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Created & Executive Produced by: Jantje Friese & Baran bo Odar

Written by: Jantje Friese, Dario Madrona López Gallego, Emma Ko, Jerome Bucchan-Nelson, Juliana Lima Dehne, Emil Nygaard Albertsen

Starring: *deep breath* 

Emily Beecham (Maura), Aneurin Barnard (Daniel Solace), Andreas Pietschmann (Eyk Larsen), Miguel Bernardeau (Ángel), José Pimentão (Ramiro), Isabella Wei (Ling Yi), Gabby Wong (Yuk Je), Yann Gael (Jérôme), Mathilde Ollivier (Clémence), Jonas Bloquet (Lucien), Rosalie Craig (Virginia Wilson), Maciej Musiał (Olek), Clara Rosager (Tove), Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen (Krester), Maria Erwolter (Iben), Alexandre Willaume (Anker), Tino Mewes (Sebastian), Isaak Dentler (Franz), Fflyn Edwards (Elliot/"the boy"), Anton Lesser (Henry) 

When I watched the trailer for this series, I saw altered reality and what appeared to be alternate dimensions... both in context of a late-1800s steamship. That's all I needed, really. 

It turned out that the series was a bit beyond me. While the first and second episode very much took me in with a very intriguing mystery in the form of an abandoned ship and accompanying mute boy, the next episodes became more difficult for me to keep up with. It was very intellectual, it turned out. 

First of all, the series tackles one ambitious (and impressive) feat that I've never seen before: different characters are speaking different languages, meaning some main characters don't understand each other. The technical problem then ensued where if viewers were watching with an English dub, it would automatically translate the audio, making it harder for us to understand the on-screen problem. But even that isn't something I quickly noticed. 

The ship's aristocratic passengers look on as the captain informs them of obstacles they're encountering

The series itself seemed to be about a luxury steamship crossing the ocean. When the ship comes across another abandoned ship of the same type, increasingly mysterious events unfold that defy reality itself. Our main character (Maura) is also a person of great mystery, whose own background she doesn't even seem to know. 

For me, the plot just became a bit too complex. I didn't see that as a problem. Rather, I felt like the writing went a bit beyond me, written for people who enjoyed more complexly interwoven plots and layered mysteries. That isn't usually me, and I'm usually okay losing some understanding and just letting myself get filled in when the resolutions happen near the end. (And they did.) But that did make the middle several episodes pretty confusing. Multiple characters were revealed who seemed privy to advanced technology or to have ulterior motives. I simply didn't keep track of these different reveals or, further, what their actions suggested about their intentions and any resulting consequences or tensions. That probably led to a loss in tension or understanding for me as complexities unfolded. 

Maura and her confidantes try to understand the events going on around them, probably with more success than I had

Even so, the major sci-fi reveals kept me excited enough to keep going, even though I lost track of things. There seemed to be a metal puzzle, like a modern-day brain teaser puzzle, that several characters held. Except when the holder shifted the puzzle pieces around on the toy, the steamship would shift around them, or possibly time might shift back, or the ship might encounter some new obstacle. Regardless, reality was affected in some impossible capacity, so I knew this metal puzzle meant that something exciting was about to happen. Then, about midway through the series, the mute boy leads Maura through a hidden passageway within the ship that leads to a portal---seemingly to an entirely different place on earth. 

One of several portals in the bowels of the ship leading to radically different locations, which Maura has just climbed through 

Things get increasingly wacky. Maura discovers connections to the ship, the mute boy, and other passengers that she never thought she had, and discovers that the ship may be a form of deception that she wishes to escape, while others want to keep her contained within. The final scene reveals the ultimate truth, something I never even suspected, though I'm not exactly known for my predictions! 

This final reveal brought new information and consequences that could have led to fascinating and incredible implications. I was absolutely on board for it and very excited for where it might lead. Sadly, it seems, the complexities and intricate storytelling were a bit much for most viewers, and Netflix cancelled the series a few short months after it dropped. Alas, I will simply have to follow other things Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar produce!