What if the end of the world as we know it isn’t a bad thing?

That’s a good question for opening up a debate on the climate crisis and the idea of one person’s terrorist being another’s freedom fighter, depending on what side of the debate you take. We do get that debate but it doesn’t go far enough.

The interesting twist – of sorts – is the aforementioned terrorist, Tobias’, conversation with Laura. I should probably have seen it coming that it doesn’t take much for him to convince her of his cause, and that she wasn’t really speaking under duress or being threatened… so we see the more humane side of the antagonist in his monologue to her about the climate crisis and the current global lack of meaningful action that will one day make our lovely planet uninhabitable. It is horrendous what we have collectively done and drastic action is needed to address it, these things are true… but in terms of this fictional ‘what if’ story, the pacing is all wrong.

Elena and Sam aren’t needed anymore. All we see is a helpless mother, unable to take any action… not the character we have seen in the rest of the series, but I’ll grant you, she’s had a tough few days by that point.

The dialogue-heavy justifications of the cause – while they absolutely make sense – feel rushed and then the epilogue just felt like a huge, missed opportunity. I wanted to see that world, never mind the apocalypse. I wanted to see how we would rebuild in the united way described, how humanity would overcome in a world without oil. That would be hopeful, that would be inspiring. It’s not enough to simply describe it, and leaves me a little hollow, no matter how beautiful the ultimate message wants to be.

Verdict: The Last Light flickers out. 6/10

Claire Smith