Katla

Although the plot is quite slow and drawn out far longer than required, I really enjoyed this show. I wish they'd done more with the root cause of everything (trying not to give spoilers) but I suppose not doing so gives them a ton of room to further develop and grow this idea in season 2 and beyond.

20 plus years ago I had the honor of meeting show runner Balthasar Kormakur here in the states and then later in Iceland. The Icelandic government was trying to pitch him as the new Bergman. He certainly wasn't that but his work had it's own qualities that were great. So it was a surprise to see his name on this series after not hearing anything about him for so long.

The show is really engaging and certainly unusual due to the setting of a nearly abandoned town slowly getting covered in volcanic ash. Some parts of Iceland look like another planet in normal times but the addition of an active volcano really pushes the unreality to another level. I wonder how much of this is taking advantage of circumstance and how much has been created by a special effects team.

While the pacing might be slow to some people, it's not out of line with other Scandinavian series or movies. The characters are all interesting and lead me to wonder how I would fare if presented with this same situation.

I have called this an Icelandic Solaris. If you are not familiar with the Tarkovsky film or the book it came from, I will not get into spoilers trying to explain that. For those who are familiar with those works, you'll see what I'm talking about but that will not diminish your enjoyment of this series. One fair warning; the series ends not where you would expect it if this were made in the United States and might be upsetting to some.

If you liked "The Returned" ("Les Revenants"), "Glitch", "Us", or even "Pet Sematery", you'll have much to like in the Icelandic series "Katla". Eerie, dark, forbidding (often literally so, as the nearly deserted town of Vik, Iceland, has been showered with ash from the Katla volcano for a year), and gripping, the plot moves somewhat slowly but is always engaging.

The story and setting are so grounded in a harsh, otherworldly, and unforgiving environment that the impossible becomes strangely believable. That the characters are tough, realistic, unfanciful sorts adds to the credibility of the supernatural events that befall them.

As each episode ends with a cliffhanger, it's very hard to stop watching. Just one more episode!

I'm amused by the amount of people saying this show is "too slow" and "could be wrapped up in 3 episodes". Have you ever heard about the genre "Nordic noir"? It IS supposed to be slow, depressing and leaving unanswered questions.

Otherwise it's like watching a Marvel movie and asking why there are so many mutants and superheroes with ridiculous abilities. That's the point of the genre. Superhero movies have their rules, Hallmark production its own, and Nordic noir its own.

Now, for those who know what they are going to watch, this show hits all the right spots, and yet remains refreshingly engaging. Someone in the earlier comments compared it to Australian Glitch - the similarity is indeed there, but Glitch, in my opinion, was an entangled mess of loose ends, and I was never able to finish it, but Katla just went in one go.

There are indeed a few awkward plothole moments when just a couple of questions could, ugh, "speed up the pace", but it's not really about speedying anything up. Everyone is soaked up in their own past, and the surrounding reality is often hard to distinguish from sticky, dim anguish of memories. In this setting, with raging ash storms and blended borders between black sand beaches, northern sea and heavy sky, would you really be surprised to see someone looking a tad bit older than expected?

I really hope there will be no season 2, at least with the current characters. Their stories are wrapped up - time for the new ones.

I don't really get some of these lower ratings as I just finished the finale a few minutes ago and was throughly engaged throughout all 8 episodes. For what it was I will give it a very high rating because while the mystery was certainly very interesting, the show makes its real mark in its characters and their internal conflicts and relationships. I really can't wait for a 2nd season and hope it gets renewed!