"Station Eleven": An Artful Mid-Season Review

Writers and directors have long enjoyed sharing their visions of how the world would end and how the few that remain adapt to their newly shaped environments. From alien invasions to environmental disasters to unexplainable phenomena, post-apocalyptic TV and streaming series have been quite plentiful since the early 2000s. There have been, in fact, so much content from this sub-genre, that many have likely become fatigued and simply ignore new releases that offer new world-ending scenarios. Perhaps the most overused post-apocalyptic scenario, a quickly spreading illness, comes with the real-life baggage of the current world's dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Station Eleven” is a HBOMax original series that deals with that very circumstance, a quickly spreading flu that wipes out most of the population and follows a community of survivors as they fight to maintain their peace while holding onto their joys of the time before. For many, these details would lead to them to overlook this new series as it may hit too close to home, but perhaps, this series offers something more than the typical post-apocalyptic series. I usually write 3-episode reviews as the standard of whether or not to continue a series or not, but the third episode left me too intrigued to stop, hence, my thoughts on the mini-series' first half.

Beginning 20 years before a flu pandemic topples modern civilization, a child actor named Kirsten is helped home by Jeevan Chaudhary following his failed attempt to recusitate Arthur, the lead in the play in which Kirsten performed. This random act of kindness results in two important outcomes: Kirsten's survival and her being in possession of a sci-fi comic titled “Station Eleven”. Holding on to her passion for acting, an adult Kirsten lives as part of the Travelling Symphony, a group of performers who travel and perform at camps situated around a large lake. During one of their stops, Kirsten and the group come across a mysterious drifter with a shaky backstory who wishes to join the Symphony. After failing to lure members away and threatening to “disappear” Kirsten's friends, the group learns that the man they met is a dangerous cult leader called the Prophet. The show explores Miranda, the author of the “Station Eleven” comic and her failed marriage to the aforementioned Arthur, leading to Kirsten's obtaining of, to her knowledge, the only copy of the book. Lastly, through its mid-season premiere, the series develops the origins of the Prophet, his connections to characters already introduced, and the beginnings of his extreme ideals.

As is probably obvious by the mid-season synopsis, the series has a non-linear structure, with episodes flipping between pre-pandemic, early pandemic, and post-pandemic times. This jumping occurs not just within episodes, but some episodes do not even visit the post-pandemic narrative. Due to this structure, the show introduces characters before their backstories, thus, the first few episodes can leave you feeling as though there is not much connection between the different storylines. By the time you get to episode 4, though, the direction of the narrative becomes more clear before your eyes are opened to the key connections established in epidode 5's beautifully told mid-season origin story. The series unconventionally just drops us in to these various stories without knowing the threads we need to follow, but rather than becoming a hindrance to its enjoyment, the show builds some mystery around how these random characters or plot points come to be connected later on.

“Of all the wonders that the world had to offer, only art promised immortality” - Sergei Diaghilev

While not that exact quote, I remember hearing an old adage as I dabbled in the arts in my early years about how even when society is long gone, our art will remain. This show seems to be embodying that message through the Traveling Symphony and their efforts to continue bringing joy and entertainment to others, but it actually goes much deeper than that. For Kirsten, Sarah, Arthur, Miranda, Gil, and many others, art is their experience of life, and thus, “Station Eleven” is about perservering through trauma and change and keeping hold of what makes us whole. The comic that Miranda writes in the series has a prominently stated line that says: “I don't want to live the wrong life and then die”. In the face of a great adversity, the fall of the planet and everything they knew to be normal, these artists choose to say that the show must go on, both literally and figuratively. Now, these feats of strength come to be challenged by the Prophet, a very complex character with his own connections to the “Station Eleven” comic, which somewhat serves like a bible of these new times. Like any religious text, there is a lot of room for interpretation and how two strong characters decide to understand this book puts them on a direct collision with each others' way of life.

I did not want to draw comparisons to other popular post-apocalyptic series, but similarly to what helped “The Walking Dead” stand out when it first began, this series puts a lot of strong work into character development and relationships. Both in content and structure, connections are not always clear to see and their development and, ultimately, their reveals make “Station Eleven” an intriguing watch for how it chooses to handle the end of the world. Is their violence? Yes, of course, but it is used sparingly and in understanding moments, rather than flooding your screens with immense blood and gore. Exchanging wars of weapons with wars of fundamentals and life ideals sets this show apart and opens the door for a greater conversation about the paths we are paving for ourselves and whether happiness lies at the end. I don't know about you, but that does not sound much like the post-apocalyptic shows of yesteryear. I expect more of a violent path to cut through the last 5 episodes of the show, but the foundation on which the story's conclusion is built is both strong, intriguing, and, as life imitates art, immortal. “Station Eleven” deserves your attention.

---

MID-SEASON RATING: 📔 📔 📔 📔.25 / 5

---

If you enjoyed this content, please follow Geeky Therapy on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all posts and reviews.

---