Editor’s Note: The following contains major spoilers for 1899.
AfterDark’s success, we were all eager to see what new mind-bending mysteryJantje FrieseandBaran bo Odarwould craft in1899. The series doesn’t disappoint, shattering reality before our eyes as each episode gives us more clues about what’s happening aboard the Kerberos, a ship crossing the ocean from Europe to New York. Surprisingly, though,1899introduces an international cast of characters that win our hearts with their layered personalities and intriguing backstories. What’s more impressive is that Friese and bo Odar respected the historical setting and European multiculturalism by letting the characters speak their mother tongue for the show. While1899is a mystery at its core, it also doubled down as an emotional human drama, where different people must overcome linguistic barriers and learn to work together against an incomprehensible force. That is, at least until1899begins to drop its plot twists, all of which undermine the series’ emotional stakes.
How ‘1899’s Mystery Gets in the Way of Character Development
It doesn’t take more than a couple of episodes for1899to tell its audience all the passengers of the Kerberos are part of a twisted psychological experiment. While we don’t know the exact nature of this experiment, there seems to be something in common between the series' main characters. That’s because, as the show gives us glimpses of their backstories, we learn that trauma and suffering led them aboard the Kerberos, hoping to find a better life in America.
RELATED:‘1899’ Review: The Creators of ‘Dark’ Craft Another Engaging Puzzle to Solve
Each new episode of1899focuses on a different group of characters. While new chapters in the series deepen the central mystery, it’s also great that1899takes the time to flesh out its characters and give an incredibly talented cast the space to shine. While a good mystery has an appeal in itself, strong characters give any story higher emotional stakes as we begin to care about the future of the people on screen. That’s the main issue with1899’s plot twists, as each new revelation makes the characters of the show matter less.
While we know the Kerberos’ passengers are part of an experiment, it’s only when the series gets closer to its finale that we learn everything is part of a computer simulation. What’s worse, the people inside this simulation have their memories rebooted each time the ship sinks, only to get put back at the start of another trip. The Kerberos is just the latest iteration of the journey simulation, which means each character lived through the same disturbing events multiple times. While the shock of this reveal can get us excited about the show, it also means most of the events of1899are meaningless, as they will be just wiped out in the next simulation loop.
As if that wasn’t enough to drain the series’ stakes, we also learn the simulation was built in the future, and the Kerberos’ passengers are actually alive in 2099. That means the historical setting of the show is completely fake, and each passenger’s memories were fabricated for the experiment. In short, all these characters we learned to love don’t exist, as the traumas that shape their personalities are fabricated. So, at the same time that1899says the show’s events have no influence on the characters’ lives, it also underlines how their past doesn’t matter either. And if everything is fake, why should we care about what happens to the people inside the simulation?
At the end of1899, Maura (Emily Beecham) and her family are the only characters who get some permanent emotional growth. And while they are the series’ main characters, dismissing the more interesting people in the Kerberos for shock value feels like a waste. However, if the show gets renewed for a second season, there’s still time to make the international cast of1899relevant again.
What Could Season 2 Do to Fix the Emotional Stakes?
At1899’s finale, Maura wakes up in the real world, finds out every person at the Kerberos is traveling in a spaceship, and gets ready to face her brother Ciaran, who took control of the simulation. It seems obvious thatSeason 2 of1899will occur in the real world, at least partially, as Maura tries to figure out why her brother trapped her inside the simulation and where Project Prometheus is going. The first thing showrunners Friese and bo Odar could do to salvage the character growth of the people of the Kerberos is to have Maura wake up her simulation companions and let them carry on their story in the real world. That way, Season 2 of1899could move forward with its emotional stakes instead of erasing them.
Alternatively, Season 2 of1899could explore the past of the Project Prometheus’ passengers, creating parallels between their real lives and the fake memories they had aboard the Kerberos. Season 1 of1899goes to huge lengths to give us detailed flashback scenes where we get to know its characters. We know these memories are somewhat fake, as the real people live 200 years in the future. But there’s nothing preventing the showrunners from telling the audience the fake memories are inspired by real events. If that’s the case, the time we spent watching these characters wouldn’t be wasted, and the series could even explore how their real-life trauma led them to sign on erasing their memories and getting plugged into the simulation.
At the very least, Season 2 should make the international cast aware of their misfortune should the simulation loop back to the start. During Season 1 of1899, we learn that everyone who dies aboard the Kerberos just gets thrown into the next iteration of the simulation. Death is not final but a rite of passage, leading to rebirth. However, in the season finale, Maura’s husband, Daniel (Aneurin Barnard), reprograms the simulation, changing its architecture to create an exit for his wife. Daniel’s meddling with the simulation allows a virus to spread and leads to the Kerberos iteration being completely shut down while there are still some characters alive: Clémence (Mathilde Ollivier), Ramiro (José Pimentão), Tove (Clara Rosager), Virginia (Rosalie Craig), Jérôme (Yann Gael), and Jing Yi (Isabella Wei). If Season 2 takes us back inside the simulation, these characters could retain their memories, similar to Henry (Anton Lesser) and his crew.
While Henry is trapped inside the simulation, he is not part of the ship’s passengers, instead observing how each iteration of the journey goes. So, since some main characters survive until the end, they could be aware of the simulation in the next cycle, banding together to escape and working to get new allies from inside the simulation. That could give the series a new spin on the ship journey, keeping1899fresh in Season 2. Whatever Friese and bo Odar decide to do, we just hope they realize that strong characters make us fond of a TV show once a mystery is solved and all the secrets are revealed.
1899is streaming right now on Netflix. Unfortunately, the streaming platform hasn’t yet renewed the series.
