La Palma has raced to first place on the Netflix top 10 chart in the US, but the ending of the new TV show has sparked criticism for one major decision.
For the uninitiated, La Palma is fictional but it’s based on a terrifying real-life theory: that one day, a Manhattan-sized chunk of the Cumbre Vieja volcano could collapse, fall into the sea, and cause a tsunami so big, it’d wipe out millions in Europe and the East coast of the US.
The hypothesis was first put forward by Steven N. Ward and Simon Day in a 2001 academic paper, raising concerns about a fracture on the volcano that formed following a 1949 eruption on La Palma in the Canary Islands.
Although experts have since debunked much of the theory, the Netflix series La Palma leverages this speculative scenario to build a thrilling, albeit unrealistic plot. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Why the La Palma ending is facing criticism
The ending of La Palma has been slammed for the fact that teen Sara (Alma Günther) and her girlfriend Charlie (Jenny Evensen) survive an 80-foot tsunami wave.
It goes without saying that this is the type of show where you have to suspend disbelief to a certain degree, but for many Netflix viewers, this was a step too far.
Just before the wave hits, the main family at the center of La Palma have all been split up. Sara’s mom Jennifer (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and her son Tobias (Bernard Storm Lager) don’t make it on the plane out of Tenerife.
Meanwhile, Jennifer’s husband Fredrik (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) doesn’t even get out of La Palma until the last minute. Eventually, they’re all able to make it to a “safe spot” – a bay on Tenerife that cancels out the impact of the surrounding tsunami.
It’s already an unlikely scenario that all three of them survive, but the most surprising escape is Sara, who gets stuck on a stationary plane leaving Tenerife when the wave strikes.
Sara, Charlie, and the rest of the passengers are onboard as the wall of water hits the side of the aircraft, which in real life would have undoubtedly wiped everyone out.
However, we later see the aftermath, and somehow the cabin is empty and the passengers are still in their seats, including Sara. She wakes up and enlists the help of a surviving staff member, who performs CPR and revives Charlie.
Netflix fans slam ‘unrealistic’ ending
Taking to Reddit, one viewer argued that the events of the show were “detached from reality,” stating, “The character (Sara) was saved from life-threatening situations through clichéd and contrived resolutions.”
In a separate thread, another said, “That Tsunami was gonna wreak havoc on the American continent, but the daughter survived it hitting her plain point blank at the highest impact some 60km away.”
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“There’s no way they would’ve survived that,” added a third. “They didn’t even show like receding water. Where did the water go? Tsunamis don’t just hit and then disappear. That plane would’ve been long gone in the ocean.”
A fourth chimed in, “It didn’t make sense how she and the stewardess survived water smashing into the plane when no one else did.”
Others have criticized the inexplicable decisions made by the various characters, especially since the family splitting up could’ve been avoided with a text message.
“It’s like they used cellphones for everything except when an issue came up that could easily be solved with a simple text,” wrote one.
Another said, “I’m really tired of the old ‘we have cellphones’… can’t reach people with a call, but won’t text. Ends up texting or calling long after it could be helpful.
“Okay so the daughter goes back for the love of her life, but couldn’t text her mom that she’s on her way back to the plane. And the mom couldn’t ask her where she was BEFORE getting off the plane.
“But when she gets off the plane and the daughter gets on, THEN they communicate only to realize they’re not in the same place. This always spoils things for me.”
Not everyone felt frustrated with La Palma, however. It may not be up there with the best shows of 2024, but it’s still an entertaining ride.
“I thought it was fine,” commented one viewer. “I found myself trying to compare it to The Impossible which is based on the true story of a real family during the real Tsunami in 2004.
“Watching a fictional family in a fictional natural disaster doesn’t carry the same impact. However, it’s still somewhat compelling despite some unrealistic plot points within the family drama.”
Another said, “It wasn’t a perfect movie by any means, but I still enjoyed binge-watching it.”
If you want to make up your own mind, La Palma is streaming on Netflix now. Be sure to also check out the new TV shows streaming this month, the top horror series ever made, and the shocking true story behind Netflix’s The Abyss.
