Netflix’s first Belgian original series, Into The Night, has a breathless six-episode first season with a terrifying apocalyptic conceit at its core — a flight is hijacked at Brussels airport one night and begins flying west trying to outrun the sun, because it turns out the next sunrise is going to kill life on the planet.

 

Now, Into the Night is a show that raises more questions than it answers, and any nuance contained within its audacious premise is hidden by layers upon layers of character backstories, subplots, and simply the next impossible-seeming hurdle the passengers on the plane encounter; and believe me, there are many.

 

Game of Thrones has forever altered the way we perceive lapses in TV time logic, so one should easily be able to glide past any questions about how much time the characters are actually spending between stops, as they inevitably begin circling the globe to evade the sun.

(The lesson you learn is that if you’re going to make something silly, make it seem smart.)

The show has no one clear protagonist, but a bunch of characters who are developed enough to pique your interest. Prime among them is young Sylvie played by Pauline Etienne, who becomes an unlikely leader amidst the chaos. A killer sun is surely a metaphor for something, you feel, as you coast along with Sylvie and the other passengers, watching them deal with stuff that we couldn’t fathom in real life. (Apart from some things that we can, such as racism.)

 

And that’s when you really begin to get drawn in, because metaphor or not, there’s something about disparate characters confined to tight spaces coming together to outrun a potentially world-ending invisible enemy, that strikes a chord in these times.

 

So, if you’re watching it, it’s best not to go looking for holes in the plot, because what you’re up against is a fishing net that’s designed primarily to hook you. Even if you’re fully aware of its intent, you’ll want to save as many as you can of the 30 seconds between episodes. Into The Night is a hard show to put down, its immense binge-ability and its tight runtime being the prime reasons you forgive the point at which the last episode leaves you.

 

Bolu
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.