Netflix's The Last Bus takes viewers through the robot-apocalypse story of seven students from Braelawn Academy. When roboticist Dalton Monkhouse introduces a bunch of people-vaping orbs to the world, Sophie, Misha, Tom, Nas, Josh, Bethan, and Chelsea take shelter in their field trip bus. These seven heroes form an alliance to survive, fight the robots, and search for the truth.
If you love robots, futuristic technology, and sci-fi, then The Last Bus is the perfect series for you. The Last Bus is not your typical apocalypse story. Friendship drama, moralistic lessons, plot twists, and complicated family dynamics make The Last Bus all the more exciting.
Here is the scoop on what we love about Netflix's The Last Bus!
Monkhouse's Toxic Views on Climate Change
In the first episode of The Last Bus, a group of school kids from Braelawn Academy are taken to the Green Arena. Here, Dalton Monkhouse, as a hologram, gives a speech on how he has a new invention that will solve climate change. He says that the problem is people, meaning that humans are incapable of 100% solving climate change. Thus, he releases these orb-like robots that vape everyone up, starting a robot apocalypse.
Later on in the series, we learn that the orbs have the ability to create new plant life to cultivate the planet. Monkhouse's orbs vaped them into sleep facilities where they would all remain in stasis until Earth's carbon levels decrease enough. This reveals the true intentions of Dalton Monkhouse. He wiped the planet of almost all humans and then rebooted it to pre-human conditions.
The Last Bus acknowledges that we live in the Anthropocene, a geological epoch where mass extinctions are occurring due to human activity. Therefore, as long as humans are around, it is impossible to completely solve climate change.
The series shows that returning the Earth to pre-human conditions is not the goal of modern-day environmentalists. Rather, it is to prevent further extinction and further pollution. This way, we can prevent the extinction of the human race.
The Last Bus teaches this lesson by punishing Monkhouse for his actions. By trapping him and stealing his technology, our heroes teach him that his ego is problematic and that he cannot play god. Sophie, Misha, Tom, Nas, Josh, Bethan, and Chelsea show us that there are still caring people in this world and that humans are not all that bad.
Bullies Can Change
Before the robot apocalypse, Nas is shown being bullied by a group of boys much older than him. The leader of this group being Danny. At the very beginning of the apocalypse, Danny and Nas find themselves fighting for their lives together. Realizing that Nas has useful information on surviving the orbs, Danny apologizes to Nas for his actions.
The Last Bus shows that Danny is not necessarily evil and is willing to apologize. Kids tend to bully others if they have faced verbal abuse or to avoid being bullied themselves. While Danny does not get his redemption arc in the beginning, he redeems himself in the end once he realizes that our heroes are the right friends to have.
Rules Can Be Broken
The Last Bus features the goody-two-shoes character Chelsea. She is well-organized, always on time, and a core rule follower. While her character may seem to be over the top when it comes to good behavior, it is actually realistic to see in kids her age. Being just 12, Chelsea sees the world in black and white; everything is either right or wrong. Normally, kids do not have the ability to see the gray area until they hit their teenage years. This is why it is so wonderful that The Last Bus pairs up Chelsea with Misha, a rebellious teenager.
Chelsea starts to grow as a character who begins to see a different perspective on life. At the beginning of episode 6, she says that rules need to be followed. Halfway through, she states that they can bend in emergencies. By the end, she is breaking the rules by saving everyone from Stevil. Here, Chelsea learns that there are no rules. Therefore, The Last Bus teaches that it is okay to break the rules. What really matters is doing what is moralistically right.
Power of Friendship
The Last Bus has a lot of friendship drama. First, we see Tom and Danny butt heads when Tom finally stands up to him. For most of the series, Misha and Tom clash with one another. They both want to lead the bus but have very different ideas. Furthermore, Misha has trouble trusting Tom considering he is Danny's mate and used to bully Nas. This eventually causes an argument between Sophie and Misha. Josh and Bethan even have a moment of dispute themselves.
However, everyone learns to overcome their differences and cooperate. In the end, Tom tells Danny that he's still his best friend. This leads to Danny abandoning Lucy and her gang to join our heroes. Furthermore, upon learning Tom's tragic backstory, the rest of the bus gang forgives him for almost leaving some behind. This also causes Misha to realize that arguing gets her nowhere and she starts to treat Tom better. Consequently, Misha makes up with Sophie, just glad to have her best friend back and alive. Josh and Bethan also quickly make up as he is also glad to have his best friend back. In short, The Last Bus teaches that even though all friends fight, true friends will always stick together. In The Last Bus, nothing is more powerful than friendship.
Family Ties
This futuristic series teaches its audiences the importance of healthy family dynamics. After seeing Nas get bullied, Sophie encourages Nas to dial down his personality. While Sophie means well as she just does not want her brother to be picked on, Nas becomes upset as he knows he should not hide who he is. This causes the siblings to clash a few times throughout the series. Eventually, Sophie realizes that trying to change her brother is wrong. She learns that she just needs to trust Nas and that he knows what he is doing. Also, she realizes that the best thing she can do as a sister is to be by her brother's side and support him.
Another family relationship that we see is between Dalton Monkhouse and Lucy. In the last episode, it is revealed that Monkhouse has a 16-year-old daughter. He was absent her whole life and because of this, Lucy develops extreme resentment toward her father. Therefore, Lucy sets out for revenge and decides that she is going to steal her father's technology. This way, she gets to decide to wake up and who does not, forming her world of the best people. This makes our heroes determine that Lucy is the real bad guy. Yet, this is a monster that Monkhouse created. Monkhouse's absence has left Lucy with abandonment and parental issues.
Hope that you enjoyed this review of Netflix's The Last Bus!
Watch The Last Bus on Netflix.
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