Upamanyu Biswas
In the Netflix show, ‘The Accident,‘ a tragic mishap involving a jumping castle during a children’s birthday party leads to the death of three children and a missing fourth in Santa Cruz, Mexico. The affected affluent families try to piece together their lives in the aftermath of the incident while contending with their losses. However, their pursuit of a culpable party leads them down a dark path of vengeance that quickly spirals out of control. With each family attempting to process their loss in different ways, a clash of ideals and finger-pointing ensues, which makes matters worse.
Developed by Leonardo Padrón, the Mexican drama series is an exploration of how unintended consequences have the potential to rip everything apart, no matter the size of the inciting incident. As such, the narrative is built around the idea of an accident sparking things into motion. It depicts people’s inadequacies when dealing with extraordinary situations that have profound implications on their familial and interpersonal dynamics. Therefore, questions may be raised about its authenticity and whether the scenario presented in the show with regard to a community being torn to shreds is based on a true story.
The Accident Delves Into People’s Coping Mechanisms After a Tragedy
Originally titled ‘Accidente,’ ‘The Accident’ is a fictional story drafted by Leonardo Padrón that probes into the underlying tensions of a community beset by grief. Following the death of three children and the disappearance of another in a seemingly innocuous incident that turns into a nightmare situation, the show revolves around the exploits of each member of the families as they navigate the treacherous waters of anger and vengeance. The story neatly examines the hurt driving the characters and how their loss becomes a defining factor for their bad decisions, providing an intimate portrayal of the cycles of violence, abuse, and aggression propagated by humans during harsh times.
In a press statement made in Spanish, Leonardo Padrón said, “The accident is basically a tool that allows me to explore things that have more layers, like how we deal with problems and how we face personal tragedies.” While no specific real-life event serves as a basis for the story, its complex depiction of people’s coping mechanisms rings familiar and true. From drug addiction, cowardice, and avoidance to lashing out, rage, and violence — each character goes through a multitude of emotions that are ultimately rooted in pain. However, their only way to heal themselves is to find the one responsible for the accident that cost them the lives of their loved ones. They are unwilling to rest until they find the guilty party, which is akin to how cries of justice ramp up when tragedies occur in the real world.
Incidentally, a similar show named ‘The Accident’ with a premise resembling the one in the Netflix show aired in 2019. In it, a terrible tragedy on a construction site results in the death of several people, including children, which devastates a local Welsh community. It also explores themes of grief and rage as the survivors and those with lost loved ones try to grapple with their lives going forward after the mishap. Although the two shows have a stark and noticeable similarity in their premise, their connection is mostly secondary as the Mexican show is an original creation by Leonardo Padrón. However, it does go to illustrate further how tales about arbitrary tragedies are a resonant and recurring motif among the wider audience, as it is something most can relate to at some level.
The Accident is a Tale of Escalation Rooted in the Hunt For a Culprit
In reality, reports of accidents claiming the lives of people are, unfortunately, a common occurrence. A 2022 Mexican report states that 15,979 people died in road crashes in Mexico, while a similar case of a mishap, as presented in the show, happened in Australia in 2021 when a jumping castle became airborne and led to the deaths of six children. Such cases affect the community as the irrational loss of life leads people down dark avenues. In the show, this is presented through the characters seeking someone to blame for the loss of their children. It illustrates how adversity makes people react in a negative manner.
Explaining the different approaches of each family, Leonardo Padrón said, “It’s been proven that human beings have a great capacity for resilience. I’m taking a look at four families to see how they react against an ordinary event. I think that’s what’s interesting, what draws me in, because while the show is a thriller it also asks dozens of questions. Accidents always have a guilty party at the center of it.“ In the show, an obsession over finding a scapegoat turns the tight-knit group of people against one another. They lose sight of who they are because the nature of an accident leads them to rationalize an irrational event that has no rhyme or logic.
The show succinctly portrays the anguish and pain at the heart of the narrative. While certain elements are exaggerated for dramatic effect, the interpersonal conflicts between families lend the story a level of connection with the viewer as it alights upon themes closely rooted in reality. The accident depicted in the narrative may not be an actual event, but many real-life accounts mirror the show’s presentation of a town being rocked by a tragedy. Ultimately, it is not what happens but how people deal with their situation that makes stories about accidents believable.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s The Accident Filmed?
