Not even days after its release, Archive 81 quickly gained popularity like no other. This show replaced Cobra Kai, a long-time fan favorite in no time to become the number one title in top 10 lists. With viewership such as this, it isn’t quite a shock when we realize the show is all over social media.
What is Archive 81 about?
The description Netflix gave this show says “An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into the vortex of a mystery involving the missing director and a demonic cult.”
Loosely based on a fan-favorite podcast, Archive 81 features Mamoudou Athie as Daniel Turner and Dina Shihabi as Melody Pendras. Each episode of the season ends with a cliffhanger, with the final surpassing them all. Not only does this make for a great binge watch but also sets the show up for a potential season 2 in the best possible manner.
Me at the end of every #Archive81 episode… pic.twitter.com/c5iLQ6SghL
— chris (@CVas317) January 16, 2022
With all this in mind, it’s not a shock that the fans consumed the show as soon as they could and began raving about it on social media.
Here are some of the best observations we have found about Archive 81 so far:
Dog lovers, arise
When we still don’t know what happened to Cleo the golden retriever and it’s halfway through the series #Archive81 pic.twitter.com/5SxCu5rssR
— Ellie (@EllieInTheStars) January 15, 2022
From the separate poster the corgi in Cowboy Bebop got to the love fans have for Geralt’s horse Roach in The Witcher, it is a universally accepted fact that humans have a soft little corner for animals, especially dogs. When showrunners weren’t giving details of Cleo, the adorable Golden Retriever, fans were not very happy, to say the least.
Netflix didn’t stick to the podcast
netflix when adapting #Archive81 : pic.twitter.com/prLtxXRvD3
— Live / Milo ⚡️ (@wayward_gynt) January 16, 2022
There’s a reason we’ve been saying “loosely based” in reference to the Archive 81 podcasts. The series made many changes from the original podcast that viewers weren’t fans of.
Straightwashing
"stream archive 81 on Netflix so other podcasts could get tv adaptations too" oh so they could also get straightwashed? no thanks I'll pass
— marina 🌸 (@vermilion_shade) January 18, 2022
archive 81 netflix adaptation tried so hard to justify making melody straight by going “it’s a loose adaptation!!” and yet they gave her the same exact name, same job, and very similar character traits. just say you hate gay people and go
— mikko !! (@hazeyjane_ii) January 15, 2022
Think of the last time you came across an LGBTQ+ protagonist without the film or series being labeled so. Despite the slowly increasing representation of the queer community, there really isn’t much of it in mainstream media. When Netflix announced Archive 81, fans looked forward to seeing the podcast as it were.
Opening the trending tab to find:
>Archive 81 has a Netflix Adaptation
>Hearing James Wan made Melody straight instead of being in a happy lesbian marriage
>People posting about how Melody in this version is going out with the Season 1 antagonist pic.twitter.com/4hjQ9c69TJ— Mr Vanilla Milk | Longman In Progress (@MrVanillaMilk) January 15, 2022
While the showrunners had the choice to make changes according to their preferences, making a queer character straight certainly wasn’t the best decision to make, according to the fans.
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Which of these observations did you like/dislike the most? Let us know in the comments!
