Black Summer is a Netflix show, and the Episode 1, Human Flow, starts strong.
Human Flow picks up as an evacuation is in progress. Rose and her family are trying to get out as the final military vehicles are rolling out.
I really like the look and feel of Black Summer. There is urgency, but its also clear that everyone hasn’t seen just how bad its going to be, yet. The soldiers aren’t taking any chances, they are checking every survivor for signs of illness. This turns out poorly for Rose and her family when their little girl gets on a truck, but the soldiers stop her husband. He’s sweating, and when they search him they find he’s got a wound on his side. The reaction from the soldier tells us everything we need to do know about whatever is infecting people.
Losing Anna
Rose’s daughter rides away in the back of the truck full of evacuees. The military appears to be running just ahead of the undead. Rose and her Husband flee into a local house to hide. Rose goes into the kitchen to look for supplies. When she comes back her husband has turned. Rose runs. Her husband chases her. At least until his path brings him in front of a solider.
After Rose is saved, we jump over to one of the other multitude of stories being woven together. Thus weare introduced to Sun and Barbara.
Barbara is an older woman who is scared and anxious. She almost loses her car and her life in the first chaotic hours of the apocalypse. Luckily for her she gets saved by William.
Spears is the final character we are introduced to. He’s being escorted by soldiers. We don’t know why, but it’s clear that he has something, or knows something. He escapes after using a bathroom break to create an opportunity to run. Spears ends up bumping into Rose as the episode is coming to an end.
Yes, there is a lot going on in Episode 1, and I only commented on the big stuff. Human Flow reminds me of the first chapter of Stephen King’s, The Stand. After the infection has killed off the majority of the survivors we get to see how random life can be. There are a series of vignettes where survivors die in a multitude of ways as they are struggling to cope with their new reality. Episode 1 of Black Summer has a similar feel. There are lots of characters suffering and dying as they learn the reality of their new world.
Human Flow Scoring
Overall, I’m giving Human Flow an 85/100. It gets big points for the feel and anxiety that it captures so well. The producers do tension well. I was sitting on the edge of my seat for most of the episode. So why didn’t the episode score higher? Because it is possible to squeeze too much goodness into a single episode.
Black Summer is awesome. I honestly would have enjoyed each journey getting a bit more time.
| Season | Episode | Episode Name | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Human Flow | 85 |
| 1 | 2 | Drive | 80 |
| 1 | 3 | Summer School | 70 |
| 1 | 4 | Alone | 82 |
| 1 | 5 | Diner | 86 |
| 1 | 6 | Heist | 90 |
| 1 | 7 | The Tunnel | 83 |
| 1 | 8 | The Stadium | 91 |
| 2 | 1 | The Cold | 95 |
| 2 | 2 | Prelude | 80 |
| 2 | 3 | Card Game | 91 |
| 2 | 4 | Cold War | 83 |
| 2 | 5 | White Horse | 88 |
| 2 | 6 | Currency | 69 |
| 2 | 7 | The Lodge | 75 |
| 2 | 8 | The Plane | 99 |
