Elizabeth Vierkant

Into the Void, the first episode of one of Netflix’s newest original series, Chambers, is a slow start to what originally appeared to be a compelling concept. Created by Leah Rachel, a relatively unknown producer, this show boasts several big names such as Uma Thurman—as both an actor and producer—and Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn; because of this, Chambers seemed promising. Unfortunately, Netflix missed the mark on the first episode.

The horror show follows Sasha Yazzie (Sivan Alyra Rose), a seventeen-year-old high school student, as she suffers a heart attack while enjoying a romantic evening with her boyfriend, TJ (Griffin Powell-Arcand). Following this unfortunate event, Sasha receives a heart transplant courtesy of the late Becky LeFevre (Lilliya Scarlett Reid), who died under mysterious circumstances.

Several months after these events, we see Sasha return to school with the help of her friend, Yvonne (Kianna Simone Simpson), though this doesn’t last for long. Becky LeFevre’s father, Ben, played by Tony Goldwyn, visits Sasha’s Uncle Frank’s (Marcus LaVoi) fish shop, and asks that the two come over for dinner. It is here we learn that LeFevre’s parents (Goldwyn and Thurman) wish to grant Sasha a scholarship to attend Becky’s old, prestigious high school, Crystal Valley.

This exposition feels ordinary, slow, and unimportant to the overarching plot of the series. This overload of information makes the plot seem as far from relevancy as possible. From the trailers for this series, it is clear that the series deals with Sasha experiencing visions and committing actions related to Becky’s mysterious passing, likely due to the heart transplant. However, when Chambers plays with this horror concept, it begins to shine through the mundane vibes emanating from the majority of the pilot episode.
Between Sasha’s original meeting with Ben and her dinner at the LeFevre household, she experiences her first vision of Becky lying beside her in bed. Sasha’s heart begins to race, much as it did prior to her heart attack, growing louder and louder as tears fill her eyes. As a viewer, this intense moment of fear resonates. Is Sasha having another heart attack? Is she just afraid? The use of sound effects and Sivan Alyra Rose’s intense acting abilities help sell the scene, yet this amazing moment, only proves how ineffective the rest of the episode’s writing is.

Following Sasha’s choice to attend Crystal Valley High School, she and TJ spend another romantic evening with one another, something that also feels ultimately inconsequential to the overarching plot of Sasha’s visions and actions. When she attends her first day at Crystal Valley, she begins to discover and experience the life of a much richer girl than the one that she grew up as in her lower-income community. The episode ends with Sasha and Yvonne spending time together, followed by a shot of TJ skateboarding down a street, which doesn’t seem to correlate to the plot in any way.

In all fairness, pilot episodes are often messy. There is a lot of exposition to cover, and that can come off as boring and unimportant. Luckily, Into the Void did have a few saving graces. Much like Sasha’s first vision of Becky lying in the bed beside her, the other “visions” and odd occurrences that Sasha experiences as just as powerful. Much of this is thanks to Sivan Alyra Rose’s acting skills. While staying in the LeFevre’s house, Sasha finds a camera hidden within Becky’s room, and the fear radiating off the actress feelsA realistic and (no pun intended) heart-stopping. Sasha has another vision, seeing herself sleeping with a man she has never met. As a smile peels onto her face, Rose’s haunting acting sends chills down the viewer’s spine.

Another standout actress, the well-known Uma Thurman, helped improve the lackluster writing with her heart-wrenching acting abilities. Having just lost her daughter, her character, Nancy LeFevre, spends great amount of time in emotional pain, and shines through in Thurman’s acting. It is felt. The first time we see Nancy, she is crying alone, attempting to pull herself together for company. She attempts a smile, but it fades. This scene seems private and poignant, and Thurman makes a viewer feel as though they are witnessing a private moment. When Nancy hugs Sasha for the first time, she listens to Sasha’s heart and doesn’t let go, agonizing over the death of her daughter. Her feelings aren’t verbalized, yet the audience is able to gauge just exactly how she is thinking and feeling.

Unfortunately, the script doesn’t quite live up to Rose’s and Thurman’s acting abilities. The exposition that took the entirety of Into the Void to set up could have been done so within a span of about twenty minutes, rather than fifty. When the plot is introduced slowly, viewers’ attentions will be lost. If nothing else , the pilot could have intermingled the exposition along with Sasha’s foreboding challenges with Becky’s heart, other than a few visions. Instead, we are left uncertain of what Sasha is going to experience throughout the show, which is crucial to set up in the first episode.

There are a few effective techniques used within the script, but it wasn’t enough to distract from the other issues presented. The dialogue was realistic, and it felt as though the characters were real people living in the real world. Each of the actors helped bring the dialogue to life. It didn’t feel forced or fake, which is crucial if the audience is to relate to the characters on screen. Teenagers in television are often written specifically to seem like teenagers, yet the teens of Chambers feel like people, apart from their age, which allows audiences of all ages to connect with them.

Another appropriately used technique was the repetition of mice. Sasha encounters them several times throughout the episode: twice in her own home and once in the LeFevre’s. Sasha is kind to mice, as we see with her first interaction with one. The second time, that same mouse bites her. The third time, she just happens to find one within the LeFevre’s household. This repetition tells the audience that something important will occur with the mice, and most of the viewers will remember this odd occurrence.

Overall, there were strong parts of Chamber’s first episode, Into the Void. Unfortunately, those well-done pieces were not enough to save the show from writing that was slow, clunky, and, frankly, a bit boring. While pilot episodes may be incredibly difficult to write and produce, they are also crucial for drawing in audiences. If the main point of the show is not clear within the pilot, viewers will feel that they are wasting their time. Though Into the Void failed to draw me in, hopefully the next episode will be a little more fast-paced and intriguing.