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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.