The World Is Different
Episode 2 of Spectros begins with our trio of characters speeding away from Zenobia’s house and Carla spaced out and unresponsive, clutching the doll. While they drive away, our two police detectives arrive at the scene to find the smoldering corpse lying motionless on the ground. In the police station during the present day timeline, the group ask for a phone call but the officers are defiant, as Carla slams her bloodied hand down on the table to show the Spectros logo we saw on Zenobia’s door. In the past, we see Carla experiencing headaches and weird visions while Pardal’s brother Leo heads out to work with the guy who hangs out at the school, Zeca. Carla arrives home and hides in her room, listening to Brazilian hip hop and ignoring the pictures of her and Mila hanging out together. It’s no use, the headaches continue and appear to be getting worse. So much so that she draws the symbols on the wall repeatedly as a way of trying to protect herself. The unprofessional police keep the kids and interrogate them, even going so far as to punch Pardal square in the nose. Outside, the female investigator berates her colleague, telling him they’re only supposed to spook the kids, not hurt them. Back inside, the officers intimidate Mila instead, turning the conversation to her Father. With the kids refusing to speak, they bring in Leo and Zeca who have both been arrested, and move in for the kill, knowing they have the upper-hand. It’s here we cut back in time yet again to find Pardal running out the house, while Carla and Mila wind up talking and discussing her headaches. On their way, they run into Li and his friend but Pardal saves them at the last second, asking them to hand over the girls. This part of the timeline happens to be the section before they go to Zenobia’s, which is the exact location Celso is. He’s told that the dead have now risen and the war is about to begin. It turns out Mila is the reason this is happening and why the dead are rising. “No force on Earth can stop what’s coming next”, Zenobia says as the episode is left ominously on a knife edge. Aside from the end sequence involving Zenobia and the prophetic destruction of the world, there really isn’t a whole lot else here worth getting excited about. The timeline jumps are more annoying than anything else, with little time to get invested in a current timeline before we’re thrust back in time again. The mystery is enough to keep you sticking around though and for that alone, the show is worth persevering with. It’s just a shame that the potential seems to be squandered in a structure that feels like it’s trying to be cleverer than it actually is. The kids themselves are okay, and it’s refreshing to see such a diverse cast, but the writing has been pretty poor for these guys thus far. Hopefully this improves as the series goes on but right now Spectros lacks the bite to make it a compelling supernatural offering on Netflix.
