Netflix's new apocalyptic thriller offered plenty of juicy details for fans who enjoyed analyzing the film. And while some viewers saw an inconsistency in the use of the Friends series, the director took a different view.
Based on Rumaan Alam's novel, 2020's bestseller, The World After Us quickly rose to the top of Netflix's rankings. It must be said that this drama, with its apocalyptic feel and sometimes strange images, has many arguments to convince the viewer: and first comes the star-studded cast. Between Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali and Myha'la Herrold, the performances could only be successful.
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Especially since the scenes were played in front of the camera by Sam Esmail, the creator of another well-known and celebrated series: Mr. Robot. When the director and screenwriter decides to heighten the intrigue of the cyberattack in the midst of a world apocalypse that will disrupt the average American's vacation, viewers are sold.
But this time, the final detail viewers noticed was the subject of much debate. In fact, Rose, the little one of the Sandford family, is a true admirer of the series Friends…, which stars Julia Roberts, who plays Amanda Sandford in “The World After Us”. Inconsistency or brilliant wink? Things go even further for the director.
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Viewers of Le Monde après nous notice a major contradiction with the Friends series
In The World After Us, Rose Sandford (Farrah Mackenzie), the daughter of Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke), is a huge Friends fan. Of course, we won't throw stones at him, but this choice seems to pose a major problem in the eyes of many viewers. Julia Roberts actually appears in the sitcom as Susie Moss.
Why didn't Rose notice her mother's copy on the show? Many members of the Netflix audience have asked themselves the same question and see it as a story problem.
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“The little girl watching Friends on her tablet won’t believe it when Julia Roberts shows up.”
“Plot twist in The World After Us…the girl is watching the episode of Friends with Julia Roberts,” one user joked Twitteranother add in a slightly more confused tone: “The girl who was obsessed with Friends in The World After Us had absolutely nothing to say about her mother being in an episode. Not. A word.”
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In the books, the teenager is nowhere near as attracted to the famous series. The bunker scene in the novel shows her putting a DVD into the player, but the story doesn't fascinate her. What comforts her is simply the sound of the television that remains in the background.
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But then how could the adaptation miss this detail and make a glaring mistake? Maybe simply because it wasn't a mistake.
The director of The World After explains the connection between the film and the series Friends
Netflix
Making Rose a Friends fanatic was actually an adaptation decision. And what the audience thinks is a mistake shouldn't be a problem for the director at all.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker explained: “The universe I create for these films is slightly different from our reality. Of course that has to be the case. They are played by actors who live in our world. So my convoluted meta-explanation is that when Rose watches Friends and sees Julia in it, she notices a resemblance to her mother, but apparently ignores it because she is not her mother.
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Sam Esmail later explained more about Rose's obsession with the sitcom as the world collapsed around her. Speaking to Tudum, the Netflix news site, he presented it in his own way: “For me it was pure escape. In moments of crisis, in which we have lost sight of our common humanity, in which we feel isolated, we want to flee into comfort. And for Rose, I thought her journey wouldn’t be complete until she watched the latest episode of her favorite show.”
In fact, “The World After Us” ends with the little one of the Sandford family looking at the screen with a big smile. And for those who feel confused by such an abrupt ending, we offer you our full interpretation here.
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