Carol & The End of the World TV Review

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

Plot: Humans have less than eight months to live with a mysterious planet hurtling towards Earth. While some choose to live their wildest dreams and embrace the oncoming apocalypse head-on, one woman, Carol, continues searching for meaning amidst a doomed world overcome by recklessness, experimentation, and living every moment like it’s your last because it is.

Review: What would you do if you had seven months and eighteen days to live? Would you embrace the oncoming apocalypse and spend every waking moment fulfilling your flights of fancy? Or would you become fetal, paralyzed by possibility and consumed by indecision? In Netflix‘s Carol & The End of The World, creator/writer Dan Guterman explores numerous reactions and coping mechanisms when faced with the end of days.

From the jump, it was clear that Carol & The End of Days is not for the faint of heart. Some people, when faced with questions about mortality, reject the notion of Death’s inevitable touch and retreat to more pleasant thoughts. Guterman’s series wants you to confront uncomfortable musings and, hopefully, transmute leaden grudges into gold along the journey. Carol & The End of the World is mature and sentimental, with humor peppered throughout to lighten the mood. The show combines black comedy with an absurdist touch, all while pushing against the daily boundaries that keep society from bursting into flame. Fascinating characters populate the show, each with a unique way of making peace with the world’s circumstances.

When we meet Carol, voiced to perfection by Martha Kelly, she’s a seemingly dull individual who speaks in a monotone and wishes she’d said “no” to more things in life. The thought of losing her life to a planetoid barreling toward Earth is no consequence because she’s barely living. Carol wants structure, a routine, and the safety of a place where she can continue fading into the background. She finds that place in The Distraction, a company at the center of a city where nameless people go to engage in busy work. The Distraction may look like any other office space. However, if you look at it hard enough, and I mean really look, you’ll find it’s an emotional limbo disguised as an accounting firm. It’s a place you go to hide. It’s where you go to die.

Each episode of Carol & The End of the World is better than the last, with everything culminating in a final chapter that left me teary and contemplating how I’d spend my final days. Carol is the show’s main character. However, she’s also a conduit for others to enter the picture. Through Carol, we meet Donna (Kimberly Herbert Gregory), a middle-aged mother of five who’s spent most of her life working. Donna is no-nonsense, with Gregory nailing the air of someone who’s had enough of your sass and fancy ideas. She might be my favorite character in the series, though it’s hard to pick.

It’s difficult because we meet the affable and endearing Luis (Mel Rodriguez), who works alongside Carol and Donna at The Distraction. Luis gives “great hugs” energy throughout the entire series. He’s the friend you call if you need to escape from a self-inflicted funk. Rodriguez’s voice performance is fantastic, lending Luis passion, longing, and optimism. Together, Carol, Donna, and Luis form a triforce of friendship capable of disrupting the order of The Distraction.

In addition to the show’s existential themes, Carol & The End of The World takes place in a world without boundaries or prejudice. Businesses have shut down. Money has no value. People casually walk around in the buff. Polyamorous relationships are the new norm. Children pretend it’s Halloween every night. It’s the beautiful and chaotic opposite of the world we live in today. Guterman does an excellent job of investigating other individuals around the city, expanding the exploration of personal journies toward the end of life as we know it. I spent as little as three minutes with some characters throughout the show, yet I feel connected to them regardless.

While Carol & The End of The World was tailor-made for someone like me, who enjoys answering big questions instead of engaging in small talk, I could see others bouncing off the show’s demand for introspection. The story demands your patience, with Carol’s emotional arc being a slow burn toward an epically satisfying conclusion. I do admit to becoming frustrated by two episodes. However, by the end of the trip, I understood and appreciated what I’m calling a “narrative detour.” In the end, every moment mattered.

The art for Carol & The End of The World is also something to behold. Art is subjective, and I see how some would find the show’s aesthetic off-putting. I beg to differ. The show’s simplistic design feels appropriate, considering our main character. Carol is our window into this doomed world, and her docile nature pairs perfectly with the presentation’s uncomplicated look. I grew to love the art and feel there’s a unique beauty to appreciate. 

Carol & The End of the World is a meditation on living your best life. What if you could cast aside your work-a-day treadmill? What if life’s anchors, like bills, deadlines, and dependency on people higher up the food chain, no longer had any meaning? Would you spend your final months hiding from the inevitable, or would you be reborn as someone who takes risks and abandons all shame? Carol & The End of The World wants you to ask yourself these questions. If you watch one more series before the end of the year, I hope it’s this one.

Carol & The End of the World premieres on Netflix on December 15, 2023.

Carol & The End of the World

AMAZING

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