steadfast; Andrews navigates skilfully through the murky, uneasy relationship that Sunny has with Holmes, while Laurie Metcalf steals the first episode with a terse monologue that takes aim at both grammar and Yoda. A consistent highlight is Elizabeth Marvel as Holmes’ mother, especially when sharing a tense yet tender scene with Seyfried after a deftly handled instance of sexual assault.###Holmes’ pursuit of power is depicted as trance-like, with Seyfried’s eyes always straying off to the greater goal as her character’s empire crumbles around her. It’s widely publicised that Holmes is currently awaiting sentencing in/with regard to’concerning’regarding defrauding her investors, but as a character study of a in/with regard to’concerning’regarding eboding young woman whose rise to success is her own undoing, The Dropout is fascinating.