The Other Shore
Astrid tells the story of how she and her team of agents were able to stop a terrorist attack on a major city. They were able to do this by working together and using their knowledge of the city. Africa is encouraged to sign up for anything that may interfere with her agency, but Astrid is determined to keep her team together and continue doing great things.
Zoa promises to return to Nico before collecting up the gang in Eden ready for their departure. Of course, Aldo is not there given he was killed the night before. And now Zoa starts to grow a little suspicious. ..
Nico confirms that he has never seen anyone actually leave Eden. He urges her to keep quiet about her suspicions. Although, that’s easier said than done though when Bel grows suspicious about her.
Meanwhile, Ibon decides to stay and become part of the cult family. Erick and Astrid are delighted, and hand over a contract for him to sign as well. In doing so, the wristband is removed and he’s told to relax. Ulises also shows up too, whispering to Astrid that their Aldo problem has been taken care of.
In Barcelona, Gabi and her mother work together to discuss the disappearance of Zoa. They get the ball rolling on this and Gabi is also encouraged to look through Zoa’s things in the meantime. A receipt, plane ticket, something of the kind may be found.
Gabi’s desk is cluttered with messages from her friends on Eden. She starts to message back and communicate with them, but then she gets a call from David. He confirms that she was with Zoa on the island and that they had sex. Gabi agrees to meet up with him, needing a change of scenery and desperate to find out what happened.
Gabrielle and Ibon’s father is a big business man and he hires a private investigator to look into his son’s disappearance. Will she team up with Gabi to try and track her down?
Africa chooses to stay in Eden, and helps Mayka come up with a farewell message for her followers. Claiming she needs some time away from social media, Africa provides guidance and support to the kids as they take the plunge.
The crosses on the forearms of the workers appear to be some sort of hierarchical level, something that can grant access to different parts of the facility. Eloy, the deaf Eden worker, team up with Bel to steal Orson’s card after this. They want to find out what secrets Astrid and the others may be hiding.
Bel heads deep into the facility, where she learns that Zoa’s evaluation is still pending but for Aldo, he’s been “eliminated.” After seeing what she needs to, Bel charges back and drops Orson’s card where it was originally found to avoid suspicion.
Zoa and Charly talk down on the beach, with the latter discussing how Aldo has infected him with paranoia and put “crazy ideas in his head.” The irony of this statement, in the presence of this cult that everyone has just willingly walked into, is not lost on me, dear reader! Anyway, Charly makes his decision and – because the boat hasn’t shown up when it was supposed to – decides to walk away.
Astrid tries to get him to join the circle in the courtyard, but he’s reluctant. He tells her that he doesn’t want to be a part of a group of people who have hurt someone else. Astrid tries to convince him, but he’s not convinced. She tells him that it’s important for him to be part of the group and that it’ll help him feel better. He finally joins the group and starts to feel better.
When Charly was 8, he took his sister diving with him. Unfortunately, Charly’s sister drowned while diving deep in the caves. He’s been consumed by guilt since then. It’s something that weighs heavily on him, and it’s not helped by his mother, who hates him now too. Beatriz was always her favourite. Shunned by his own parents, Charly’s reason for being hand-picked is now clear. Astrid promises that his pain is everyone else’s too. ..
Zoa has heard enough and steps up, pointing out that Charly’s pain is his own and if he wants to leave the island he should. When Zoa walks away, Nico follows and warns that no one is going to leave the island. The cult won’t allow it. He also encourages her to leave her wristband by her bed that night as she’ll understand exactly what he means then.
Nico leads Zoa down to the shore where she’s shown Judith’s dead body. It would appear she was killed for asking too many questions and seeing more than she should. ..
The Episode Review
Welcome to Eden continues to show these characters making dumb decisions until they finally start to come around to the idea that this cult isn’t all it’s shaped up to be. The ending certainly hints that Zoa has been given a pretty grim and heartbreaking wake-up call, while the other members of the group get a bit more chance to shine this time around.
The whole group therapy session is essentially an excuse for an exposition dump and it honestly feels like a really lazy way of giving information about these kids and what they’ve been through. I mean, even a flashback to the time, showing Charly and his sister diving, would have been better than a hurried 5 minute dump at the end of the episode.
This show has had a lot of mixed reviews so far, with some people loving it and others hating it. But despite the mixed reactions, I have to say that I’m really enjoying it so far. The characters are interesting and the story is compelling. We’ll see what the rest of the season has in store for us.
