'Carol at the End of the World' Made Me Cry, and You Should Too.

Carol at the end of the world is a new Netflix series about the end of the world with a strong focus on the clash between the people who embrace the end of the world as an opportunity to do whatever they want and the people who simply love routine and ritual over that excessiveness it is perhaps one of the greatest animated dramas I have ever seen and something I think most people will find extremely relatable one way or another the first episode can be a little slow for new viewers I think with it really just setting up the premise of the show which is about the Title Character Carol working at a very normal and boring office despite the rest of the world partying as the world comes to an end Earth has found itself on a collision course with a massive Planet but instead of great upheaval most people are just enjoying the last of their time the military has stepped in to keep all of the important functions running making sure that power still exists and that enough food is still being handed out before the end times for people to actually celebrate with the time they have left enough of our capitalist infrastructure is in place that people are traveling the world going on vacations living in their dream locations and enjoying the extremes of life knowing that there will be no consequences in a few months when the earth is pulled into this giant planet's gravity and destroyed entirely Carol however is not celebrating she doesn't even seem particularly upset about the end of the world as no one seems to really care but instead she seems to just be missing life as it was before and in fact with the world ending she'd probably be perfectly fine as long as her old life could have been maintained Carol is a soft and older woman her parents being being so old that they need a caregiver she was never married she never had any kids and seems like the kind of person who wouldn't be caught anywhere near a party before the world was ending and is clearly feeling uncomfortable going to them now we live in a time that is constantly being painted as the end of the world in our media and a lot of people are living in that mindset people still work and do their jobs but a lot of people are doing the bare minimum they need to in order to elsewise just go out and splurge and celebrate and just enjoy the society we built as movies and TV shows was continually painted as the decline of prosperity Carol becomes relatable just as someone who doesn't really fit in at parties who doesn't understand why all these people would Gather in this one place to act in this particular way the first episode has some heart-wrenching moments where Carol tries to cling to routine even as her parents are trying to encourage her to go out and do something crazy with Carol lying to them and claiming she is learning how to surf instead she tries to get dental appointments and tries to pay her bills she even goes to the laund met to do her laundry with a child questioning why she would even be there when all of these businesses are essentially closed down Carol tries to claim that her clothes are dirty and that she needs to wash them which is fair with there still being months until the Collision but it clearly Cuts deep into Carol's issues and makes her acknowledge that the real reason she is doing this at that time is because it's the only thing from her previous life that still exists to do her debt collectors don't want her money no one wants to work a job anymore and there's no point going going to the dentist when the world ends before you're going to get your next appointment after that Carol's parents even complain that she was spotted at an abandoned Applebees sitting in a booth alone seemingly trying to recreate some sort of old routine where she'd go out once a week to a place she felt comfortable and had food that she enjoyed now it isn't that Carol loves these things in and of themselves but what the series aims to explore is why these things become so important to a lot of different types of people but particularly people like Carol the first episode may feel a bit slow to people as they established the world as I said and I have to warn you the nudity and over-the-top sex jokes are so bad that they made me want to really hate the show but if you are able to make it through what I consider to be some really stupid attempts at comedy the rest of the show is an absolutely devastating deconstruction of why people come together and appreciate the simpler things in life the first episode is held together by a subplot of Carol meeting a guy and having something of a fling with him but with her ultimately becoming scared of the intensity of the commitment that he craves like Carol this man just wants to live the normal routine he had before but that came with a wife Carol is interested in the guy and appreciated the Casual nature of their first meeting but as she began to pull away he began to push harder having a breakdown about his fantasy of her staying in his life and them just living together for the next 5 months with his son since his wife has left the picture Carol didn't have that sort of intensity in her life and instead she craves even outside of romance is something a lot more casual the episode ends with Carol following a mysterious woman on a train and ending up at a strange elsewise abandoned building that has an entire office inside that people are working at the way people did before the world was ending episode 2 has Carol actually working at the office but again this is more of an episode to establish the premise of the show it is a fun little Adventure she has traveling the city on a motorcycle in search of toner for the office printer and it ends with a pretty dramatic moment where she pulls a gun on her friend to steal the toner from her home printer because Carol really wants this job to work even if it seems like she's not really enjoying herself there yet but this leads into episode 3 which is just one of many non-stop bangers this season has to offer until now Carol hasn't had any friends at the office but episode 2 ended with her getting a little help from Donna who reveals that there was a ton of toner on a different floor of the office this entire time in episode three we will get to meet Donna again as well as Louise another worker at this office that Donna calls the distraction seemingly because it distracts people from the end of the world Carol's story opens in episode 3 with her making banana bread and then seemingly sharing it with Donna at the office who loves it so much that she can't help but laugh at Carol's jokes and then pledge her friendship to her this Awkward Moment is revealed to be a fantasy that Carol has and is just one of many fantasies in this episode instead Carol keeps staring at Donna imagining what their friendship could be and this just makes Donna uncomfortable to the point where shees doesn't want to have any of the banana bread and wants to be left alone when taking another break later Donna does end up eating some of that banana bread but she's very cautious of Carol still when Carol tries to remake her Fantasy by using a joke she imagined such as saying death by banana bread Donna takes that as a Potential Threat from Carol as if she poisoned the snack something Donna suspected an unhinged person might do in this apocalyptic world following this there is another meeting later in the break room between Donna and Carol over another slice of banana bread however this very simple interaction is revealed to just be a random fantasy of a random coworker who doesn't have relevance to the plot this was to establish that the episode will be playing a lot with fantasies and that it doesn't always want to tell us who is imagining what or what is even real we do seem to get another genuine interaction between the characters however again over a slice of banana bread with Carol just asking a simple question and Donna giving an answer and them even sharing a positive moment after it this is a very real system of interaction being set up for a space with lots of people working these are people who enjoy doing work for one reason or another with Donna really loving it as a distraction and Carol really liking to do things that support others that can in turn lead to positive but very casual interactions for her it's normal after doing a bit of work to suddenly want to take a little break not to stop working altogether but to grab a little snack to have a quick conversation and get right back to work feeling refueled Carol fantasizes about an insant great friendship with someone like Donna bonding over their banana bread but instead they get a friendship that develops slowly over the course of many different breaks across many different days with them having the pretense of work to talk about casually but then ultimately bonding over it the moment this episode becomes tragic is when we have a really positive interaction between Donna and Carol wherein Donna gets to brag about her different painted nails because Carol complimented them she gets to talk about all the different kinds she did and Carol looks impressed and then Donna wakes up and it was just her own fantasy she had begun to enjoy Carol's company too but like Carol she was going to struggle to make her fantasies work instead the next scene is Carol telling a story and Donna listening but Donna not quite getting the feeling that Carol was clearly trying to convey it's not bad or wrong it's just awkward and real when one person really wanted to share something and you just can't connect with it the same way Donna wants to find a way to share about her nails but the connection just isn't there from Carol in that case at some point Donna has a dream of them just sitting together eating however and saying this is nice with Carol agreeing this really points to how humans tend to think of their needs in the context of what is around them all humans want social interaction and even when two people aren't connecting the way they had hoped the body and mind still crave to have that experience with them again over not having anything at all and it tends to imagine it more fondly than it normally is as it simply craves the stimulation of having two people trying to be positive to each other even if it doesn't always work out right in the end Donna and Carol end up bonding over more more and more slices of banana bread with the fantasies in their head making up a lot of what they actually find endearing about each other I have never seen a show really emphasize just how much wanting to be friends with someone can eventually lead to a real Bond existing because of the bonding that you allowed yourself to do in your head the three end up taking time outside of work to enjoy some tanning booth just for relaxing and the thrill of it mostly for Louise's sake and ultimately end up walking away with a better understanding of why they each chose to work at the distraction this set the stage for future episodes where these three genuine friends can explore the deeper reasons why they enjoy the way of life that they are essentially simulating while the rest of the world is doing whatever they would do if they didn't have to work now Netflix is known for short seasons of Eight Episodes each these days but Carol at the end of the world has 10 which means from here there were seven more episodes for the show to really explore its premise with there being room for a second volume before the world may actually end with this in mind each episode is able to feel more like a piece in a series that isn't on on a timetable instead of working against the end of the world the goal is to have the most casual almost fillery episodes possible because the show is about people who enjoy the filler you find in normal life with a dramatic contrast of the end of the world going on in the background to prepare you for this episode 4 isn't about the office but about Carol going on a camping and hiking trip with her more adventurous sister this beautiful episode follows the more outgoing party sister using her camera to document Carol and have some sort of video to reflect on as loves documenting her life adventures to watch later the episode has Carol really just feeling bad about almost everything they do and what they experience she doesn't care for adventures and Hikes and once in a lifetime experiences the way her sister does Carol prefers experiences of life from day to day and what it means to Simply exist in a community of people you appreciate and one thing she says in this episode that really resonated with me was that she wishes she said more to know things this leads to the girls fighting especially especially when they get lost through all this the tape sometimes cuts to previous vacations that Carol's sister had tried to document showing us just how much she's done and experienced the dramatic Revelation at the end isn't from Carol but from her sister through the cuts of her previous vacation we can see that she's actually really appreciated Carol because Carol even with her seemingly sad face always enjoyed life she doesn't want for extravagance or adrenaline to make something special Being Human among others is specially in itself to her Carol's sister appreciates that about her and in fact reveals that she isn't like that that she can't just do her own thing the way Carol does and not care what others think about her instead she does exactly what everyone else does she sees every experience every person has and decides she needs that for herself to try and feel complete to try and experience the rush she gets from seeing other people's vacation and Adventure photos and videos she doesn't know how to be happy the way Carol is with regular essentially relaxing life every episode after this has its own emotional art going deeper on these characters and why working at a simple office means so much to them and if you still haven't seen the show I highly recommend watching those episodes because they are just as good and sometimes even better than the ones described so far with each having its own sad realities played out with these amazing real characters the drama reaches its highest point in the season finale which isn't at the end of the world indicating another volume with more comfy Adventures is on the way instead this episode focuses on the human resources manager of the distraction investigating the changes that have occurred since Carol started working at the office her friendly demor and the support of Donna and Louise has spread outwards into the office with everyone bringing a bit of their personal life into the decor of their desk and such what was once a uniform place where people showed up only to work became a second home for a lot of these people who just need a place to go and things to do so that they can enjoy the relaxation that comes from talking to their co-workers afterwards the needs of the people who work at the distraction are perhaps the most human of the people left on Earth as their desires reflect what humans have needed since the beginning of time as a species what humans need is to interact with each other around projects that help support their tribe and help it grow the work is not fun in and of itself but takes up enough time and energy that afterwards there is a feeling of happiness for accomplishment and relaxation and a bond with the people you worked with this allows for more friendly relaxation time that ultimately makes you feel more recharged and ready for more work as the world ends these people still feel those needs and the world ending doesn't make them want to go on some big crazy adventure to do the stuff they never got to do instead what they end up doing is not just working like they did before but working in a way that is more fine-tuned to the people like them as the office doesn't have people who aren't there as absolute volunteers with some of them not even wanting to go home at night because they have nothing there waiting for them and because Carol pushes for what she wants in life she's ultimately able to create a place outside of the distraction office that everyone loves at the beginning of the series Carol was caught going into an abandoned Applebees and just sitting there trying to remember what it was like to be in a cozy Place once a week or so to get a nice meal handed to you I imagine that there Carol did what she did at the office which is fantasized about how the place would be even better if it was somehow more social Applebee's like the distractions office are not places designed for people to socialize and people there aren't going to know how to respond to someone who just comes up wanting random chitchat and to see where things could go however with Donna and Louise Carol is able to use the Applebees just as a location to socialize after work and not at their homes it's just a convenient spot nearby that has great atmosphere and with a little work they can bring in some of the food and drinks it was well known for as well however with it being the end of the world and not a real business this Applebee's is just Carol Donna and Louise using Applebee's aesthetic as a clubhouse where people can just go and hang out with no pressure pressure knowing they can just talk to their friends or others who are around and that everyone is welcome they aren't expected to just sit at their own table like at a restaurant or at their own desk like at the office the finale opens with a strange scene where everyone in the office seems to be getting sad and after one woman starts crying everyone begins to cry setting off the investigation into how things have changed at the office to lead to this in the end it turns out that no one had done anything wrong to make everyone cry but instead the human resource manager realizes that Carol impact on the office is so powerful that everyone who is just looking for a distraction as the world ends is now dealing with the trauma of losing the distraction itself because of Carol it is no longer just a distraction is now something lovely and fun that everyone has come to appreciate and with that in mind the fact that the distraction itself will end with the world is now something tragic to all of these people at the end of the day the show isn't just about the end of the world but the way people are in life as a whole some people's reaction to the limits of life time is to party and do the extremes that life has to offer so that you can at least die knowing that you did it what a lot if not most people want however is to enjoy the more human things in life and while an office doesn't feel very human on the surface when run appropriately with someone like Carol making it more of a communal place it becomes an even more comfortable simulation of what life was like for us in the past when we were evolving to what we are now with humans working together in the wild for the sake of their tribe and ultimately just enjoying the time they got to spend together together when Carol first convinces the others to come to the Applebees they have such a good time over simple drinks that they act out similar to how they acted in the fantasies Carol and donad in episode 3 with them just talking about how fun it is how they should do it more and how much they love each other this slowly spreads outwards to the Applebee's becoming a club where every week there are different games and things to do but still maintaining the quiet atmosphere so that even with a little cheering it is a nice calm place for people to have a relaxing time and instead of a crazy party at the end of the day it was the realization that the happy Community they had built was going to end that made everyone cry even the human resource manager cannot prevent herself from falling out of her clinical corporate office mindset into caring about Carol and what's going to happen to them and in perhaps the most beautiful moment of the Season all of this returns to Carol in such a tragic way when the show first started Carol to just wanted a distraction sure a place to make friends too but she was willing to shoot one of her real life friends to keep some toner to just keep the job the season ends with everyone together at the Applebee's enjoying the space that Carol has created in the image of things she knew that she enjoyed and that other people would too even if not everyone in the world would because the office is made up of people who legitimately wanted to work for reasons similar to Carol they all find a similar home in the Applebee's Club as well with only 3 months left until the end of the world Carol finds herself just sitting at the Applebees with all the people she had brought together and her eyes too begin to tear up as she says this is nice the way she is known for when something is deeply and truly satisfying to her and when the others say along with her she emphasizes that it really is and begins to cry just as the others had cried at the thought of losing her that morning and to ruin that happy moment we pull out to reveal that the human resource manager may or may not have recommended the firing of Carol because of the disruptions that her presence is causing in the office leading to a tragic end to this happy Community months before the world itself is ending and with that in mind I'm looking forward to a potential second volume and what amazing stories they will have for us as these all tugged my heartstrings very deeply if you love the series please let me know what moments you found the most relatable in the comments down below and I'll see you guys next time

Channel: Cartoon Universe

Views: 412,727

Keywords: carol at the end of the world, carol netflix series, end of the world netflix, carol cartoon netflix, carol at the end of the world explaind, carol at the end of the world ending explaind, carol at the end of the world donna, carol at the end of the world luis, carol at the end of the world the distraction

Id: t-Yl7mwszA8

Length: 18min 45sec (1125 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 15 2023