Netflix's unstoppable October, which features a new original series releasing each week, continues with the premiere of Josh Hartnett's mystery thriller limited series Below. The chilling series also stars Mackenzie Davis and Charlie Heaton and takes place in Newfoundland as a sea creature continues to threaten a small fishing town. But that's just the tip of the iceberg (literally).
Below episode 1 opens with a family tugging their house by boat on the water in Newfoundland in 1986. As the on-screen explanation reveals, the Newfoundland Resettlement Program relocated families from small fishing villages to bigger towns because the small villages were allegedly too expensive to maintain. As the boat gets closer to the coast, it suddenly gets caught.
Calvin cuts the boat's engine as his father re-enters the house to check on what's happening. While his dad's inside, Calvin looks overboard in the water and sees something suspicious staring back at him. Leo looks between the floorboards before the house begins to sink. Calvin cuts the rope between the house and the boat, saving his family but sending his dad underwater.
Calvin fishes for ice, but it's unfortunately tainted
Forty years later, Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) sits in his boat, clearly still haunted about the past event. On the radio, he hears reports of members of a fishing vessel who have gone missing. Calvin's out on the water looking for ice, but when he takes the chunk he grabbed to the vodka distillery, he's disappointed to learn it's bad ice. A man named Jerry teases him about the ice.
The Snook's Arm community has a meeting about a new resettlement, which would include a payout. Ruth Penney (Willow Kean), Calvin's sister, speaks against the resettlement fearing that it would never end. But others try to appeal in favor, especially since fish and jobs have both been scarce for years. Ruth continues to have the upper hand though since 90% of the vote is required.
Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) works at the Ocean Science Centre in Seal Cove and happens upon a deceased flamingo that had been brought in after being shot by a resident. Calvin stops by for a visit to ask her about the stinky ice he found. She identifies it as ammonia and agrees to test it. Fonda warns him about an upcoming glacial collapse, and Calvin asks her to contact him.
Calvin's son Wade (Charlie Heaton) explains the Penney family's history to the Airbnb guests he's taken in, which includes the fact that his mother died from cancer. The couple, Keith and Candice-Marie, wants to extend their stay, but Calvin's expecting his other two children home for a visit. Ruth drops by to inform Calvin the resettlement threshold dropped to 75% of the vote.
He still believes it won't happen, though this certainly makes it more of a risk. Calvin and Ruth pick up his daughter Mary (Ruby Stokes) and her boyfriend Noah (Kaleb Horn) at the port, though his son Jay (Rohan Campbell) hasn't arrived yet for Come Home Year. It's a reunion for the community. Meanwhile, Fonda looks at the iceberg, which appears older than it seems.
The fishery patrol gets a call about illegal crab traps. Once the location is explored, he finds a severed leg with the bone still sticking out. Calvin and his family gather at a bar when there's suddenly a bright light and shaking. Rushing outside, everyone's relieved when it's just Jay arriving by helicopter. He tries to give his dad a wad of cash, but Calvin declines.
The mysterious sea creature seemingly strikes again
Wade watches his dad's excitement about Jay being home with a tinge of jealousy, and Jerry gets in his ear about not being allowed on the boat. The family continues to have a fun night out at the bar. In the night, Calvin awakes from a dream about the creature he saw as a kid and goes outside to fix the heat. He also panics when a spots a large iceberg in the distance but very close shore.
The next day, the whole community gawks at the iceberg as Fonda calls Calvin to inform him that the ice he previously brought in was on large, old mucus membrane. She suggests looking around Nameless Bay for ice without "prehistoric whale snot." Calvin gathers Jay, Mary, and Noah for an iceberg safari, but he makes Wade stay back on shore to accommodate his Airbnb guests.
While on the boat, Jay receives an ominous, threatening, and grammatically incorrect text message alerting him that he's a "dead man." Finally, Calvin spots a massive iceberg and chunks off ice in the water. He delivers it to the distillery, and it's actually good ice this time. Calvin takes the opportunity to ask Jay and Mary to join him once he receives a license for commercial ice-harvesting.
A bigger boat would mean he needs more help beyond Wade, and he wants to strike out on his own away from the Crockers, but Jay and Mary both turn him down. He maintains a big smile despite his children turning him down. The fishery patrol brings the leg to Fonda, who marvels at the mystery and dives into research. Wade joins Jerry on his boat late that night to shoot the large iceberg.
Outside the boat, Wade shoots at the iceberg until it breaks and collapses. Fonda drops by the Penney's to talk with Calvin, and she asks him what he saw in the water when he was a kid. She thinks what he saw could be connected to other strange incidents. Back on the water, the boat begins moving on its own, twisting around the cable connected to the ice. Jerry gets trapped in the cable.
Wade struggles to break the cable as its hold around Jerry's abdomen draws blood. Over the edge of the boat, Wade looks at something in the water that looks an awful lot like an eye and exactly like what his father saw 40 years ago. Calvin and Fonda hit the water to rescue Wade and find him clinging to a buoy and holding Jerry's top half. Clearly, the sea creature is back for revenge.
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