Right now, one of the most talked-about Netflix shows is The Stranger. The book adaptation has become incredibly popular on the streaming service due to its excellent story, brilliant acting, and fantastic twists and turns that audiences simply do not see coming.
It’s an incredibly well written and intelligent show that will keep viewers hooked from start to finish, leaving people guessing who is responsible for different things throughout. With several storylines all blending in together to one big plot, everything is very smartly done.
One of the reasons the show has been a hit is because of how well the characters are written. Each character feels unique and has their own developed personality, and their intelligence levels also differ. Here are the main characters, ranked in order of their smartness.
Mike Tripp
There is no doubt that the least intelligent character on Netflix’s The Stranger is Mike Tripp. The young man might have plenty of confidence but he doesn’t have plenty of intelligence. He happily takes drugs and ends up then kidnapping and beheading an alpaca while he is high, and he doesn’t exactly play it cool afterward.
Not being able to use a poker face to try and get the police off his scent, he just makes matters worse for himself alongside his father when he is questioned. He’s a bit of a loudmouth, who often acts and talks before he thinks, not engaging his brain at all times.
Doug Tripp
It’s clear to see where his son got his brains from because Doug Tripp isn’t one of the smarter characters on the show. Obviously, his big crime doesn’t end up staying a secret, no matter how hard he tries, and when you add on to that the fact he got caught stealing all of the money from the soccer club, crime clearly isn’t his game.
Tripp certainly has the gift of the gab as he is more than confident chatting away with people and does seem like a popular member of the community. However, it is very clear that he’s not the most intelligent of people at the same time.
Thomas Price
Unlike his best friend, Mike, Thomas Price clearly takes after both his parents and does have some intelligence. He’s smart enough to try and help his friend Mike in regards to the alpaca head and then makes it his mission to help out Olivia as well.
He is the one responsible for working out what is going on in her house and why Olivia is always being poorly. He shows great compassion for people and has the intelligence to try and work out any problem that gets in front of him. He’s only young, so his knowledge isn’t perfect, but as he grows up he is certainly going to be very smart.
Heidi Doyle
Sadly, due to the fact she ends up being murdered, we don’t actually see too much of Heidi Doyle on The Stranger. However, from what we do see of her, it’s clear that she’s smart. Heidi runs her own business, and it’s clearly a success as she has enough money to quickly pay her blackmail off.
Anyone who can run a business has to have some form of intelligence, being able to deal with all the different problems that come with that. When people speak about her on the show it’s always in a positive manner, and while she could have been higher on this list if we got to know her more, her untimely death has to keep her lower down.
Patrick Katz
Speaking of Heidi’s death, the man who killed her is next on the list. Patrick Katz works for the police and therefore he quite obviously has plenty of intelligence about him. While he makes poor decisions, including murder and then evidence tampering, he does them from a good place as he desperately wants his daughter to get better.
He’s smart enough to stay on top of most issues that he has trapped himself with due to his actions, which highlights his intelligence. However, the case ends up becoming far too complex and he is no longer able to stay on top of things by the end of it.
Ed Price
He might be a bit of a womanizer who is happy to sleep with anyone that isn’t his wife, meaning he isn’t a great human, but he is certainly a smart one. Ed Price is a top property developer and is clearly very high up in his job, proving that he is an intelligent person.
When he starts getting involved in the blackmail situation he steps up as a father and a grandfather, proving he can be a family man as well. He is quick to work out that they can search for evidence as he has all of Martin Killane’s possessions, and this helps them work out a major clue.
Adam Price
Adam Price is the lead character of The Stranger, and he is one of the smartest characters on the show. While he deals with an incredibly tough time in his life throughout, he still manages to do his job as a top-level lawyer to the best of his ability, while looking after his two sons.
He might not find his wife in time to save her, but Adam does eventually get to the bottom of the case himself. It isn’t the police who work everything out, it’s him through his own dedication and hard work. He is able to follow leads and get the right information to find the answers he is looking for, even if they aren’t what he wants to actually hear.
Martin Killane
He might be a murderer who ends up getting caught, having his wife’s body stuffed in the wall of his house. But he was smart enough to never get caught for the situation until his house was demolished, revealing the body to all the world.
Martin Killane formerly worked for the police force, and he was obviously very good at his job. Adam uses him at times to try and track various people down, and he is always able to locate them, despite being given very little information, proving he is talented at what he does.
DS Johanna Griffin
DS Johanna Griffin is one of the lead roles in The Stranger, and she is a true female powerhouse. She runs the police team that is involved in all of the investigations going on in the show, and she does an excellent job. Clearly very experienced and knowledgeable on what to do, she is able to know exactly how to handle each situation.
Griffin is smart enough to know when to give a human touch and when to be hard on someone to get the results she desires. Smart enough to follow the clues and piece things together, she’s an excellent character who still works her job despite grieving for her best friend.
Chris
Without a doubt, the smartest character on the show just so happens to be The Stranger, Chris. She might be behind a lot of heartache and suffering on the show, but her blackmailing secrets are always spot on, and to get that information you have to be very clever.
She is cunning and able to use technology to her advantage, working things out about people that those closest to them don’t even know. She is a master of disguise and is able to avoid people, including the police, with ease, thinking on her feet and showing incredible brains throughout.
