Tamal Kundu
Netflix’s ‘Welcome to Eden’ is not a typical thriller drama series about a cult. At first glance, the narrative seems quite straightforward. A group of directionless youths arrives on a beautiful island to party. When they wake up the following morning, they can’t leave as the boat is gone. The seemingly charming inhabitants of the island offer them generous hospitality and encourage them to join their community. However, the youths soon discover it has all been a trap set by a dangerous cult intent on recruiting new members. Now, their attempts to leave the island result in their deaths.
The above-mentioned aspect of the narrative is nothing out of the ordinary. Things become weirder because of the introduction of a seemingly gifted boy who can heal severe, life-threatening injuries in moments. “New Eden” is a phrase that is regularly used throughout the series. Here is everything you need to know about it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
New Eden: A Cult’s Mythological Belief
In the narrative of ‘Welcome to Eden,’ New Eden is both an idea and a real place, though its actual existence hasn’t been confirmed yet. Like any other cult, the Eden Foundation has its own mythology, and much of it stems from the research of the father of the current leader, Astrid (Amaia Salamanca). The core conception of the Eden Foundation is heavily inspired by Greek and Judeo-Christian mythologies. Like her father before her, Astrid believes that Earth is dying due to human activities. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be the end of humanity as well. She and the others in the cult are chosen people, destined to travel across the stars to their new home — a New Eden.
Despite ordering the deaths of numerous people, Astrid tells her followers, without any trace of irony, that the society they have created on the island is an improved and better version of the civilizations that came before it. She even proclaims it as a new Noah’s Ark. She believes that the entities, who are natives of the New Eden, will come for her and her followers. Isaac, seemingly born with special abilities, will play the role of guide for them to achieve Salvation.
When Astrid delivers this speech, she also claims they have finally received a response from the extra-terrestrial civilization. This is a lie. As África (Belinda) finds out earlier, there was no message from the stars. Astrid only does all this because she has become increasingly desperate, knowing she is losing control of the foundation.
Astrid founded Eden with her father’s philosophy and her husband’s capital. Because of her horrifying actions and of those who follow her, rebellion has started to brew within the small community. Moreover, she doesn’t have access to her father’s final research on the coordinates of the New Eden. In 2014, he was killed by two assailants on a motorcycle. He tried to send Astrid the files, but one of the assailants got hold of his phone and stopped the share.
Armed with this information, Astrid’s father’s killer, Danae, infiltrates the Eden Foundation. Meanwhile, seeking revenge for what happened to her father, Astrid brings Som, the daughter of Mr. Sisuk, the man who ordered the hit, to the island. She employs Charly to seduce Som and then shares the video of them having sex with a bedridden Sisuk to score a petty victory. What Astrid doesn’t realize is that she has been manipulated all along. Although Som and Danae have the coordinates, they still need the supercomputer and the disk to send the message to the New Eden.
Som brings coordinates in a chip embedded into her skin. After extracting it, Danae gets inside the room hidden by the painting and plugs into the supercomputer. While Astrid and the others are distracted, the disc turns, and it seems that someone replies, “Hello, Eden.” In one of the final scenes of the season, Danae is alerted when Isaac enters the room, but knowing his importance, she relaxes.
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