Netflix's '1899' features Anton Lesser as Henry Singleton.

Netflix’s ‘1899’: I Watched All 8 Episodes and Still Have No Idea What’s Going On

The creators of 'Dark,' Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, have now brought us '1899.' But even after watching the entire first season, I still don't know what's going on.

by Whitney Danhauer

Published on November 18, 2022

3 min read

Netflix’s ‘1899’ is a puzzle box show, but maybe I’m the one missing some pieces

Whenever someone talks about puzzle box shows, it’s only appropriate to pay our respects to the show that started it all – Lost. Lost really was the first of its kind. If you’re not familiar, the show was packed with hints, symbols, and clues as viewers spent each week trying to figure out answers regarding the overarching mystery in the show. Plenty of fans waited it out until the very end for the payoff. Unfortunately, I was not one of those fans. For me, each week, Lost introduced more questions than answers. Eventually, it felt like we were spinning our wheels, and I hopped off the carousel.

1899 has the chance of going in the same direction. There’s an art to keeping the balance between the number of questions given to the audience to answer and the number of answers we get in return. After my first viewing, 1899 left me with a bunch of questions, which, of course, leads me to wonder, “Am I the dumb one?”

Who’s in charge here?

From the very first episode of 1899, we learn that Maura is searching for her brother. She believes he was on the Prometheus when it went missing four months previously. Without rewriting the entire plot, we learn that everyone is in some sort of simulation. Maura believes her father’s in charge, but then he says, “No, no, it’s actually you who’s running this show.” But then! In the finale, Maura wakes up in a spaceship in 2099, and her brother, Ciaran, sends her a message that hints that he’s the one behind everything. Maybe.

This leaves me wondering, who’s in charge here? To quote John Mulaney, it feels like it’s a bunch of dogs without horses. On one hand, Maura’s dad said she created the simulation as a way to keep her dying son alive. However, if that’s true, then why did it turn into such a horrific experience? How did all of these other people show up if the simulation was created as a way for her to stay with her child forever? And if it’s really 2099, then why did she create a simulation on a ship with a bunch of strangers in 1899?

If Maura’s father created the simulation, what’s the end goal? We know he studies the human brain. Is this some sort of test to see how certain people react to traumatizing situations? I also don’t have a clue about Ciaran’s motivation in any of this.

Netflix’s ‘1899’ and its simulated time loops made my head spin

Dark’s story featured a few alternate timelines, and Netflix’s 1899 focuses on simulated time loops. Anything dealing with altering time in some way often makes my head spin. It’s hard to keep track of what events happened in each timeline. 1899 doesn’t deal with time travel per se, but each episode shows a detailed backstory of one of the passengers on the ship. Are those real memories? But if so, then that means all of the passengers are real, as well. This leads me to ask why Maura included them in the simulation if it was created only so she could stay with her son.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying 1899 isn’t great storytelling. It sucked me in immediately. However, I stand by my statement that even after finishing season 1, I still have no idea what I just watched. Maybe that’s how Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar want everyone to feel. Or maybe I’m just a little slow on the uptake.

What do you think? Are you excited to figure out just what the heck is going on in the world of Maura Franklin and the passengers on the Kerberos? Or, are you afraid 1899 got in over its head by asking too many questions and not giving the audience enough answers? Tell me in the comments!

All eight episodes of Netflix’s 1899 are currently streaming.