Swamp Thing brings Alec Holland and Abby Arcane to life, and the horror elements are one of many shining attributes on the DC Universe series.
When you imagine Swamp Thing, the title of the multiple comics or the various Elementals or humans who’ve held the moniker, you think of three things: Horror, romance, and humanity.
As if it sprouted directly from the comic panels that have reimagined Alec Holland (portrayed by Andy Bean on the show) and his journey to becoming a fierce ecological defender multiple times before, the premiere episode of Swamp Thing wades deep in these three pillars of the fandom. Many things allow the Swamp Thing pilot episode prosper, but the horror is what connects the essence of the narrative.
Dropping us in the heart of the conflict, Swamp Thing doesn’t waste any time building the tone for the entire series — and it crafts its own brand of horror in the process that can only be described as a what-if scenario where could fight back. It does so with a healthy portion of murder mystery, and a pinch of misunderstood biological contaminants. Swamp Thing knows that it’s made of everything frightening, and it uses that insight to its advantage by nurturing enough intrigue for the entire season. (Not to mention our inevitable fan theories.)
The collection of the music in the background — and the volume — supplements the spikes in terror. As a culmination of influences from other genre-specific bodies of work, Swamp Thing also defines its own space in the horror realm. What allows the production to both coexist and build its own identity is the concoction of acting, setting, scoring, and special effects.
Steering closer to the source of the local containment, the series finally anchors in the swamp, which only brings more visibly grotesque scenes featuring vines entangled around boats and bodies. However, it’s the macabre metamorphoses that steal the show. Clearly, the plants in the town have been taking notes from a certain parasitic thing borne from John Carpenter’s arctic filmography. Thanks to the parallel arc that follows Susie’s own transformation, the tension only builds with the lab scene.
Swamp Thing – “Pilot”. Photo Credit: Brownie Harris / 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved
Like the night of the living vines transformation scene, the premiere episode breathes new life into the classic ecological frights from the noteworthy comic runs. But the tendrils of vines and vegetation aren’t the only elements that honor the comics.
The strongest moments appear when the dialogue and story-driven discoveries regarding the chloro-zoonotic pathogens and the impact that the growing threat has on the town. Simply put: Despite the inevitable plant reveal, humanity drives the series, especially in this first episode. Germinating from this horror-filled growth, human interacts aid the conflict and brings the dynamic protagonists closer together. It also establishes a baseline for Alec and Abby’s interpersonal relationship.
Centering around the swamp, the narrative also branches outs to explore Abby Arcane, but it’s Crystal Reed’s chilling performance that truly enriches the episode. The hour-long production eases into Abby’s complementarily cryptic backstory. But its Crystal Reed’s acting prowess that serves as a spotlight in the first episode, and undoubtedly the rest of the season.
At times, her performance lends to the whelming terrifyingly gruesome imagery — straining the audience’s apprehension. In other moments, she makes us emotionally raw because, though we don’t know exactly what happened in Abby’s past, somehow, we still resonant with her experiences.
Swamp Thing – Pilot”. Photo Credit: Brownie Harris / 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Pivoting to the other lead protagonist, Alec Holland’s onscreen chemistry with Abby is both undeniable and bewildering. That’s not because Alec and Abby’s birth charts clash or because they aren’t a cute couple — because they definitely are. It’s just astounding at how well the characters communicate and understand each other when they aren’t even a couple and have only just met. We might be projecting a bit thanks to the canon ship, but it’s easy to recognize that even their separate story arcs effortlessly intertwine with the main plot.
For what we can assume will be integral to the rest of the season, the pilot focuses on Alec and Abby’s slow descent into the mystery of an apparent growing ecological contaminant. Like anything on Swamp Thing, their unifying force is purposeful because their stories play on each other.
Redemption arcs bring the two protagonists together. Abby is looking for redemption in the personal tragedies the implicitly blames herself for. Whereas, Alec is simply looking for redemption for his reputation. In a series about reformation and transformation, their late-night bonding session, turned heartfelt conversation, foreshadows the noteworthy change everyone is anticipating in the series. And as a show bottomlessly driven by its intentionally meandering tones, the duality of the foreshadowed dialogue adds more meaning to the impending changes to come in the show.
Amid all the subtle and overt nerdy homage, genuinely captivating scenes sprout through the horror, which makes you appreciate the details. From concurrent scenes the play up the scares to the scenes between Abby and Alec that seem to slow the past and gives us a chance to take everything in, there’s a lot to admire. Although many of the scenes have vastly different tones and purposes for the episode, they don’t compete. Naturally, this adds to the success of the pilot episode.
Like the episode wastes no time in building the horrifying framework for the entire series, the final act gets to the leafy cuticle we’ve been desperately yearning for. That’s right: It introduces the new protector of the Green in his archetypal botanical form, along with his main nemesis.
Inspired by the Swamp Thing’s more than complicated encounters with his various comic love interests, the still slightly ambiguous identity of the new Elemental gives our hypothesis-heavy appetites something to digest until the next episode.
After all, we’re still not certain which incarnation of the titular Elemental Alec Holland will take on — if Swamp Thing absorbed his consciousness or if Alec truly was resurrected as the Green Guardian.
With that, the premiere episode ends with a few bangs and subsequent screams.