TV Shows we Love: The Rain
We know post-apocalyptic shows all too well, from zombies to brain-infecting fungal viruses, but a disease carried by rainfall? That might be a first. In Netflix’s The Rain, siblings Rasmus and Simone have taken shelter in a bunker for six years, after the deadly rainfall wipes out Scandinavia. With directors Kenneth Kainz and Natasha Arthy describing the three-season series a “terrifying, unique and eerily relevant concept,” it certainly promises to keep the viewers on edge for a classic dystopian thriller.
The first episode jumps straight into a flashback, the last few hours of normality before the big breakout. Simone has just arrived late for an exam, but is relieved to see her father has shown up to whisk her away, but why is he cautioning other students to go home and take cover from the storm? Sceptical, Simone is driven away along with the rest of her family.
Just as the rain starts to fall, the family makes it to a bunker, owned by Apollon, the company Simone’s father works for. As soon as they make it inside, he puts on a hazmat suit and leaves again, claiming only he can prevent millions of deaths. With their father gone, the two children are left with their mother, who attempts to reassure them with hot cocoa, when there’s a nock on the door. Despite their mother’s refusal to it, the siblings can’t leave somebody outside.
A sick man is there who starts to pull Rasmus outside just as their mother races to the rescue and pushes the man away. As she lurches outside, both her and the stranger convulse and scream in agony. Drenched by the rain, they are both dead in a matter of seconds. Whatever virus the rain carries, it’s fast-acting.
The two desperately try to reach their father, to no avail. Five years pass and they are finally running out of food. They build up the courage to leave the bunker as it’s time to act.
Exploring survival, family dynamics and resilience, The Rain is incredibly dark and moody. Viewers can certainly expect the classic impending dread of sci-fi, and the atmosphere often associated with Scandinavian crime dramas.