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WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
The Society follows a group of teenagers who are
mysteriously transported to a facsimile of their wealthy New England town, left
without any trace of their parents. As they struggle to figure out what has
happened to them and how to get home, they must establish order and form
alliances if they want to survive.
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
When the teens of a small town in Connecticut called West Ham return unexpectedly from a cancelled field trip, they find that all the adults have disappeared. As you would expect at first, it is all fun, games and parties until they realise just how closed off they are from the rest of the world and that their resources are limited.
It’s very interesting how they quickly form a socialist society after being raised in a pampered capitalist one. There are always natural leaders within a group, especially in high school, which is a tiny society, to begin with. There are the smart kids, the jocks, the artists, the class president and those who are just trying to get through it all unnoticed. And at the beginning of it all, they naturally look to their class president Cassandra to take the lead.
But not everyone is happy with Cassandra assumed leadership, who even though she is class president is not the most popular person. Her sister, Allie, has her back but is angry when she’s not included to be on the committee. Rich and popular, Harry does not want to follow her socialist lead, and the rest of the rich and popular kids seem to break away with him.
But once it starts raining and the riots over food, torches and batteries start he quickly agrees that some sort of order is not that bad of an idea. Despite all this, he still isn’t happy with the socialist society he suddenly finds himself in. His house is overtaken by 15 other people and not as guests, but they claim his home as theirs. There are work schedules, and all meals are eaten in the school cafeteria, and for the first time in his life, the boy has callouses on his hands from using them.
There’s one scene that’s such a clear indication of how ingrained and dangerous toxic masculinity is. During a drunken rant about Cassandra, her leadership and just disrespect about women in general, Harry says that maybe it will be better for everyone if she were dead. And even though he might not be the one who followed through on it, it shows how much power words have on those surrounding you.
While they do seem to follow a socialist kind of society, they do also include bits of democracy like having a trial and elections for leadership once it becomes clear that Allie’s rule which was thrust upon her, is not without fault.
Harry’s not the only one unhappy with Allie’s leadership, her cousin Campbell (who is legitimately the creepiest and scariest character on this show) while vocal at first becomes quietly manipulative with not only his girlfriend but also Harry who he turns into an addict and tries to get him into taking over leadership of the town.
But socialism isn’t the only thing concerning the kids of New Ham (as they’ve renamed the town), they are also surrounded by forests on all sides and when they go exploring to see just how far it reaches one of them gets bitten by a snake and does not survive the ordeal. Scientist nerd Gordie and smart girl hijabi, Bean work out that they’re not in Kansas or even Earth anymore. When there’s an unscheduled solar eclipse, they discover that the stars don’t quite align as they should. It’s a mystery that is not really resolved, and the last scene in the season just poses more questions.
We see Cassandra and Allie’s mother reading a book to a group of young children with the names of the teens of New Ham on a board that says We Remember Them. Obviously, the kids are in a different place. Are they on a different planet? A parallel dimension? How did they get there? The bus driver must have something to do with it? What about the mysterious smell? Are they dead? Is this a Lost situation? Why is the dog free to go between the two towns?
So many questions that we need season 2 to answer!
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
