In Netflix’s 2024 sci-fi series, The Signal, Paula, the protagonist takes up a space mission, to find the presence of extraterrestrial life in outer space. Little does Paula know; her quest will lead to a revelation that could change the course of humanity forever. However, before Paula can share her findings with the world, she mysteriously disappears, leaving behind a trail of falsified information about the aliens’ arrival. Knowing that they would face danger and that their lives would be at risk, Paula’s husband, Sven, and their daughter, Charlie, tried to protect their family and uncover the truth behind Paula’s strange disappearance. Will Sven and Charlie succeed in their quest to uncover the truth and protect their loved ones, or will they too fall victim to the conspiracy of the powerful? – Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was Paula Called A Murderer?
Sven, a history teacher, awaits his wife Paula’s return from space, along with their daughter Charlie. He safeguards her along the way, as she is deaf, hoping that Paula will discover advanced technology retrieved by the aliens to help Charlie hear without her machine. Sven, an old-school guy, doesn’t believe in technology, despite Paula and Charlie teasing him about it. He’s reluctant to use advanced technology on mobile, fearing it covers too much personal information. Upon witnessing Paula’s arrival on Earth, they notice she fails to execute the parachute landing of their rocket, which should have occurred moments earlier. Charlie, knowledgeable about space travel, realizes Paula hesitated to push the button, signaling danger due to altitude. Thankfully, they manage to execute the landing, but the scare leaves them shaken, fearing Paula doesn’t want to survive.
The next day, Sven and Charlie eagerly waited to hug Paula at the airport, but they found no trace of the plane, causing paranoia among the passengers. Eventually, news of the plane wreckage in the Atlantic confirms Paula’s death, along with that of 178 others. Paula sent a message through the cockpit, instructing them not to reveal information about the aliens’ arrival to the government or powerful people. However, her voice heard before the crash led many to accuse her of orchestrating the disaster, addressing her as a mass murderer. Sven and Charlie know this isn’t true, prompting them to uncover what information Paula wanted them to protect. They resolve to find the truth together, with Sven understanding he must be there for Charlie’s safety amidst the horde of angry people, including the media, calling Paula a murderer in front of their house. Charlie struggles to cope with the absence of her mother, Paula, holding onto the hope that she might call again through the radio. She keeps the radio on, believing it might reconnect her with her mother in outer space. Meanwhile, Sven takes care of her in every possible way, reading her stories and reminding her not to get into fights, as Paula had instructed.
How Do Sven And Charlie Save Themselves From Government Suppression?
One day, Charlie hears her mother’s voice on the radio, revealing information about the aliens’ landing. So she writes the message on her hand as Paula urges her to keep it a secret. Sven did not know how to cope with it all and, aware of Paula’s history of psychosis, thought that perhaps she hallucinated something, leading to the killing of thousands of people in the plane wreck. He discovers Paula hiding her pills in a moon-shaped miniature, which means she was not taking the medications to treat her episodes. When Charlie tries to tell Sven about speaking to her mom through the radio, he doesn’t believe her, which infuriates Charlie, and she flees home. Sven receives a call from Rainer, Paula’s assistant, leading him to Rainer’s home, where he uncovers a secret document detailing Paula’s discovery about the aliens’ impending arrival on Earth. The document suggests that Paula had heard a voice captured in the rocket’s radio, saying “hello,” indicating the aliens’ arrival. Powerful individuals are pursuing Paula and her family to suppress this information.
Sven locates Charlie taking shelter with an elderly lady, an astronaut who had heard the same “hello” voice during her space journey two years prior. They learn that the voice is repeated every 13 days, suggesting an attempt to mimic human communication. Thus, they believed Paula had heard this too and learned out the aliens’ imminent arrival. Despite moments of doubt and misunderstanding, their relationship is characterized by mutual trust, support, and a shared commitment to uncovering the truth. Sven’s unwavering dedication to Charlie’s well-being, even amidst chaos and danger, highlights the strength of their father-daughter bond. As Sven and Charlie attempt to flee with the secret document, they are caught by the military, taking Rainer as another captive. The government, acting on Paula’s falsified information about the aliens’ landing, executes a detonation at the specified location, only to find nothing.
How Did Sven And Charlie Fool Mudhi?
Sven and Charlie both understood that once the powerful individuals realized the detonation was completely unnecessary, they would be at risk. However, their attempt to flee home was impeded when Benisha Mudhi’s people kidnapped them, taking them to her residence. When they regained consciousness, Mudhi manipulated them into believing that Paula was like her daughter, leading them to trust her and reveal the information about the aliens’ expected arrival time and location. They hoped Mudhi would bring justice for Paula and the other victims of the plane crash. However, they soon discovered that Mudhi was the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy. She feared the aliens as a threat to mankind and did not want their arrival to be known. Realizing that Mudhi was responsible for Paula’s death, Sven decided to deceive her by claiming that Paula had fabricated the story about the aliens’ arrival to expose the conspiracy of the powerful individuals. Angered by Sven’s revelation, Mudhi ordered her assistant, Nora, to kill them. Despite this, Sven and Charlie miraculously survived and returned home to find that justice had been served. Mudhi was found guilty of killing innocent people and labeled a mass murderer, bringing closure to Sven and Charlie’s ordeal.
At the end of the series, it is revealed that the information Charlie scribbled on her hand indicated the location where the aliens would land, and Sven knew the timing as Paula had communicated to him in a coded language that they would arrive on St. Stephen’s Day. Together, Charlie and Sven went to the exact location at the specified time to meet the aliens. Sven, having finally embraced advanced technology, used a new phone for navigation. Ultimately, it is revealed to be the Voyager 1 probe, launched in the 1970s, which carries recordings of greetings from all languages on Earth. It appears that the probe was sent back to Earth by extraterrestrial beings, serving as a message for humanity to unite regardless of race, religion, or caste, to stand against the corruption of powerful individuals, and to promote peace among all. This revelation suggests that perhaps Paula’s true message was about the importance of humanity and peace, transcending individual interests and agendas. By finding the Voyager probe, Sven and Charlie successfully conceal Paula’s experimental secret and ensure that her sacrifice isn’t for nothing.
