Apple TV+’s latest animated series, WondLa, an adaptation of a sci-fi fantasy book series of the same name, is a visually resplendent piece of media that places itself in a dystopian setting and follows a human protagonist who tries to search for a world that is long gone. Memorable character designs are the most notable aspect of the series, along with an intricate, phantasmagorical settings, which are quite evidently the USP of the series—the only drawback being the derivative nature of the narrative.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Eva Learn About WondLa?
In the distant future, humanity’s greed and exploitation causes a total ecological and environmental collapse. As a result, the dwindling numbers of surviving humanity decides to send the youngest progeny to be raised inside advanced underground bunkers (kind of like the ‘Vault’ system in Fallout) created by the Dynastes Corps as the surface world recovers and returns to normalcy. Inside the bunkers, robotic sentient droids known as Muthr oversee the upbringing and survival training of the human children until they come of age and become prepared to survive outside and meet with other human companions. The narrative focuses on Muthr Unit 06, under whose love, care, and mentorship the human child, Eva, has grown up since her infancy in Sanctuary 573. Muthr’s presence in Eva’s life fulfills her parental needs, but the little girl longs for companionship. On her sixth birthday, Eva receives an Omnipod, an enhanced virtual assistant, with the help of which she gets introduced to the chief of the Dynastes Corps, Cadmus Pryde, through a pre-recorded holographic projection. Cadmus shares that after completing her final assessment test upon coming of age, which is a daunting challenge for her physical and mental capabilities, Eva can leave her bunker and meet her family, which consists of other survivors.
Little Eva asks Muthr whether they share a familial connection, to which the robotic guardian answers that, by definition of same-species companionship, they do not, even though the bond between the two is as strong as any parent and their child. As Eva grows up, she rigorously trains in hopes of getting out of the bunker and meeting her family, and on her 16th birthday, a day before the final assessment test, she accidentally discovers a hidden section of her bunker that unlocks a larger area. As Eva ventures inside, she finds out that in the abandoned extension of the bunker, other kids were raised, and she even finds a torn page depicting a scenic destination addressed to her. Eva mistakenly reads the name of the place as ‘WondLa’, and is immensely surprised to know she was not alone. Seeing an opening leading from the bunker, Eva tries to communicate with the surface world but attracts the attention of a vicious Berserker bounty hunter alien, whose identity is later revealed to be Besteel. The Besteel chases her, prompting Eva to return to her bunker. Eva shares her experience with her Muthr, who reveals that, like every bunker, six children were supposed to be raised with Eva, but due to circumstances, she had to remain isolated. Before their conversation can move any further, the Besteel breaks into the bunker to capture Eva, and Muthr helps Eva escape by getting herself caught instead.
Why did Rover take Eva to Lacus?
Eva is perplexed after finding a whole different earth after reaching the surface world and finds no sign of humans. The new earth is unlike anything she had been taught about her home planet, and with its fantastical flora and fauna, it resembles more of an alien land. Also, it is revealed that the earth is now governed by advanced alien species who settled on it and named it Orbona after it gradually recovered from its human-made afflictions. Eva meets a humanoid alien pathfinder, Rovender Kitt, a loner with a sordid past who is seen wearing a Dynastes jacket. Eva wonders whether Rovender knows anything crucial about humans and pleads with him to share information regarding it. However, both of them get caught by the Besteel, who is revealed to have captured Muthr, and a giant Waterbear named Otto as well. Eva and Rovender later work together to get free from captivity, and taking Muthr and Otto with them, they somehow manage to escape the Besteel. Eva once again tries to pry out information about humans from Rovender, and this time he gets convinced to take them to Lacus, the city from which he received the Dynastes jacket, in exchange for her Omnipod. On the other hand, Muthr reveals to Eva that she has been raising children for the past eight generations, and during Eva’s generation, she turned out to be the only surviving child due to contamination decimating the remaining children. Otto is eager to follow Eva on her journey, and Eva convinces Muthr to assist her in finding her human family as well.
On their way to Lacus, Eva spots a captive young Sand-sniper but fails to rescue it as the Besteel takes it away with him without noticing Eva and co. As the team reaches Lacus, Rovender takes them to Caruncle, an antique shop owner who sold him the jacket, but he refuses to share information without a substantial amount of credit. Eva participates in a spiderfish race to win the amount, and Rovender takes the team to his old acquaintances, Hostia and Fiscian’s loving family, to stay the night. It is further revealed that humans have become a seemingly unknown species in this world, as the hosts are fascinated to see a human being for the first time in their lives. As Eva speaks with Hostia, she learns that Rovender was not always the grumpy, cynical loner that he has now become after losing his family due to a past tragedy. The youngest members of the family, Zoozie and Maegden, easily befriend Eva, and reveal that an Orbonian royal poet and mystic, Darius, can satisfy her queries about humans.
What Did Darius Reveal To Eva?
Darius the mystic turns out to be a collector of memories and takes Eva’s happy memory of her sixth birthday in exchange for information about humans. However, Darius reveals that the earth was previously desecrated by humans before the arrival of the alien species, much to Eva’s surprise, and as she finds out that Eva is a human, or ‘Ghost of the Dirt, as she remarks, she is repulsed by her presence and kicks her out of her quarters. Eva becomes disheartened after considering Darius’ assessment of human beings to likely be accurate, and wonders whether humans have indeed gone extinct.
Why did Eva decide to get captured by Besteel?
Eva still considers the Dynastes jacket to be a sign of hope in finding fellow humans, and she tries to convince Rovender that she is helping him. However, the pathfinder has become too jaded to agree to help her, and as Eva confronts him with his tragic past, he gets furious enough to cut ties with her.
Eva goes to Caruncle and learns that the alien shop owner got the Dynastes patch from Brother Zin, a scientist and collector from the royal court of Solas, the capital city of Orbona. He also reveals that he had traded an omnipod with Zin as well, and Eva gets excited after learning this, as getting her hands on another omnipod will allow her to know more about other humans as well. However, Caruncle betrays Eva by trapping her and tipping off Besteel, who seeks to trade her to Zin in Solas, and somehow Eva manages to return to Muthr by evading capture. Muthr, who is extremely concerned about Eva’s safety, cannot relate to her obsession with finding her fellow humans by constantly putting her own life in danger, and Eva has a falling out with her as she lashes out at her, calling her a mere robot and not her biological mother. Later, she decides to surrender to Besteel, who brings her to the royal court of Solas and presents her in front of Queen Ojo, Brother Zin, and Brother Loroc.
Did Eva find her family at the end?
Queen Ojo, the greenhorn heir and daughter of the late King Ojo, has not been able to command her court as she remains too defensive while Loroc and Zin take control in her stead. They try to influence her decisions and create an unreasonable fear of humans, as Zin tries to use Eva as his test experiment. Eva notices the young Sand-sniper (previously captured by Besteel) in Zin’s experiment chamber as well, and using her wit, she frees him along with herself as well. Eva meets Queen Ojo and helps her overcome her own insecurities and fear, which lets the queen reconnect with her late father’s high estimation of humankind as well. With her help, Eva accesses the Omnipod at Loroc’s disposal. Eventually, Queen Ojo takes command over her seat by thwarting Loroc and Zin’s plan, and Eva follows the direction of the user of the new Omnipod in hopes of finding fellow humans.
En route, Eva comes across Muthr and Otto, who have been worried sick ever since Eva went to Solas on her own, and she reconciles with her robotic guardian. Eventually, Eva comes across Rovender as well, who was feeling guilt after seeing Eva captured, and he takes this opportunity to make amends with her by guiding her through her journey. It turns out that the owner of the new Omnipod is located in New York, which is on the other side of a nearly demolished Brooklyn Bridge, and in her obsession to reach it, Eva jeopardizes the life of her family. As a remorseful Eva feels guilty for her actions, Rovender helps her to get through by opening up that the pain of losing his wife Gissanna and daughter Hanna had made him lose hope, until Eva’s eagerness to find her family made him feel otherwise. Finally, with renewed belief, Eva, Muthr, Otto, and Rovender manage to overcome the hurdles of their path and reach the other side. Eva is fascinated to think that she has found WondLa, but her misconceptions get shattered in the worst way possible.
Following the signal of the new Omnipod, Eva and co. reach the New York subway and find a mass grave of former bunker dwellers. Roshon, a former Sanctuary 573 dweller who was the last human alive in this last remaining human settlement, was the owner of the Omnipod, who now lies lifeless among the deceased bunker dweller humans. The WondLa, which gave Eva inspiration to go on a journey to find fellow humans, was a torn page that formed part of the title of the children’s classic Wonderful Land of Oz. Eva has been chasing a dream without knowing it was a false one to begin with. Realizing that she is the last of her kind, Eva breaks down. Her Muthr tries to console her, but she runs away in agony. Perched high on the top of the city in ruins, Eva sulks in her loneliness as hopelessness and despair engulf her. However, seeing Muthr, Otto, and Rovender worried for her well-being and searching for her, Eva finally realizes that it’s not blood relations that make family; it’s the connection that does. She has been hankering for a place to belong without realizing that the ones close to her accepted her as their own long ago. However, Eva’s realization comes a bit too late, as Besteel suddenly appears out of nowhere with the intention of capturing Eva and bringing her to Loroc and Zin. Seeing her family in trouble, Eva jumps into action to save them. Unfortunately, after a prolonged chase, Muthr sacrifices herself to save Eva. The young sand sniper decides to pay back Eva’s kindness by calling in their family to pull the Besteel into the ground, thereby saving Eva, Rovender, and Otto in the process.
In Muthr’s epitaph, Eva acknowledges her as her own mother, thereby honoring the bond they shared since Eva’s infancy. In the final moments of the first season, an airship appears in front of Eva, Rovender, and Otto, from where Cadmus Pryde, the chief of the Dynastes Corps, descends and invites Eva to come along with her. Whether the person inviting Eva is the real Cadmus remains in question, given that it has been a long time since Dyanstes built the bunkers. Which is why it can’t be said for certain that Eva has found a human connection with Cadmus’ arrival just yet.
