The 2022 release Netflix original “Welcome to Eden” is a Spanish thriller about a remote island that seems to be a paradise but is actually nothing more than a form of hell on Earth. The series offers a gripping story that holds our attention from start to finish. The story’s protagonist, Zoa, agrees to a soft drink company’s invitation to a free party on an island, but upon arrival, she realizes that the gathering is a gigantic trap. To know whether Zoa could get out of this trap, let’s take a look back at “Welcome to Eden” season 1.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Recap: What Happens In ‘Welcome To Eden’ Season 1?
The story begins on an isolated island with a young woman named Zoa stuck alone. She had forgotten entirely what had occurred to her the previous day. She picked up an empty bottle she found on the beach, but as she did so, she was suddenly reminded of the chaos she had experienced during the previous 12 hours. We go back to two weeks earlier, to a normal day in Zoa’s life. Her parents were estranged and severely dysfunctional. She had a sister named Gaby, whom she’d raised on her own since their father constantly had adulterous affairs and their mother was an addict. One day, amidst all of the chaos in her life, Zoa received a message from a soft drink brand. The intriguing text caught her attention. As she responded, she received a promotional video of their product, the Blue Eden, which piqued her interest. The company invited her to a free launch party on the island of Eden, but they stipulated that the invitee could not reveal the location of the party to anyone or bring anyone with her. Zoa reasoned that she could take this occasion to distract her mind from her miserable life.
Despite the fact that it was against the rules to bring anyone, Zoa took her childhood best friend Judith to the site where the invitees would be picked up. After they arrived near a deserted warehouse, a drone escorted them to a location where a masked man brought them to a bus where all the invitees were gathering. Despite the unsettling nature of the entire environment and the management of the organization, Zoa and Judith did not back down from attending the party. They boarded the bus and continued to have a good time as they traveled to their destination. The masked organizers verified each invitee before their arrival in Eden, which frightened Judith because she didn’t have an invitation, but she was nonetheless approved. Before entering the event, invitees were subjected to metal detectors and were not permitted to bring their phones. They were all required to submit their phones to the organizers. When they arrived at their destination, they were each issued a wristband.
As night fell, the party’s energy started to change. However, Astrid and her husband Eric, the company’s founders and party hosts, made a grand announcement that just five of the guests would be chosen to sample their recently released energy drink. Zoa, Africa, Ibon, Aldo, and Charly were selected to drink the Blue Eden, but soon after they consumed it, they began to hallucinate and vomit. Judith and Zoa split apart during that time. When Zoa awoke the following morning on the beach, she found herself and the other four selected guests had been stranded on the island. Astrid notified her that everyone else who had been invited had left the island except for the five. She also said that boats would be arriving the following day to transport these five to the shore, but Zoa thought the whole situation was shady. She found it hard to believe that Judith had abandoned her. She gradually suspected that something was wrong with the island.
Was Astrid A Cult Leader? What’s Nico’s Purpose In Eden?
At the start of the series, we observed that Astrid was carefully choosing these 100 invitees based on their actions and personal circumstances, with the assistance of one of her employees named Maika. The five were also chosen methodically; thus, calling them all to Eden and leaving them stranded was essentially a pre-planned action. Astrid invited these five because she may have been planning to form a cult and wanted more and more people to follow her. The next morning, as the five invitees—including Zoa—began to look for a way out, they found their way to a community that Astrid and Eric had established. Residents of the community were practicing yoga and group talk therapy, particularly under Astrid’s supervision.
In this therapy session, one person came and talked about their life and the good and terrible conditions they were in. Zoa was given the opportunity to speak about her mother. Astrid attempted to fuel her hatred and grief for her mother as she began to reveal her mother was an addict. Perhaps Astrid used this method before to mislead the residents as well, persuading them that their past lives were miserable and that life in Eden would be blissful, and as a result of the manipulation, they all had agreed to remain on the island. But the process didn’t work on Zoa since she was still worried about Judith. Nevertheless, Astrid and Eric prepared an area for these five members to stay for the night in their community, and Zoa was relieved to have a shelter. However, after settling in, she introduced herself to her roommates, Nico and Cludia. Zoa and Nico began to get close to one another, but that was also a prearranged action.
As none of the newcomers gave it much attention and began to enjoy their stay, Nico told Zoa that they were ready to have a party because the boat would pick up the five the next day. Nico wasn’t just some ordinary guy who fell in love with Zoa at first sight; he was a “link” that Astrid utilized to connect with Zoa. We could see Alma becoming Ibon’s link as he became attached to her. These relationships are primarily designed to help the invitees fall in love with any resident of Eden, thus, through building a romantic attachment, they would consider living on the island forever.
How Did Aldo And Claudia Die? What Happened To Judith?
Though Africa was going with the flow and Charly had no doubts about the place, Aldo began to make plans to leave the island. As Astrid announced that boats would arrive the next day to bring the new crews, Aldo planned to leave secretly and hide inside one of those boats in the hope of escaping the island, but Astrid’s employees, Brenda, and others discovered him and penetrated his skull with a machine, ending his life. There were eventually no boats to take them, which added to Zoa’s frustration.
Meanwhile, Nico led her to a cave on the island, where she discovered Judith’s decaying body, which eventually convinced her that this was no usual launch party going on. Zoa was grieved upon seeing Judith’s body, but she kept her cool to plan her escape from the island; otherwise, she would end up like Judith. Bel, an Eden inhabitant, considered leaving the island, but she needed some bold companions. She told Zoa about it, and Zoa took the opportunity to collaborate with the residents to discover a way out. Bel, on the other hand, intended to enlist Claudia, but after losing her lover to Astrid and Eric, Claudia refused to participate in any revolt.
In a video clip honoring Astrid that was shown during their wedding anniversary, someone threatened to harm her. Astrid was terrified and anxious to learn who the threatener was. Although she didn’t actually investigate who the offender was, she had already decided to punish a member of the gang. She initially wanted to punish Zoa, but disagreements among the group’s members invalidated her choice, and instead, Astrid chose Claudia. As Astrid ordered her employees to kill Claudia, Claudia didn’t even resist since she knew there was no reason left to plead for their lives after Astrid had made the decision to kill them. Judith was another of Astrid’s victims. When they arrived at the party, and Judith saw Astrid’s people executing someone, she’d ended up becoming the next victim.
Was Zoe Able To Escape The Island? What Happened To Gaby?
In the meantime, Zoa’s sister Gaby talked to her father since she was concerned about her sister’s disappearance, but her father didn’t even care to look into the situation. In order to prevent Zoa’s family from searching for her or attempting to learn more about Eden, Astrid sent Gaby a gift from her sister with a letter attached to it. In the interim, Gaby had a meeting with David, one of the guests who had been invited from Eden but was later sent back. He told Gaby about Eden and what had transpired the evening Zoa and Judith had joined the party. When Astrid learned that Gaby had met with David, who had been informing her about Eden, her men permanently silenced David.
Meanwhile, Astrid and Eric were attacked in the middle of the night by a masked attacker, who stabbed Eric. Astrid had no choice but to take her husband to a hut, where a young boy named Isaac began to treat him. The remainder of the invitees in Eden, in the interim, had to pass a challenging test in order to join Astrid’s team. They had to cross burning coal to pass the exam, which they finally achieved. All of these newly arrived residents were required to tattoo stars on their bodies after the test. The stars served as a rating system to determine the members’ worth or quality. Ic Ulises, a resident who received three stars, took his job too seriously and had been given special opportunities, such as getting access to various inside jobs in Eden.
As a fresh set of 100 guests was supposed to arrive at Eden, Bel gathered her rebellious group to convince them that now was the ideal time to leave the desolate island. Zoa attempted to show Ibon the dead body of Judith but couldn’t find it. After hearing the description, Charly and Ibon were able to recognize Judith and realized that all of these events, starting with the invitation and leaving them stranded on the island, were all just a pre-sketched plot. Ibon, Charly, and Zoa thus decided to flee under Bel’s leadership. Bel instructed Zoa to flee through the waterways beneath the sea on the day the new crew would arrive. As Zoa, Charly, and Ibon were assigned the chore of welcoming visitors to Eden’s beach party, the three of them tried to get away. However, Africa, who was not given the responsibility of welcoming the arrivals, discovered a secret tunnel that took her to a chamber loaded with technical systems in the meantime. When she pressed one of the buttons, the system sent a signal to connect with the outside world. But the antenna was built up near Nuria and Isaac’s cabin, where Isaac was treating Eric’s wound.
Despite the fact that Ulises discovered Zoa, Ibon was able to kill him in order to facilitate their escape. Meanwhile, Charly noticed a drone appear, but because the drone was being piloted by Maika, she did not attempt to catch Charly. Just like Nico was Zoa’s link, Maika became Charly’s, but despite it being prearranged, Maika and Charly developed feelings for each other, which finally came in handy. However, as Zoa began to swim towards a boat, she saw that the boat was bringing the visitors ashore, and her sister, Gaby, was one of the passengers. Gaby leaped off the boat and attempted to locate her sister Zoa, but Zoa chose not to proceed because swimming to the boat might endanger her sister’s life. It seemed like Zoa’s attempt to escape from the island didn’t materialize.
What To Expect From Season 2?
We have a lot of questions about Season 2 of “Welcome to Eden” that need to be answered, but the first one is: who was the masked assailant who attacked Astrid and Eric? Was he or she a resident or one of the newcomers? Or perhaps it was a completely unknown person who would emerge to play a pivotal role in season 2. Additionally, we were curious as to what roles Isaac and Nuria played in the series. Possibly in season 2, we will have a better understanding of them. They might be able to contribute to Astrid and Eric’s system of communication with the outside world. Is it a reason Astrid founded her cult, such as fortifying their connections and power, or is there a higher purpose, such as establishing contact with other worlds to improve the planet’s environment? Furthermore, it is extremely uncertain what Gaby’s destiny will be in season 2, given that she already ended up in Eden. Perhaps Zoa would have a hard time shielding her sister from all kinds of mishaps in Eden. To answer all the queries in detail, “Welcome to Eden” season 2 will soon be arriving on Netflix.
