Season 3 of The Rain on Netflix is a fast-paced wrap-up for this Danish series about a killer virus. In this season, Rasmus (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen), who is patient zero, and Simone (Alba August), his sister, both believe that the solution to the virus problem rests solely on their shoulders, but they disagree over which direction to take. Simone believes she can find help creating a vaccine “outside the wall” of the quarantine area, but Rasmus, who has the virus but isn’t sick, feels that infecting everyone with his version of the virus is the best way to defeat the it. Over the course of this short season, both experience validation that their way is the best way, which leads to an inevitable showdown between the once-close siblings.
Recap of The Rain season 2
At the end of The Rain season 2, Rasmus, who has discovered the benefits of being a carrier of the virus, which are the abilities to spontaneously heal and to weaponize the virus if someone angers him, decided to stay at Apollon and work with virus-creator Sten (Johannes Kuhnke) to figure out how to safely infect everyone and create a new, healthy, race of people. Simone and her group, which now includes Jean (Sonny Lindberg), Martin (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), Patrick (Lukas Løkken), Fie, whothe scientist from the Roskilde facility (Natalie Madueño), and Kira, who is the undercover agent who worked at Apollon and who shot Simone’s father (Evin Ahmad), escaped the clutches of Apollon and are figuring out what to do next. The last thing we saw in season 2 was the reanimation of Sarah (Clara Rosager), Rasmus’ girlfriend who was shot dead. Unbeknownst to everyone else, when Rasmus kissed her, he infected her with the virus, thus bringing her back to life.
He Save, She Saves
Season 3 of The Rain opens with Simone leaving the quarantine zone via a secret tunnel under the wall. Her goal is to find help creating a vaccine. Meanwhile, Rasmus is living in a glass box in Apollon, developing a God complex as he and Sten prepare to test the saving powers of the virus on terminally ill patients. When Simone clears the wall, she is shattered to learn that the virus has already spread, leaving behind abandoned towns and blackened plant life. Apollon sees that someone is in the tunnel and goes to scoop up Simone and the gang and bring them to Rasmus. It doesn’t go well. Rasmus presents his case for herd immunity to Simone, but she is adamantly against it. He declares that only HE can save everyone, and he will make it happen. In fleeing Apollon, Simone is surrounded by guards, and jumps off a bridge into a river.
Validation
The season then splits into two stories. Rasmus is shocked and thrilled when the reanimated Sarah shows up. Not only does her appearance validate his theory, it also gives him a staunch ally. (Read: Lacy Macbeth) Simone is rescued by a family that lives in a bucolic setting down river. Despite the father’s warning, the daughter shows Simone the flower that has brought the virus-infected plant life back from the dead. Does it work on people? Simone intends on finding out, at any cost.
Our Take on The Rain Season 3
Season 3 of The Rain is mercifully short, at 6 episodes. We know the entire series boils down to the battle between Simone and Rasmus, so everything else needs to be damn entertaining to justify its existence. And for the most part, it is. While Rasmus’ outsized ego seems at times cartoonish, I have to remind myself that he is a kid, and surrounded by yes-men. But Simone is a child, too, with her myopic approach to saving Rasmus, everyone else, including her lover, be damned. Even though several of the characters felt extraneous, I liked season 3 better than the repetitive season 2, and the ending is satisfying. Because a pandemic and the battle over how to eradicate it is now a real-life current event, for those of you who abandoned The Rain in season 2, season 3 might be worth a watch.
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