“1899” was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated series of 2022. Now season 1 on Netflix is already over – and has left us with many questions, which we want to untangle a bit. Caution, spoilers!
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese have done it again: Two years after the end of their worldwide mystery hit “Dark”, the German duo delivers us the next Netflix series with mindfuck guarantee with “1899”. The eight episodes of the first season have so many unexpected hooks that in the finale nothing is the same as it seemed at the beginning.
The absolutely open ending presents us with a real bang revelation, but at the same time raises umpteen new questions that make us incredibly hungry for a second season and about which we want to rack our brains for once. But before that we have to review what the hell is going on in “1899” in the first place.
IT’S ALL JUST A SIMULATION
Those who thought they would get mystery entertainment in a purely historical setting with “1899” did not reckon with the genre-mix-savvy Odar and Friese. In the course of the first season it becomes increasingly clear that we are not at all dealing with the simple crossing of numerous emigrants from Europe to America at the end of the 19th century. As in the supposed suburban thriller “Dark”, a good portion of sci-fi finds its way into the story, which pushes itself further and further into the foreground, only to unfold its full surprising dimensions in the last scene.
As it turns out, the alleged ship journey is actually a sophisticated simulation that runs in a continuous loop without the “passengers” being able to remember it. It is structured a bit like a human brain, in which various memories are stored in different places and traumas are buried deep. Access to these is gained through the mysterious shafts in each individual’s ship’s cabin – although it also looks as if the memories of the different people are interconnected and as if one can enter the other from one.
The fact that this simulation has been restarted dozens of times (apparently after eight days each time) is also clear from the so-called archive, a place to which the ocean liners are shipped after the failure of a simulation and which resembles an endless ship graveyard within the programme, where the remaining people on board who haven’t passed away beforehand usually die as well.
Those looking for light yet poignant entertainment will find it here: The Netflix series “Lovesick” comes up trumps with a charming cast, clever punchlines and a good dose of British humour.
Who doesn’t know those evenings when you’re lounging on the sofa and clicking through the trailers on the streaming portals with little expectation? All the nicer when you are then happily surprised and land a direct hit that amuses you so much that you don’t want to switch off.
That’s what happened to me with “Lovesick”: The first season of the series was broadcast under the name “Scrotal Recall” on the British Channel 4 back in 2014, before it was bought and continued by Netflix in 2016. In the meantime, the series has three seasons that you can stream on Netflix. I think: A tip not only for lovers of romantic sitcoms like “Friends” or “How I met your mother”, but a direct hit for all fans of British humour.
THIS IS WHAT “LOVESICK” IS ABOUT
Dylan (Johnny Flynn) learns that he has contracted chlamydia and decides to meet all the women he has had sex with in recent years. But he is not entirely altruistic: through the meetings he also wants to find out why he is still single. His friend Luke (Daniel Ings) and his best friend Evie (Antonia Thomas) support him in his search for “the right one”. Together they go through the ups and downs that relationships and friendships bring and especially Dylan and Evie have to ask themselves: Is the great love perhaps already standing right in front of them?
Antonia Thomas,
Now the central motif, the search for and finding of love, falling in love with one’s best friend, is admittedly nothing new. We know it from “Harry and Sally”, from “My Best Friend’s Wedding” or of course from “How I Met Your Mother”. Can we get enough of it? Of course not.
Because of course it’s also a matter of feverish anticipation, of hoping – when will they finally get together? This search is told in flashbacks, with each episode bearing the headline of a different woman. In this way, it is a forward-backward narrative, much like in “How I Met Your Mother”: Because while we learn about the chlamydia in the present, and then about the fact that Evie is probably currently engaged, the past and thus the ups and downs of Dylan and Evie only gradually unfold before our eyes.
We witness funny to embarrassing situations and how Dylan throws himself into a new romance practically every few weeks. There’s Abigail, whom he meets at the wedding of his friend Angus (Joshua McGuire). She’s the first he calls – and the last to stay for any length of time. Or Phoebe, who bears all too close a resemblance to Luke. Or Frankie, who is on a total eco-trip and feeds Angus magic mushrooms.
A CAST THAT GROWS ON YOU
The great strength of the series lies in its cast and characters: they just have to grow on you.
First and foremost Johnny Flynn, who is also a musician. Most recently he cut a fine figure as a gangster in “The Outfit”, but is also known from his portrayals as David Bowie in “Stardust” or as George Knightley in the Jane Austen adaptation “Emma”. He plays Dylan with a fair amount of charm and, although the proximity to Ted Mosby can hardly be denied here, he is more self-confident and less romantic.
Luke, who comes across a bit like Barney Stinson, acquires far more depth as time goes on: for example, it is explained why he became a “woman-killing” Casanova. He even wants out of the role, develops further, goes into therapy. And Antonia Thomas is convincing as Evie, the pretty and eternal best friend next door, with a sad and meaningful look that makes you just want to melt away.
