Summary
While The Rig fails to connect you to the characters emotionally, the mysterious fog/creature keeps you invested throughout the six episodes.
The Rig Season 1 was created by David Macpherson and stars some familiar faces in Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones). Is the six-episode series worth checking out? Let’s dive in.
The Rig season 1 Review: Predictable But Worth Investigating
The Rig follows the story of workers on an oil rig who are on the verge of returning home, but a weird fog appears, and a supernatural force takes hold of them.
As the first episode begins, we get the lay of the land with some of the personalities onboard the rig. Shortly after that, we meet Magnus, who is on the phone trying to get their marching orders as they get ready to head to the mainland.
However, in the middle of the conversation, the call connection drops, and he misses the final things trying to be said. Magnus informs the crew that their arrival home has been delayed a bit and that they will have to stay on the rig for a little longer.
As they are waiting to head into the mainland, this weird fog begins to overcome the rig, and strange things start to happen. Then, after one man dies, Hutton starts to cause mass chaos, including outing Magnus and the company’s plans to ditch the rigs. Things continue to get weirder and weirder as people start to drop like flies or get sick. Everyone begins to wonder what in the world is happening.
One thing I loved about the writing was the story of these characters. You had your higher characters that were more in that “lead role,” but every side character felt like they had a purpose in the bigger picture. That said, it was a little bit of a downside for the overall series.
I say this because you didn’t have anything to invest emotionally into these characters. Sure, we don’t want anyone to die, but outside of loudmouth Coake, who I was rooting to see bite the bullet, I struggled to cling to them. I wanted to care more about the people on the rig.
Look, I am not one that typically loves these supernatural styles of movies/shows. However, the writing team did a great job building this slow and methodical story that kept you guessing what was happening on the rig. Of course, we know it’s the fog and some type of supernatural thing taking hold of everything, but the when and the how were structurally built that had a great payoff.
Is The Rig series any good?
The big question is, is the series any good? Yes, but temper your expectations. The Rig isn’t groundbreaking or anything that will blow you out of the water. While some aspects of the story were predictable, I was still invested in seeing how the entire thing would resolve. Another thing that makes it worth watching is how easy it is to binge. You have six 40-50 minute episodes making it a one or two-sitting watch (depending on how you binge).
Overall, The Rig does many things right while doing some things wrong. It lacks a strong foundation for any emotional connection, but the writing of this “mysterious creature” keeps you invested. Also, Iain Glen and Emily Hampshire do a great job of leading the series into a relevance that makes this mysterious thriller watchable. It’s definitely worth checking out.
The Rig Season 1 Episode 6 Recap
The Rig Season 1 (Credit – Amazon Prime Video)
The episode begins with us on The Kinloch Charlie Rig, two days prior, where we see Coake with a group of people trying to make something happen. However, the pressure is too much, and we see the entire rig end up in flames. After the opening credits, we have Magnus questioning Harish about the event’s relevance to today.
Next, Coake goes in for questioning by Magnus. Then, of course, he explains that this “experiment” is something that they are trying to stop, but they have failed. Finally, Coake reminds him that he has to make hard choices, whether they are popular or not.
The conversation continues when Coake says they must end this experiment here and now. Magnus wants to know what happens to his people, but Coake says that not everyone will survive.
Shortly after, Magnus tells Rose about Coake’s plan, but Rose says they can’t just “kill it.” She follows with that she and Fulmer are working on an alternative. But Magnus reminds her to work fast as they are running out of time.
We head into the lab with Rose and Fulmer, and she attempts to break down the plan for the mysterious fog. She breaks down how everything they’ve done has made it angrier. But Magnus said they are running the risk of everyone dying, and they must hear Coake out.
So then, Magnus goes to Coake to ask him if he can stop this and save his crew. He said he was the only man who could do this. A mere moments after agreeing, we see Coake pull out his phone, and it says, “Cirein Mission Time Elapsed. Emergency Protocol Activated.”
Magnus heads to the crew to tell them they will follow Coake’s plan. Rose freaks out and says that this is a terrible idea. She said his plans were the same, which got almost everyone killed on the Charlie rig.
After much convincing, Magnus agrees to try Rose’s plan to make contact with the creature. Next, we see Coake confront Harish about how he wasn’t shy about jumping off the ship into a lifeboat without rescuing anyone. Unsure what to say, Harish realizes that Coake has a way back and follows him to find out his plan.
Well, Coake says there is a helicopter on the way, and there is room for him and his friend. So then, he lays out the plan (the same as the Charlie), and Harish doesn’t love the idea, but Coake tells him to do what he is told as he doesn’t mind leaving people behind.
As he starts to think twice, Harish clicks the intercom so that everyone on the ship can hear the two of them talk. The other crewmates heard what Coake had planned and knew they needed to make a move. As this goes on, the rig starts to have this earthquake-like movement.
We move to the trio heading to rescue Baz. While they get him, Rose sees this as a chance for them to stop what is happening. Next, as the helicopter is scheduled to land, Hutton confronts Coake and wants to throw him overboard. The rest of the crew stops him, followed by Hutton socking Coake right in the mouth. As the helicopter lands, Hutton makes the call sending as many as they can to the first one.
The Rig Season 1 Ending Explained
Back to Baz, who is sucked up in this world but says that maybe they need to make a sacrifice, “a life for a life,” to show that they are willing to make a sacrifice. So Baz stays while the trio gets out of dodge. It’s a race against time, as everyone is trying to make it to the landing pad.
The helicopter just barely gets out while the fog hits the rig, destroying it. On the helicopter, Coake announces that they aren’t returning to the rig. Everyone is gutted as thousands of people will die now because of this.
So, The Rig had some highs and lows, but they nailed the landing here. I wasn’t sure how it would end, which means great writing. However, I loved that the ending wasn’t so happy-go-lucky as we see with most series. Another thing, it does open the door for the show’s second season. But it has an end that if it’s only one season, you are simultaneously left satisfied.
What did you think of The Rig season 1? Comment below.
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