Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: ‘The Eternaut’ Is Another International Sci-Fi Hit

REVIEW: ‘The Eternaut’ Is Another International Sci-Fi Hit

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez05/03/20256 Mins Read
The Eternaut promotional image from Netflix
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Eternaut is the first screen adaptation of the iconic Argentine sci-fi graphic novel of the same name, written by Héctor G. Oesterheld and illustrated by Francisco Solano López, which was first published in 1957. Despite being the first on-screen adaptation, The Eternaut is a story that has continued to be remade, taking on more political overtones with each one.

Too often, alien invasions and the end times are situated in the United States. But the US doesn’t have a monopoly on end-of-the-world stories, making this Buenos Aires-based Netflix Original Series immediately intriguing. Written for the screen and directed by Bruno Stagnaro, the series creator, Ariel Staltari, also serves as writer on the streaming sci-fi series.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Set on a hot summer’s night in Buenos Aires, Argentina, lights appear in the sky, the temperature drops drastically, and snow falls. Only, instead of powdering the ground for people to play in, the snow proves to be toxic. The deadly snow kills anyone it touches, leaving the streets filled with people who were once living their lives and now are dead. With most of the population dead, the survivors are those who treated the snow with caution, protected by their buildings.

The Eternaut, despite capturing the large-scale death in Buenos Aires, focuses its narrative sights on Juan Salvo (Ricardo Darín). A father, over at a friend’s house when the event happens, dedicates everything to finding his wife and daughter. To do so, he pulls the friends in the house into his trek across Buenos Aires as they all prepare to survive. Still, everything changes when they discover that the toxic snowstorm is only the first attack by a foreign army invading Earth. The only way to stay alive is to join together and fight, whoever may come their way.

The Eternaut aims to pull the alien invasion storytelling to Latin America.

The Eternaut But Why Tho 2

When it comes to sci-fi television, Netflix’s international series have taken the top spots. From Sweden’s The Rain and Russia’s To The Lake, to Turkey’s Into the Night (and its sequel), The Eternaut is fit for all those who enjoy the potential of a cataclysmic weather event. However, this Argentine series tackles multiple genres and narrative twists that make it stand out from the greatest hits on the platform.

The Eternaut captures the important element of survival through the perseverance and ingenuity necessary for end-of-the-world tales. But when creatures begin to show themselves and memory lapses start to mount, the snow is the least of the problems. That’s when the thrilling survival series turns into an interesting exploration of an alien invasion, and maybe even time travel. To define The Eternaut as just one genre with one atmosphere is to do it a disservice.

What could have easily fallen apart as a too ambitious sci-fi project is a thoughtful genre-blending progression that uses the core elements of survival stories and layers in new cultural specificity and narrative highs that we haven’t seen in the genre before.

The Eternaut charts a winding narrative in just six episodes that continually evolves into something audiences can’t recognize from the opening episode. Only, it works. At times, it feels like there are multiple television series in this one package, but the core characters keep the journey moving, and the audience is brought into the world before them.

Characters in this Netflix sci-fi series are all stronger together, no matter the circumstances.

The Eternaut promotional series still from Netflix.

While the narrative does have some small plot gaps that take some jumping over, much of that is by design. As we watch the Eternaut, Juan begins to understand more about the world, his place in it, and why the dissociative moments he’s had in the snow are larger windows into something he deeply needs to unlock from his psyche. We learn as Juan learns, for better and worse. Still, the large swings are rewarding nonetheless.

Much of The Eternaut comes together because of the time invested in crafting locations with their own narrative depth. The warehouses, apartment buildings, abandoned squares, and mall all work to portray different ideas of desperation and survival, pushing their inhabitants to act differently and draw varying boundaries.

While the environments use substantial CGI backgrounds, they are almost always balanced by gorgeously haunting practical effects, freezing Buenos Aires in one moment in time. The Eternaut‘s production team understands how to use space to instill fear and how to use a lack of space to show intimacy. The emotions our characters explore between the two make sure that we have people to root for as the world ends.

Understanding how to use stillness as much as frantic movement also helps the series plant a unique stake in sci-fi television territory. Wide shots of the hostile world the characters live in are just as impactful as bodies strategically placed in the frame, letting the audience understand how vast the casualties are. It’s a slow and thoughtful development of Buenos Aires as a setting that actually starts to showcase how often we’ve only seen New York at the center of disaster in Hollywood and TV.

The Eternaut’s eye for production and environment helps its narrative excel.

The Eternaut promotional image from Netflix

While The Eternaut keeps you pressing next episode as the devastation comes into focus, the characters we meet make sure this series can be cemented in sci-fi memory. While the entire extended cast doesn’t have a single weak link in the bunch, Juan is our hero, and Ricardo Darín’s performance is commanding.

His dedication to his family and his fearlessness in the face of danger create a sci-fi hero who tugs on every heartstring. Juan is the one we all hope will be at the end of the world. He has a reason to live, he knows how to use a gun, and he can lead a group of people.

Juan embodies the leader archetype to a tee, but the complexity he brings is the constant dissociative episodes that strike at random moments. A familiar sense of deja vu, a lack of awareness of the world around him, and a loss of time, Juan is trying to keep everyone safe while hardly understanding what’s happening to him on a more granular level.

The Eternaut is a fast-paced ride that tackles genre staples through an Argentine lens and is one of the best sci-fi series Netflix has released. With a season two already confirmed, one thing is clear: eight episodes were far from enough. The Eternaut is a series I want to keep exploring.

The Eternaut is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.

The Eternaut Season 1
  • 8.5/10
    Rating - 8.5/10
8.5/10

TL;DR

The Eternaut is a fast-paced ride that tackles genre staples through an Argentine lens and is one of the best sci-fi series Netflix has released.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Exterritorial’ Is A Netflix Action Movie Worth Watching
Next Article ‘Star Wars: Tales Of The Underworld’ Lets The Galaxy’s Shadows Shine
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Travis, Ned (Domnhall Gleeson), and Adelola in Season 1 of The Paper
6.0

REVIEW: ‘The Paper’ Season 1 Lacks Conviction

09/03/2025
Mitsuki Yamato Invasion Season 3 Episode 2 still from Apple TV+

RECAP: ‘Invasion’ Season 3 Episode 2 — “The Message”

09/02/2025
John Cena in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2

RECAP: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 2 – “A Man Is Only As Good As His Bird”

08/29/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

08/29/2025
Ateez featured in KPOPPED
6.5

REVIEW: ‘KPOPPED’ Has Potential But Loses Its Spark

08/28/2025
Sydney Chandler in Alien Earth Episode 4
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 4 — “Observation”

08/26/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0
TV

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

By Will Borger08/29/2025Updated:08/29/2025

Still barreling toward a knock-down, drag-out fight between Gaal and the Mule in Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 ups the stakes.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here