Another dystopia, but this one’s German and more brutal than most.
SUMMARY
The Earth sucks. It’s 2074 and it’s been decades since the catastrophe that destroyed the modern world. Pretty much all technology stopped working, like in all of those other shows with this same premise. All of the nations, unable to maintain order, fell apart into tribes. One tribe, the Origines, are strict isolationists, living as hunters in the woods of what was probably Germany. Three Origine siblings, Liv (Henriette Confurius), Elja (David Ali Rashed), and Kiano (Emilio Sakraya), are hunting when they see a futuristic plane crash in the woods. They find a dying pilot with a strange cube. Unfortunately, other tribes want the cube and are willing to attack the Origines for it. This leads to the three siblings being split up and having to fight for their lives, particularly against the bloodthirsty Crow tribe.
END SUMMARY
Okay, as you might have guessed from the sarcastic tinge to the summary, this show’s premise is not exactly new. It’s the future, everything has fallen apart, technology broke somehow, and having any kind of working power source is basically the same as having the One Ring from Tolkien. The creator of Supernatural had a similar show called Revolution that was on almost a decade ago. However, while the premise may have been done before, this show does definitely benefit from a level of (occasionally disturbing) realism and well-done characterization. Also, this world isn’t the “there’s no technology ever” type of dystopia that many of these shows take, instead, it’s just that everything got reset. Some people with great technical skills have the ability to keep things running, meaning some places have modern tech, while the show’s MacGuffin is based around a civilization with futuristic technology. Gives it some uniqueness. The three siblings all go on very different journeys, which helps mitigate some of the monotony as well.
The thing that this show definitely does right is that it has a point. It’s demonstrating how quickly people will devolve into the historical groups and point out that, unfortunately, when divided, the groups that thrive are usually the ones that are the most ruthless, not the most ethical. The show probably was inspired, at least in part, by Brexit. Being German, the show is probably largely in favor of the European Union and the stability it grants Europe. Groups like The Crows are determined to destroy all opposition and absorb all tribes into theirs by either forcing loyalty or imposing slavery. Opposing them are the Crimson, who also want to create a single nation out of Europe, but are trying to do it in a more peaceful way that allows the tribes that join them to retain some sovereignty, akin to the EU. It’s clear that the Crimson are the preferable choice at the moment, but they are also massively flawed.
The supporting cast in this show are great and really elevate the setting. In Elja’s story, he meets Moses (Oliver Masucci), a traveling scavenger who is able to fix electronics. Moses is charming, despite openly being a rogue. Kiano’s contact is mostly with Lord Varvara (Melika Foroutan), who takes a liking to him, but expresses it by torturing him as much as she wants. Liv mostly interacts with the Crimson, and there are a number of good performances there, including Robert Finster as David, one of the commanders.
Overall, it’s a solid show, if not a massively original one.
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