Ecohorror is one if my favorite subgenres to read or watch and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that here. I went into this without paying much attention to the description. It was new and 6 episodes so I thought why not try it.
For location and atmosphere this had some wasted potential, but I give it credit for presenting a setting that I never would have thought of for suspense. Now that they put the idea out there, all I can think of is how terrifying it would be to be stuck on an isolated rig out in the sea or ocean, dependent upon boats or helicopters for supplies and transport to land and finding yourself in a situation without boats or choppers coming to you.
For characters, that is definitely where the show lacks. Hutton stands out as awful. Alwyn was my favorite. Fulmer really grows on you. Rose and Magnus have ups and downs as the represent company management. Baz undergoes such change that it's hard to rate his character. Cat and Easter get focused on for their essential duties on the rig so I like them but it feels forced in to like or relate to them.
Finally, the ecohorror. One could see this show as anti-oil and drilling and there is some explicit commentary to support that within the show. BUT, what they've found is something primordial that has been the cause of all extinction level events on Earth and that thing is now awakened to close this loop of time and begin another extinction event. If you argue that dependence on fossil fuels is what caused this then how do you explain what caused it to carry out the previous extinction level events we know of. The show also positions Coake as the evil big oil exec who actually may have been the only one capable of stopping the coming catastrophe. So it seems a little unclear what the show is trying to say or how they're saying it. I think the 6 episodes, especially with so much focused on interpersonal drama, were insufficient to work with this premise.
I would love to see more, though, focusing on the theoretical science of the premise and the force behind the extinctions. The closing minutes of the last episode provide multiple cliffhangers that will bug me to no end if this is all we get of the show. Because of that, I highly recommend you wait to watch this until after it's renewed if you hate cliffhangers. If it gets canceled, I'll honestly lower my rating because the 7 is for the potential of the idea. A 5 is more accurate for the actual execution of the idea within these 6 episodes.
For location and atmosphere this had some wasted potential, but I give it credit for presenting a setting that I never would have thought of for suspense. Now that they put the idea out there, all I can think of is how terrifying it would be to be stuck on an isolated rig out in the sea or ocean, dependent upon boats or helicopters for supplies and transport to land and finding yourself in a situation without boats or choppers coming to you.
For characters, that is definitely where the show lacks. Hutton stands out as awful. Alwyn was my favorite. Fulmer really grows on you. Rose and Magnus have ups and downs as the represent company management. Baz undergoes such change that it's hard to rate his character. Cat and Easter get focused on for their essential duties on the rig so I like them but it feels forced in to like or relate to them.
Finally, the ecohorror. One could see this show as anti-oil and drilling and there is some explicit commentary to support that within the show. BUT, what they've found is something primordial that has been the cause of all extinction level events on Earth and that thing is now awakened to close this loop of time and begin another extinction event. If you argue that dependence on fossil fuels is what caused this then how do you explain what caused it to carry out the previous extinction level events we know of. The show also positions Coake as the evil big oil exec who actually may have been the only one capable of stopping the coming catastrophe. So it seems a little unclear what the show is trying to say or how they're saying it. I think the 6 episodes, especially with so much focused on interpersonal drama, were insufficient to work with this premise.
I would love to see more, though, focusing on the theoretical science of the premise and the force behind the extinctions. The closing minutes of the last episode provide multiple cliffhangers that will bug me to no end if this is all we get of the show. Because of that, I highly recommend you wait to watch this until after it's renewed if you hate cliffhangers. If it gets canceled, I'll honestly lower my rating because the 7 is for the potential of the idea. A 5 is more accurate for the actual execution of the idea within these 6 episodes.
