'La Brea' Episode 1: Gavin's visions are the key to saving Eve and Josh
NBC's 'La Brea' promises a world of mystery and intrigue, and Episode 1 will have you questioning what exactly comes next. As per the synopsis of the series, when a sinkhole destroys Los Angeles, hundreds of people and buildings plunge into its depths. The survivors are lost in a mysterious and dangerous land as the world above tries desperately to save them. However, the question remains -- will they be able to do so in time?
If you're looking for shows that explore the theme of new land, history and survival, you should consider checking out -- 'Foundation', 'The Lost Symbol' and 'Brave New World'.
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With the sinkhole having devastated LA, the Harris family find themselves at the center of it all -- Eve (Natalie Zea) and her children Josh (Jack Martin) and Izzy (Zyra). While Izzy manages to escape, Josh and Eve find themselves marooned in this strange, foreign land. It baffles them, as a fall that grave should've killed them, yet they are alive. They manage to regroup and ground up a few more survivors -- Dr Samuel Velez (Jon Seda) and his daughter Riley (Veronica St Clair), a young man named Scott (Rohan Mirchandaney) and a psychiatrist named Ty (Chiké Okonkwo). As they begin to collect supplies in the hope of making sense of the situation before nightfall, there seems to be trouble brewing among them, seeing that a few people have now begun hoarding supplies.
After Eve and Josh get into an argument with Marybeth (Karina Logue), a cop, over a box of protein bars she was hoarding, when they are suddenly attacked by a wolf that happens to be far larger and menacing. A pack of these beasts soon descend on them, sending the group into disarray. While there are some casualties, as a man is attacked and killed as Dr Samuel manages to save his family, Josh too is gravely injured after being bitten and is saved when Ty manages to shoot and kill the animal.
Dr Samuel stabilises Josh to an extent, but for him to live, they need medical supplies. Having seen an ambulance on the road before the incident, Eve and Samuel decide to track down the same. They come across Ty in the woods, attempting to take his own life and talk him down from doing so. Ty offers to help them find the ambulance as he saw it earlier, giving the two of them hope that Josh will make it out alive.
Meanwhile, back on the surface, a distraught Izzy is reunited with her father, Gavin (Eoin Macken). Gavin, an airforce pilot, got into a terrible accident years ago, resulting in him heavily hallucinating. As a result, he began to drink, prompting Eve to leave him with the kids. He is in the process of getting his life back together when Eve and Josh are sucked into the sinkhole. However, as he comforts his daughter, he begins to have visions of Eve and Josh that are so accurate that he can tell what is happening to the survivors. He confronts the recon mission trying to figure out the situation and even mentions he saw their drone malfunctioning and crashed before capturing any footage.
The people in charge are confused -- there was no way his random man could've known the government issued drone number, and for him to say that there are survivors was impossible. As they continue their research, they also make an unusual discovery -- when the sinkhole opened up, a flock of strange birds flew out of it. These weren't just any birds, but a species long-extinct, implying that there might be some form of life down under.
However, Gavin is convinced that Eve and Josh are alive and even fishes out an old photo of him and ever near a boulder that had a hand symbol on it, similar to the one he saw in his vision about Eve. Izzy asks him to stop all of this, as she doesn't believe him. However, when Gavin drives up to the rock on in the photo, he makes a startling discovery that shakes Izzy to the core -- they find Eve's wedding ring, the one she had been wearing that morning and which fell off when she awoke in the strange land. They conclude that there is some connection from the upper world to the lower world.
Meanwhile, Eve, Ty and Dr Samuel find the ambulance and stock up on supplies, only for Eve to make the same discovery -- they are still in Los Angeles, however, this version is a primaeval one. Before the group can process what is going on, they are attacked by a sabre tooth tiger, and their only option is to run. While it does seem like they are the only humans here, that might not be the case, as Marybeth shoots a flare gun, which is seen by a mysterious man dressed in furs, bearing the hand symbol Gavin saw in the photo.
Catch Season 1 of 'La Brea' on Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
