I heard or read somewhere that the forest where the plane crashes, and thus where the ‘past’ part of the show is set, is supposed to be in the Canadian Rockies, so I started thinking about what it’d be like to be there. Aside from the irritation I’d feel at being around over a dozen teenagers, the forest, lake and cabin they find themselves in, for a lot of people, would be more like an expensive vacation than the setting for a personal post-apocalyptic tragedy.
Turns out it’s actually mostly filmed in Vancouver, and I could check out some of the known filming sites on foot if I wanted. But it’s the forest I’m most interested in, and I haven’t been able to find out where the real-life version of it is.
First off, if I were a teenage boy and ended up there with a bunch of girls and no parental supervision, aside from a coach missing a leg, I wouldn’t be in any hurry to leave. Yes there’s the food issue, but how come no one has even mentioned trying to fish? I mean, there’s a lake right there.
Another thing I don’t get is why they don’t go for more hikes. If I were in the middle a forest that just so happened to have a bunch of trails, I’d at the very least go for some walks to get a break from all the other people I was forced into close quarters with. Not to mention that, yes, there are remote spots of the Canadian Rockies, but if they just walked for long enough they’d come across someplace, especially since there seem to be trails in excellent condition where they landed.
If I were Lottie I would’ve pet the bear that folded at my feet and played doctor instead of stab it to eat for a few days. I’m too soft for the eat-or-be-eaten life. Same for Station Eleven. Maybe I would’ve died soon into winter. Based on the the collective trauma 25+ years out I’m not sure that would’ve been so bad. If I were outcasted I don’t know if I’d be stubborn enough to die in the snow; I probably would’ve snuck in through a window.
I try not to think about death. It would probably be easier if I were ok with it. Not even the tragic kind, just the run of the mill typical death that we all know to expect. It’s hidden cuz we don’t want to see it, and not seeing makes it terrifying.
I was scared to go upstairs to bed as a kid, I couldn’t reach all the light switches in succession. I was always putting the ideas off that troubled me. I wasn’t wise, most kids aren’t. How would I know it would develop into neurosis?
Having ‘done’ mushrooms, I can assure everyone reading that one trip will not inspire you, and a gaggle of followers, to start a violent cult. I can also assure you that you would’ve have the coordination to sprint through the woods – I can’t even get my shoes on. To this day I don’t tie my shoes because I discovered after multiple mushroom trips how much time we waste tying and untying.
In that forest on mushrooms with your friends, there are basically two outcomes.
1 – complete terror. In this case, you are curled in a ball waiting for it to lift.
2 – complete elation. You are feeling everything at once, everything clicking in your head, the world is beautiful and you are so happy to be with your friends and alive in a beautiful place.
After being stuck in a forest for awhile with no real plan for escape, I’d reinforce the cabin a little and have some sort of food schedule. Maybe it’s foraging, hunting, and certainly fishing. You can probably figure out ways to trap small animals. You can fashion a fishing net or spear. It shouldn’t take more than a week to think of that.
I’d probably also make some tree houses or some other places to hang out. Carve some furniture. I’d establish destinations in the trail network. The trails are roads to locations to make places. They don’t all have to live together either – they can have different spots down the trail. Maybe they can stay together but be nomadic, establishing temporary camps with more or less shelter, more or less proximity to what they need for certain times of the year. They should be scouting these things out. Honestly it sounds like it could be a lot of fun.
Having lived in foresty parts of Canada, the forest itself in the show is recognizable without being specific. They’re all nice to be in. This forest has the big trees, the moss, surrounded by water – all the main things you’d want in a forest, really. From my relatively amateur eye it looks like not all of those trees would lose their leaves, either, though if they were actually in the Rockies I imagine most/all would.
Have they thought about digging a giant hole for warmth? I think rabbits might do this in the winter.
I’m realizing I don’t have as many words to say about the forest in particular. I don’t have the language. Images of the forest have worded embedded, like our brains are triggered by unknown alt text and we make our own associations. Maybe where I see peace and adventure others see dread. But the lake and the trees and the water and yes even the women – I wouldn’t go as far as Misty, surely, but at least from my vantage point in the comfort of the internet and electricity, I wouldn’t be in such a rush to leave.
describing space 