Summary
Episode 7 is an upsetting episode — it exhausts the viewers who will feel there’s no way out for these young people.
This recap of Amazon’s We Children from Bahnhof Zoo season 1, episode 7, “When the night comes”, contains spoilers.
The start of episode 7 feels like a relief after the last chapter — Christiane checks into rehab, but there’s a measure of dread that looms over the characters.
Methods
To help with the cold turkey, she’s asked to undress and enter a sauna. You can tell Christiane does not trust her doctor on the site and is questioning the methods immediately. In the middle of the night, Christiane decides to escape rehabilitation. She goes to see Benno at his uncle’s place. She learns that he has left with Michi and gone to Prague. She tries to visit Babsi, but Babsi’s aunt tells her she isn’t welcome inside. She’s truly alone — none of her friends is around.
Prague
In Prague, Benno is enjoying the atmosphere of the night, and he checks up on Michi, who seems to be in a mood. Michi asks Benno if he sees him differently now and cites that they are best friends. Benno tells Michi that he’s the strongest person he knows.
They finally give in to their sexual tension and kiss each other. Years of staying apart from each other leads to the pair having sex for the first time.
Looking for Christiane
We Children from Bahnhof Zoo season 1, episode 7 proves that the characters are not finding any joy in recovery, but also no joy in relapse either — it’s a miserable outlook for all of them.
Karin looks for Christiane after escaping rehab. She checks the usual places. She gives prostitutes some money for more information and then runs to a bathroom to where she was last seen. She finds a woman, but it isn’t Christiane.
Her mother finally finds her and slaps her daughter. She tells her to go back to rehab, or she’s not welcome back before shutting the apartment door on her. Christiane screams that she’s not going back because the facility does weird exercises on her. She sobs at the door. Karin believes she’s lost her daughter, but her partner doesn’t believe that’s the case.
Prison
Stella is in prison, and she has befriended someone already. She’s not in for long as child protection services have got involved. Her new friend asks if she will write to her. When she leaves, her mother is waiting for her, but she walks away; she wants nothing to do with her.
Returning to bad habits
Christiane finally meets Babsi, and they discuss how they are getting clean. Babsi is doing well for herself, but Christiane is trying to get her to go to SOUND. She tells her DJ Dijan was looking for her the last time she was there. It’s abundantly obvious she’s manipulating Babsi to fulfil her own loneliness and taste for drugs.
Back to SOUND
Babsi tells her grandmother that she’s meeting a “nice boy” and promises that she’ll be back by midnight.
Robert takes it upon himself to look for Christiane after Karin’s partner asks for help. Christiane enjoys the usual vibe of SOUND, and Babsi joins her. However, Dijan isn’t on the DJ spot initially, but then she sees him. When Babsi speaks to Dijan, he tells her he wasn’t looking for her. Babsi gets into the dancing. Afterwards, Christiane wants to shoot up and asks Babsi not to leave her alone. They head back to Günther’s. Babsi is devastated that Dijan didn’t miss her. Christiane admits to Babsi that Dijan never told her that he missed her.
Back to the same old s**t
As Babsi is about to leave, Christiane holds onto her and asks her not to go. She gets out the heroin and asks if she wants someone. Babsi says no at first as Christiane sniffs the drug. It’s clear Babsi is feeling uncomfortable as she sees her friend reminding her of the recent past. Babsi’s family realises she hasn’t returned home. They know what it means.
When Günther wakes up, he sees Babsi and Christiane laid on the couch with each other. Robert learns where Christiane is and pounds on the door — Babsi manages to run away, but Robert punches Günther before grabbing Christiane.
Staying in a rut
And then there’s this cold realisation that the characters are lost and empty — they are merely vessels of their former cells — empty tanks with no chance of fuel.
When Christiane returns to Robert’s place, they flush the drugs together. However, she still has some remaining, and she sniffs it secretly in the bathroom — Günther secretly sends her heroin for her worn panties. Stella meets up with Babsi, who tells her they have a stash. They have all reduced back to their previous identities.
Benno sends Christiane a letter telling her that he loves her. Meanwhile, Michi tells Benno that he’s weak and he will be lost without him, but Benno leaves anyway. Benno returns to Berlin, and he’s trying to find Christiane, but he’s struggling — he’s becoming increasingly irritated.
The ending
With the episode closing out, the characters are more lost than ever — the world has swallowed them. They are a product of their own demise. A beaten and abused Babsi is found by DJ Dijan, who picks her up and helps her — he tends to her wounds with a wet cloth as she cries.
We Children from Bahnhof Zoo season 1, episode 7 is an upsetting episode — it exhausts the viewers who will feel there’s no way out for these young people.
