Black Summer: Here’s why it sucked (and a few reasons why it didn’t)

Full disclaimer here: I love anything to do with zombies. In fact, fast zombies, such as the ones seen in Black Summer, are the one thing that truly terrifies me.

However, Netflix’s Black Summer is where I draw the line. And, had I known it was hooked into the Z Nation universe (the one other zombie series I don’t like) via its creators, I probably would have not binged on the series at all.

However, binge I did.

Which, I guess, says something for the series because I legit watched this all in one sitting.

So, what’s so terrible about it?

For starters, there is a whole level of dumb that I just wasn’t expecting. Set not long after a zombie apocalypse, according to Forbes, many characters are literally running for their lives from zombies that are incredibly fast and strong.

In fact, that seems to be Lance’s only story arc — the fact that he runs.

Poor Lance through the entire season #BlackSummer pic.twitter.com/MzfA2otIRb

— Rushun Wiseman (@art_mogul) April 17, 2019

However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people using anything but their own feet as transport and I’m not sure why that is. For those that are in cars, there seems to be a battle to rule supreme as the only person left with a car.

In one instance, two groups spend far too long driving around. One group is trying to attack the other group who is trying to escape.

These two groups later end up stuck together in a diner.

Which leads me to the other dumb thing: no one is really planning ahead here.

When these two groups are stuck together in a diner, which seems to be the only place that zombies can’t break into and has plenty of food, the group decides the only thing they must do is to leave.

I'm watching Black Summer 1×05 "Diner" https://t.co/rLhNekCkJ4 #trakt

— Cassie (@BADFalcon) April 18, 2019

They don’t even take a lot of supplies with them after they leave.

Now sure, one character, Rose, is on a journey to find her daughter, who was taken to a stadium by the army. But, wouldn’t she want a snack for the road?

Apparently not.

And while we know that Rose has a story arc by wanting to find her daughter, nearly everyone else has no discernible backstory. In fact, none of the characters are developed enough for you to really care about. Out of the large group, the only character I truly liked was Sun.

And she couldn’t speak any English.

In addition, there is not a lot of door closing going on. Now, I know things get confusing when you are running for your life. But, eventually, at some point, people should be working out how to close doors behind them as they are trying to escape.

This. Literally. Never. Happens.

In fact, one group likes to chock their doors open.

WHY WOULD YOU FOLLOW THE CREEPY KID IN AN ABANDONED SCHOOL YOU IDIOTS #blacksummer pic.twitter.com/14GrEfigaI

— chantelle ❀ (@patronusblake) April 11, 2019

But, there are kids in a school who have decided that the only thing to do during the zombie apocalypse is to lure people into the school and slaughter them.

And, Black Summer spends so long stuck in this story arc that one character, Lance, finds the library and aggressively reads rather than participate any longer.

Now, let’s talk about the nightclub.

Seriously, Black Summer has a nightclub that appears to be running 24/7. Once again, is no one stockpiling food here?

Plus, where is all the electricity coming from? Not only is the nightclub pumping but Lance walks into a grocery store that still has power — and is fully stocked. I hate to harp but, seriously, is anyone eating?

There is some good stuff though

According to Metro, Stephen King is raving about Black Summer on social media. One of the reasons he gives for liking the new Netflix series so much is the lack of dialogue.

And yes, there is far more action than you’ll see in The Walking Dead — a show that likes to get you involved with the characters before they slaughter them. So, if you just want mindless killing, this is the series for you.

Seriously @netflix Black Summer is good so far but WTF. There is a whole thing about Asians roles in Tv and movies and y'all up and put in an Asian character that speaks in nearly nothing but her dialect and you couldn't bother to subtitle her lines. Really.. speaking Korean. pic.twitter.com/Sf3s67PtBr

— Telisa Luther (@TelisaLuther) April 12, 2019

Coming back to the character of Sun, who speaks mainly in Korean, I applaud the creators for not adding subtitles for the audience.

While this may have annoyed some viewers because you have no idea what she is talking about most of the time, I found that she manages to convey a lot via these one-sided conversations which adds a really interesting element.

It also made me think about how truly terrifying it would be to be stuck in another country during the zombie apocalypse when I didn’t speak the language.

The first half of the series also has a tense and terrifying pulse to it. Because the zombies are super fast, there is plenty of jump-scares to keep you watching.

In addition, the camera work gives it a kind of In The Flesh vibe to it (the British version), which creates an eerie atmosphere at the start of Black Summer.

In #BlackSummer, the dead don’t walk — they run. Now streaming on @Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ejp9JFurrb

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) April 11, 2019

While I may not have liked Black Summer, I did watch it to the end. Even though the second half was definitely worse than the first half, I kept watching because the episodes were short and, overall, Season 1 will only claim an afternoon of your life.

So, if you are rained in or have watched everything on Netflix, this is certainly the series to fill that hole.

Overall, though, if Netflix renews Black Summer for a second season, it is highly unlikely that I will be tuning in to follow the remaining survivors’ adventures.

The synopsis, according to Dread Central, for Black Summer is below.

“Set in the dark, early days of a zombie apocalypse, Black Summer stars Jaime King as Rose, a mother torn from her daughter who embarks upon a harrowing journey to find her. Thrust alongside a small group of American refugees, these complete strangers must find the strength they need to fight their way back to loved ones. But in order for Rose and her team to brave this hostile new world, they will need to make brutal decisions to contend with zombies – and each other.”

Black Summer is currently streaming globally on Netflix.