32 | New Scientist | 6 March 2021TV
Tribes of Europa
Written by Philip Koch
Netf l i x, f rom 19 Febr ua r yWHAT would it take to completely
destroy our society, and how
quickly would things decline? In
Netflix’s series Tribes of Europa,
the world as we know it has
collapsed in a mere 45 years,
following a catastrophe in 2029.
Writer Philip Koch was inspired
to write about the dissolution
of Europe following the Brexit
vote, and today’s viewers don’t
have to look very far to see how
much the world can change in
a short space of time.
Set in 2074, Tribes of Europa
doesn’t give us a full explanation
for just how its post-apocalyptic
world came to be, but alludes
to a mysterious collapse of
technology known as “Black
December” that led what one
of the characters describes asGame of Thrones meets Brexit
Just as we are totally reliant on technology to survive lockdowns, Tribes of
Europa shows us a violent, divided world without it, says Anne Marie Conlon“lights off and darkness. And
that was it. Middle Ages.”
The series was produced by
the German team behind the
Oscar-winning The Lives of Others,
and Netflix’s first original
German series, Dark. In this
latest dystopian future, the
world is divided into a number
of distinct factions, or tribes,
as referenced in the title.
We follow three young
siblings – Kiano, Liv and
Elja – from the forest-dwelling
Origine tribe, whose peaceful
existence is disrupted when
an advanced aircraft is shot
from the sky above their village.
Visiting the crash site, they
quickly realise that this isn’t
technology from “the old
world”, but something more
modern. The ship’s ailing
pilot reveals himself to be
from the Atlantian tribe (the
only one apparently unaffected
by the technology blackout)
and he hands a mysterious
cube to the young Elja.Views Culture
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TF
LIX
control of a mysterious powerful
object isn’t hugely original, and
we aren’t given many unexpected
plot twists in the first three
episodes, but some fantastic
world-building and hints of
bigger, more exciting puzzles
to solve make this a big-budget
production that seems well
worth sticking with.Halfway through the series,
plenty of questions remain.
How extensive was the historic
technology blackout, and why
are the otherwise villainous
Crows somehow unable to lie?
Having a group of siblings
pursuing separate quests in
a hyper-violent world evokes
Game of Thrones, and the show
matches it in cinematic scope,
with production designer Julian
R. Wagner referencing Blade
Runner and Children of Men,
and creating an epic, gritty feel,
especially when it comes to the
cut-throat world of the Crows.
It might be a very apt time to
release a Brexit-inspired show
about the collapse of society. Not
only are the effects of the UK’s exit
from the European Union starting
to become clear, but we are now
also living in the shadow of a
world-changing pandemic and
leaning on technology more than
we could ever have imagined.
As social distancing means a
constant reliance on video calls,
streaming and instant messaging
to maintain even a fragile sense
of normality, Tribes of Europa
brings us the prospect of a truly
nightmarish future – a world
without technology. ❚The cube holds an important
message about coming danger,
and Elja is entrusted to bring it
to the pilot’s homeland to help
them make sense of it. Lured by
the promise of answers to his
questions about what happened
with Black December, Elja agrees,
but it puts him in danger
because the violent Crows tribe
is also seeking the cube as a
key to power, and they will kill
anyone who gets in their way.
As the lives of the Origines
are threatened, Elja’s elder
siblings are caught in the
crossfire, setting them off on
separate paths. Kiano and his
father are captured by the Crows,
while Liv escapes and tries to find
her family by bargaining with
another tribe, the militaristic
Crimsons, who also turn out.
to be seeking the cube’s power
The idea of people vying forElja, one of three siblings,
is caught up in a world of
danger in Tribes of Europa“ Fantastic world-
building and hints
of bigger puzzles
make this seem well
worth sticking with”