Colony Season 1 Episode 1 Review: What Would You Do?
Carissa Pavlica
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Communication is key during an invasion.
That's probably the biggest thing I learned while watching Colony Season 1 Episode 1.
Because the Sullivans, ne Bowmans, didn't choose to communicate effectively, husband Will signed on as a collaborator in an attempt to get his son, Charlie, back with the family, while unbeknownst to him, his wife, Katie, was working with the Resistance to the same end.
Ordinarily, this may not sound like that big of a deal, but the job Will took is to stop the Resistance. In return, he was promised by Proxy Snyder, the governing rule over their block, that maybe, just maybe, their family would be reunited.
So, you see, things in the Bowman family just got a whole lot more stressful. And living under oppression during an occupation? Already pretty stressful.
The added stress does make for a more deeply compelling series going forward. I've had the pleasure of seeing the first six episodes of this series, and can assure you that by the time the sixth rolls to a close, you will be wholly embedded in the lives of these characters, as well as others you've yet to meet.
Not everyone you meet along the way is who you expect them to be at first blush. Or are they? It's genuinely difficult to determine where you would be standing in the same situation as those encountered.
Colony isn't just about an invasion and a will to fight back, but an occupation. It's about you and me and the end of the world as we know it. The Bowmans represent us, our lives, and how frightening it would be if someone just took it all away and we had to continue living under the new rule.
What choices would we make to survive? Would we remain calm? Would we work with the people who have chosen to work with our "hosts" as Proxy Snyder calls them to try to get our family back together, or would we stand by our ethical values and let our child rot God knows where because we're more concerned about the bigger picture?
How do you decide, and how do you know if the people on your side are making the right decisions, especially if you don't ever see the very people/creatures who have invaded?
All of these are questions that will arise and do arise, many in the premiere. Proxy Snyder notes to Will:
The most important day in human history is coming, Will. I just want you and your family to be on the right side of it.
Proxy Snyder
When it feels like you're being corralled and ended, it's a little hard to swallow that anything your "host" has in mind will bring about the most important day in human history. And what is it that their host needs done, that once achieved will send them on their way?
What's fascinating is that people know so little and are still making life defining decisions as a result. What they do know is there is a wall. There are drones that shoot to kill. The display Will witnessed with Proxy Snyder from his balcony occurs every so often, but what is it, exactly?
Are the hosts aliens, or are they fellow humans? The verbiage being tossed around, such as being sent to Tthe factory," has such a WWII vibe to it, but in a modern world where no one person is targeted, but all who defy are on the list. Comply or be sent to the factory, which sounds a lot like a concentration camp. Which is extraordinarily frightening.
I simply love the way life has continued. While we didn't witness the madness of the arrival itself, it hasn't been that long since it happened, and already people have settled in to their new lives.
They're riding bikes as their mode of transportation. They're trading goods for medical supplies and learning how to create what they need on their own. They're sleeping while their children are gone, their homes are surrounded by rolled barb wire and curfews are set.
They're fighting for their survival and their way of life and not letting this new scenario put an end to them as a people.
Nobody seems to be in the wrong, and that, too makes Colony worth watching. Will and Katie find themselves on opposite sides with the same agenda – to reunite their family – but they're both right. Even Proxy Snyder seems like a decent guy.
For whatever reason he chose to work with the hosts, he's not a terrible person. He can't possibly be right, but he's not a monster, either. It will be interesting for his story to unfold along with the others.
I'm interested. In everybody. And I want to know more. What about you? Do you know what you would do after learning so little?
NOTE: Remember that you can always watch Colony online via TV Fanatic any time you need to catch up.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
