Entertainment

SEASON REVIEW: ‘The Society’ Is A Very Solid Show On Netflix

The Society (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZezqU0DOI)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Netflix’s new show “The Society” had a very solid first season.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS BELOW. DON’T KEEP READING IF YOU AREN’T CAUGHT UP.

As I wrote a couple days ago, I banged out the first couple episodes and was very impressed. The rest of the season didn’t disappoint after I binge watched it these past three days.

The plot revolves around a large group of high school kids who return home to their Connecticut town to find all the adults missing. They were shipped out on a trip as the adults dealt with a mysterious smell, and returned to find everybody missing.

It’s “Lord of the Flies” set in a modern time with a bit of a supernatural twist.

First, let’s get into what I really liked about this show. There are two questions that are constantly batted around through the ten episodes.

The first one is what the hell happened? Where are the parents? Where are the kids? Are they in an alternate reality? Are they on a different planet? Are the parents all dead? Can they get back? The question of what the hell happened is the biggest question of the season, but it really takes a backseat to what they’re going to do in their new reality. We’ll get back to these questions more later.

The most pressing issue throughout the first season is who is going to be in charge. The show really excelled in these plot lines.

One one side, we had Allie, Will, Gordie and her loyal bodyguards The Guard running the show. Allie took over after her sister was brutally murdered, which Allie avenges by ordering the execution of the shooter. Yes, a high school girl ordered and carried out a sanctioned execution as the head of the town.

She at first unwillingly takes over, but slowly turns into a dictator as she realizes absolute authority is the only way to rule. She’s not a brutal or evil dictator. She just recognizes the fact there isn’t a lot of room for negotiation if everybody is expected to survive winter. (RELATED: Netflix’s New Series ‘The Society’ Is A Fascinating Look At Anarchy)

Enter Campbell and Harry into the picture. Campbell is an absolute nut job psychopath, but he might be the smartest character on the whole show. His girlfriend Elle tries to murder him with anti-freeze, and he still vouches for her because he recognizes she’s just as screwed up as he is.

Slowly, he gets the ball rolling on a coup, convinces Allie’s bodyguards to join him, installs Harry and another woman as fake leaders of the town and places Allie under arrest. One of the questions here that isn’t clearly answered is whether or not his girlfriend Elle was in on the whole thing or not. She was placed under fake arrest by Allie because she told a story about how abusive he was.

Campbell uses this arrest in part to justify the coup, and in the closing moments of the show it doesn’t look like Elle fears him at all as they laid in bed together. Was she in on this the whole time? Hard to tell, but I imagine we’ll get that answer in season two. There’s no doubt Campbell is the most fascinating character on the show and now he’s the man running the show from behind a curtain.

In the final moments, we learn whether or not the kids have left or the parents did. Parents are shown wearing yellow ribbons as they read to young children and on the wall is a memorial to all the missing students.

This is a clear sign the parents never went anywhere. It was the kids who were transported to an alternate reality and the parents just assume they’re all dead or missing.

All in all, I loved the first season of “The Society” on Netflix. There were some bumps along the way. There was an insanely unnecessary, forced and pointless gay storyline that didn’t make much sense, it was a bit too dramatic at times and people seemed way too calm at other times.

Again, this is a story about teenagers fighting for survival. Yet, there wasn’t ever a ton of a panic. I find that to be unrealistic. I think we all know in reality people would have armed up immediately.

Overall, I give it a solid 7.5/10. It’s not known yet if we’ll get a second season, and it could work without one, but the door is open for more episodes if that’s the way Netflix goes.

I suggest you give it a chance if you haven’t already.

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