'War of the Worlds' Episode 4: On the brink of extinction, humanity becomes one
Spoiler alert for 'War of the Worlds' Season 1 Episode 4
'War of the Worlds' on EPIX is an excellently crafted horror story with a gripping, fast-paced narrative and a no-holds-barred approach to depicting violence and cruelty. However, the show still finds ways to use its horrific landscape as a means of bringing out the best in humanity.
Kariem Gat Wich Machar (Bayo Gbadamosi) is one of the most interesting characters on the show. An illegal immigrant in England, Kariem would probably have been feared and hated back when things were still normal and peaceful but after the aliens attack, he has become the only hope the Gresham family has for survival.
In Episode 4, we get a sweet moment between Kariem and Emily Gresham (Daisy Edgar-Jones) when the latter asks Kariem questions about his past and his life in Sudan. It's a quiet moment, nothing earth-shattering, but it still illustrates a point that the show has really driven home right from the beginning.
From the moment the aliens attacked, divisions of race and country became meaningless to the sparse few who managed to survive. Sure, there probably still are a few who can't forget the prejudices of the past, but the point is that in the face of extinction, humanity becomes one.
It's a pretty sobering realization and it's coupled with another harsh truth that is brought up in the episode.
Kariem fled war and faced immense hardships to reach England only to find himself thrown in the midst of something much worse while Jonathan Gresham (Stephen Campbell Moore) lived a life of relative comfort and found himself lost and separated from his family with nothing but his luck to keep him alive when the aliens attacked.
Kariem, who had nothing, is now the one who is better off while Jonathan, who had everything, is the one who ended up with the short end of the stick.
'War of the Worlds' airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 pm ET on EPIX.
