Netflix’s latest international murder mystery binge, The Survivors, hails from Australia, a country which, with no offense to our friends down under, lags woefully behind Scandinavia, Korea, England, Spain, and even Italy when it comes to the genre. Maybe it’s the weather: bleak skies and muted palettes go a long way in murder TV, and the grey filters and drab sets here just can’t make Australia’s sunlit beaches feel believably grim or foreboding.
Not that The Survivors doesn’t try. The series is set in Evelyn Bay, a small coastal town haunted by a tragedy from 15 years ago. Back then, a teenager named Kieran was in the seaside caves when a storm rolled in. In an effort to save him, his older brother Finn and their friend Toby took a boat out, only for it to capsize, killing them both. Another teenager, Gabby, also vanished that day, but the town’s focus on the deaths of Finn and Toby meant her disappearance was largely forgotten.
On the 15th anniversary of the tragedy, Kieran returns home to his estranged parents, Verity and Brian, who now has Alzheimer’s. Kieran left town because the guilt of surviving was too heavy to carry, especially when everyone blamed him. His wife, Mia — who was best friends with the missing Gabby — also left, unable to endure the suffocating grief that hung over the town.
On their first night back, they stop by a local bar, where Toby’s brother Liam lashes out at Kieran, blaming him again for Toby’s death. That same night, a young waitress named Bronte, who recently moved to Evelyn Bay to investigate Gabby’s disappearance, asks Mia if she can speak with her about what happened.
The next morning, Bronte is found dead on the beach.
There’s a decent mystery at the heart of The Survivors, but the six-episode series is mostly about the town’s collective grief, which often eclipses the plot. The mystery takes a backseat to the show’s heavy, sometimes tedious, emotional baggage: Verity resents Kieran for surviving when Finn didn’t. However, it turns out Kieran wasn’t alone in the caves — he was there with Olivia, a former classmate and secret teenage fling — and his wife isn’t thrilled when they reconnect. Kieran’s father, Brian, becomes a murder suspect, but his memory issues complicate the investigation, making that storyline equally frustrating and very sad. Mia reconnects with Gabby’s mother, Trish, and the two also spiral into shared despair.
As for suspects, there are plenty. Olivia’s boyfriend, Ash, sold Bronte weed the night she died. Liam, volatile as ever, had another outburst at Bronte. Julian, Toby’s father, was angry about Bronte reopening old wounds. And then there’s George Barlin, a creepy local author who may have been stalking her. Creepy authors are always red herrings.
Before we get to spoilers, a quick word: this isn’t a particularly well-written or well-acted show. The production values are mediocre, and though it’s only six episodes, it feels much longer, mostly because everyone is constantly drowning in guilt and sorrow. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t make for especially compelling TV. Every character wears their trauma like a badge, and the overall experience is just… miserable, and not in the cathartic or relatable way we often expect from the genre.
For those who bailed or mentally checked out under the weight of all that gloom, here’s how the mystery resolves — Spoilers.
One person is responsible for both Gabby’s and Bronte’s deaths, and it’s not one of the obvious suspects. It’s Sean, Kieran’s old friend and the other brother of Liam and the late Toby. Sean spends the series mostly lurking quietly on the margins. His few appearances, shadowed expression, and general air of doom were the biggest clues.
Here’s what happened: A police officer involved in the original case reveals that Gabby’s backpack was found on the capsized boat. This raised suspicions that Finn and Toby, both in their twenties, may have invited 14-year-old Gabby onboard, a revelation that would’ve tarnished their “hero” status.
But that’s not what happened. Gabby had simply stashed her bag there before heading to the caves with Sean. While exploring, Sean misread the situation and tried to kiss her. When she rejected him, he stormed off in a huff, assuming she was following. She wasn’t. Gabby got lost and drowned in the caves.
Sean told no one, except his father, Julian, who urged him to keep quiet. The town was already shattered, and Julian didn’t want to lose another son.
Fifteen years later, Bronte pieced things together. She discovered graffiti Gabby had left behind, which placed her and Sean in the caves on the day of the storm. When Bronte confronted Sean, he panicked. He killed her, left her body on the beach, and tried to frame Brian by hiding Bronte’s camera on his property, because Sean is a small, petty man.
When Kieran found out about Gabby’s graffiti, he returned to the caves to confirm it and brought Sean with him. Once confronted, Sean confessed. He tried to kill Kieran, but Kieran fought him off. Sean was arrested, and the truth finally came out, bringing some closure, and even more sorrow, to a town already drowning in both.
The end.
