Rohan Jain
Netflix’s ‘1899‘ is a sci-fi mystery series that follows a group of migrants sailing from London to New York on Kerberos. When Kerberos encounters Prometheus, a ship that’s been missing for four months, things take a dark turn for the passengers. Captain Eyk, a small crew, and a passenger named Maura take a small boat to Prometheus to understand what exactly happened on the vessel.
While they are gone, a mysterious man called Daniel Solace climbs aboard Kerberos. He’s drenched in water which makes us wonder where he is from. After Daniel enters the ship, people start dropping dead. The deaths begin with Ada, a young girl who resides below the deck. So, how exactly does Ada die? Is Daniel responsible for her death? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Did Daniel Kill Ada?
Ada is a young Danish girl who resides below the deck with her family and other passengers. Although she seems to come from an underprivileged background, Ada dreams of becoming a doctor. Unlike her siblings, she isn’t scared of her mother and is curious about the world around her. However, all hopes of realizing her dreams come crashing down when she comes face to face with Daniel.
Daniel lets a green beetle bug out of his hand, which goes below the deck. When Ada spots it, she starts following the bug, which leads her to the deck, a place she isn’t supposed to go to. As Ada goes further onto the deck, the bug stops moving forward, and Daniel steps before her. We see him say three words, “I’m so sorry,” which are enough to instill a sense of doom in the young girl.
A few scenes later, when a crew member finds Ada lying lifeless, he informs the captain and takes her to a doctor. The latter is unable to find the cause of her death and mentions that he didn’t notice any signs of damage or trauma to her body. Later, multiple other passengers meet a similar fate, and everyone aboard Kerberos is clueless about why the deaths are happening. Meanwhile, Daniel seems to know exactly what he is doing. The man carries a unique remote device, which can perform complex functions that baffle the audience.
In one scene, Daniel slides a few buttons on his remote device and makes Prometheus disappear. In another scene, when Daniel gets into a hostile argument with Maura and Captain Eyk, he uses his remote to teleport the latter to Prometheus. These incidents lead us to believe that the remote has special powers which can make things vanish or move them from one place to another. It also means that the remote has something to do with Ada’s death. However, until the end, we don’t entirely understand the reason behind Ada’s death.
As the show approaches its end, Daniel reveals that everything the passengers see is a simulation. Nothing on Prometheus and Kerberos, including the people, is real. Though some of them might exist in reality, most of them are just as made-up as the world they currently inhabit. This information leads us to conclude that Ada is only a part of the simulation, and so, isn’t really dead.
After a few scenes, the first mate, who also carries a remote device like Daniel, searches for Maura and Eyk. When the first mate finds them, he slides a few buttons on his remote, and instantly, Eyk drops to the floor. However, there’s no sign of bleeding or any other damage to his body. It’s almost like Eyk is alive in this second, and as easily as if someone has switched off a button, he is dead in the next. This reminds us of Ada, who was in a similar state, and we finally understand what happened to her. Everyone is in a simulation, and the remote helps control the illusions, including people who are simulations too. So, if we look at all the incidents, we conclude that Daniel didn’t kill Ada but simply switched her off.
Read More: Who is Daniel Solace in 1899? Is He Maura’s Husband?
