Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen episode 8 finale spoilers follow.
If you've browsed Netflix in the past few days, then you would have likely noticed that a brand-new horror series, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, has dropped eight terrifying instalments.
Created by Haley Z Boston, the series sees Camila Morrone portray Rachel as she prepares for her wedding to Nicky (Adam DiMarco). The plans are threatened when some mysterious things happen, with Rachel wondering if marriage is the best thing.
By the time the finale comes around, it becomes increasingly apparent that, aside from all the talk of family curses and tainted bloodlines, Rachel's biggest fear is the idea that she could potentially marry somebody who isn't her soulmate.
Naturally, that internal notion is mapped onto several genre tropes; with it being revealed that Rachel has a long-lasting curse, she has a major motivation to get hitched as it either prevents harm against herself or Nicky's family.
What does this curse entail?
The nature of the curse means that Rachel must marry who she believes to be her soulmate by the time of sundown on her wedding day, or she will face a bloody death. If she doesn't marry at all, the curse will pass to her fiancé's family.
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So, with some of the rules of the series' narrative universe explained, there is a clear predicament at play - and this is heightened when Nicky, for personal reasons, begins to doubt if Rachel is the one for him.
Rachel then finds herself in a quandary - she knows that Nicky's true feelings could put his entire family, and future generations, in danger. At the same time, the fact that he doesn't believe Rachel's notions of a curse gradually drives her further away.
"That's the biggest betrayal and heartbreak for her," Morrone explained to Tudum. "She realises, 'You’ve never believed me about anything. You don’t see me at all. You don't understand me. You’re like a stranger.'"
What happens on the wedding day?
Which gets us to the critical juncture - the wedding itself. Feeling torn, Nicky calls it off and inadvertently marks the card for some of his family members. In an act of selflessness, Rachel attempts to marry him anyway and spare his family, but it's ultimately fruitless.
As she's already fallen out of love with Nicky by the time the wedding takes place, she dies immediately. But a twist occurs when she's reborn as The Witness, and is thereby forced to watch Nicky's family potentially sign their own death warrants in the future.
Rachel, in her new form, does have a final encounter with Nicky after the brutal events. He's seen clutching a teddy bear after watching his family be destroyed by the curse, with DiMarco explaining that his character is in a "catatonic" state due to fear.
By this point, Rachel is practically unmoved by her former flame's feelings after a lifetime of pain, and Boston explained that it was very much an intentional choice to have the lead character focus on the practicalities of the situation.
"The show is about a breakup, ultimately. After you break up, there's that moment of logistics," explained the showrunner. "At this point, Rachel is exhausted, and she's just trying to get out of there. It felt like the perfect ending for them."
Could Rachel find happiness as The Witness?
Though Rachel has to suffer some form of eternal punishment - at least until the curse is passed onto another person - by attending several weddings in the future, Morrone took a more optimistic view by saying that it was a "second chance at life" for her character.
For Boston, the decision to have the baton pass to Rachel was made late in the day, with the showrunner noting: "We talked about every possible ending. 'Should Nicky die? Should they not get married?' We went through everything."
"Ultimately, I liked this idea of a death and a rebirth, and in order to get the rebirth, it felt natural that there was a mythological answer," she continued, before adding that Rachel would be far more empathetic than her predecessor in the role of The Witness.
"She'd work harder to end the curse, find another way, make sure people are prepared so that they don’t end up in this situation," she explained, while Morrone echoed this sentiment by believing that her character would "do good and warn people".
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is streaming on Netflix.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
