Cthulhu have never been so boring

 

“The Swarm” is a 2023 all-European but mostly-German TV series based on a science fiction novel by Frank Schätzing. I missed the first episode, so presumably I missed all the action, since the later seven episodes are extremely dragging. Constant lab analyses are punctuated by boring relation problems and bland attempts to be “woke”. And after enduring all this lobotomy, it turns out that the last episode contains a cliffhanger to a yet non-existent second season?! Indeed, the only interesting scene in the entire series is that five-second cliffhanger…

And that´s a real pity, since the story could have been interesting. Yes, it´s the Cthulhu meme all over again, and it couldn´t have come at a more timely occasion either! This summer, reports of killer whales attacking ships have featured prominently in the media, and so has the climate crisis and deep sea drilling. “The Swarm” is built around a similar premise: humanity is suddenly targeted by whales, crabs and worms, the latter destroying the continental shelf and triggering huge tsunamis. An international team of scientists, backed by mysterious Japanese businessmen who may or may not have their own agendas, realize that the attacks are coordinated. They turn out to be the work of a primordial super-organism with a hive mind, somewhat whimsically referred to as the Yrr.

The Yrr colony has lived under the ice in the Arctic since the time of Pangea, and was hardly even aware of humanity´s existence before the climate crisis made the ice melt (it´s never explained how they survived previous climate fluctuations in Earth history). They aren´t very fond of oil rigs and deep sea mining either. In retaliation, the colony – which seems to consist of impossibly large unicellular organisms working in tandem – bioengineers various animals to attack the Homo sapiens intruders. The scientists try to communicate with the hive from a science vessel in the Arctic, but kind-of-accidentally kill one of the jumbo-sized cells. To show the Yrr that the human peace proposal is serious, the science team decide to sacrifice one of their own to the colony. It´s strongly implied in the closing scene of episode 8 that the sacrificed scientist not only survives, but actually merges with the Yrr!

Parallels to the Cthulhu mythos are obvious (“Earth isn´t really ours”). Another source of inspiration is surely “The Kraken Wakes” by John Wyndham. Despite the bad execution, it is intriguing to see a science fiction production in which the threat comes very specifically from the sea, not from outer space. Suddenly, the sea has become a frontier again – after climate change is heating it up, orcas take on ships, Ukraine can´t export its grain, the transit crisis during the COVID pandemic, etc. I also think it´s obvious that the Yrr is/are a metaphor for Earth itself, seen as a living being (compare Gaia). And why the constant claim that humans and Yrr are somehow related, both hailing from the ocean?

I might consider watching a second season (if it´s ever made) for Zeitgeist-related reasons. It might be interesting to see if the script-writers will take the story in a more New Age Gaia-type direction, or rather start working even harder on the Cthulhu angle. Maybe that´s ultimately up to us. We Are The Zeitgeist.