La Palma, the new Norwegian Netflix original set in Spain, is one of many good stories that has an impending natural disaster in its backdrop. Unlike the cliché Hollywood films, this one does talk about the consequences of a natural disaster and in detail takes its audiences through what happens right before calamity strikes. The emotions are real, and so are the characters, and the show does a good job of putting across a human story behind the survival drama.
Jennifer
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, the Norwegian actress, is Jennifer, who is mother to Sara and Tobias. She is married to Fredrik, and all of them are in La Palma vacationing during the Christmas time. It is understood that Jennifer has physically changed a lot after working on herself, which is bothering Fredrik as men flirt with her. Jennifer and Fredrik are going through tough times in their marriage, and this vacation with the family is supposed to help them reconnect as a couple. She knows her son Tobias could be on the spectrum and believes Fredrik is ignoring that fact.
Jennifer is a typical understanding mother who tries to be there for Sara when she comes out as lesbian. On the other hand, she feels Fredrik is not as invested in the marriage as she is and wants to bring some significant changes to their relationship. Jennifer is the first person who learns from her brother about the tsunami. She wants to make sure her family is safe and decides to get them out of the island but her destiny had different plans.
Fredrik
Anders Baasmo is Fredrik, Jennifer’s husband, who is also helping her raise her children, Sara and Tobias. Though Sara was Jennifer’s daughter from her previous marriage, Tobias was Fredrik’s son with her. He is slightly insecure about Jennifer getting all the attention because she lost weight. Fredrik is also a typical middle-aged man who is unable to understand why Jennifer is forcing him to work on their marriage. He feels he doesn’t need to change since she should love him for who he is. He does not understand that, as they are getting older, they need to find ways to keep their marriage exciting. Amidst their personal problems, Fredrik and Jennifer learn of the volcano erupting from another family member in Madrid, and all of them soon begin to work as a team in the hope they can leave this town unharmed.
Sara
Alma Günther portrays the role of Sara, who is Jennifer’s daughter from her previous marriage, but she has grown up with Fredrik as her father figure. She is the first person to sense her parents are going through a rough patch. She struggles with her own sexuality since she is in her teens. Sara is attracted to women, and on this trip she finds herself drawn to another tourist named Charlie. She finds it hard to convey her feelings and come out to her parents as well. Sara is also one of the many who are stuck on La Palma Island who tries their level best to fly out in order to survive the oncoming calamity.
Marie
Thea Sofie Loch Næss portrays the role of Marie, a geologist who is the first person to discover that the crack that appeared on the volcano in the year 1949 has widened. She is the first person to find out and let her boss Alvaro know that a disaster is just hours away and they should start evacuating the island. She also reveals that she lost her parents to the tsunami of 2004, purely because the authorities did not inform about the incoming disaster. This is the reason she wants Alvaro to take the first step and let the tourists know so that they can survive. Marie has a younger brother who she is very close to. She wants him to leave the island and hesitantly lets him know about the tsunami. Marie is one of those characters who wants to do what is right for the people, and she might end up losing her life in the process.
Erik
Amund Harboe portrays the role of Erik, Marie’s younger brother, who spends a lot of his time snorkeling in the middle of the sea near La Palma Island. He is the first person to find out the turtles are moving away from the island, potentially a sign that something is going to happen. Erik, who is asked to leave the island, stays back so that he and Marie can leave together. Erik goes out of his way to save himself and his sister, but one of them will not survive and the plot is heading in that direction.
Alvaro
Jorge de Juan GarcÃa portrays the role of Alvaro, Marie’s boss who is unwilling to believe there is a disaster waiting to happen in the island of La Palma, Spain. Marie’s warnings remind him of himself when he tried to do the same. In his case many years ago, it caused chaos on the island, and his boss almost lost her job. Alvaro is not willing to make the same mistake a second time, but he knows Marie’s parameters are not wrong. When the volcano goes off the first time, he lets his boss know about the oncoming landslide of lava that will destroy La Palma Island, and engulf other islands thanks to the tsunami caused by the landslide.
Jens
Thorbjørn Harr is Jens, Jeniffer’s brother, working for the Norwegian embassy in Madrid. He first appears in the show when Sara contacts him asking for money as she wants to head back home from the Madrid airport. This is when he learns his sister and her husband, Fredrik, are having troubles and Sara is flying back to Madrid from La Palma. He informs his sister about Sara leaving, which is when the plane flying to Madrid crashes because of the volcanic dust from the explosion. Jens also learns of the impending tsunami that will hit the island and wants his sister and her family to head to the next island over so that they can fly to Madrid as soon as possible. Jens is not supposed to let anyone know about these details. Since he has family on the island vacationing, he felt it is his duty to save them before the disaster.
