It’s Alive
Room 104 is one of those rare shows that completely swings in quality every week in one of the more inconsistent anthologies in recent memory. Yet because of this, Room 104 has a unique charm that keeps you coming back to see what else this series has in store for us. As we close out season 3, Room 104 ends things on a high, with another good episode coming off the back of last week’s deliciously dark dive into the after-life. We begin with a botanist stepping out of the shower and speaking to someone on the phone regarding an investment project. A miniscule piece of bacteria floats through the air and hangs on her coat as we cut to Saturday and see the room has been completely transformed, full of large, beautiful plants. Despite her initial fear, she soon comes around to the idea and looks on in fascination at the rate of plant growth. Deciding to stay for longer than initially planned, our protagonist begins to explore the different specimens in the room, including exotic insects and fruit. As we hit Monday, our sweat-stained protagonist Miriam seems to have run out of water and as she heads into where the bathroom once was, she looks on in fascination at a glowing chrysalis and an entire ecosystem growing in the toilet. It turns out the plant and animal life in the room is archaic by nature and she happens to be at the centre of the biggest scientific breakthrough ever. We progress through to Friday and as her husband Joe calls her up, he apologises as the government arrive, intent on taking the plant life away. Dr Eugene Hill, her mediator, arrives and talks her into keeping the environment intact by handing it over to the government. She fights against it though, telling him it’s the natural order of things and that it should be left to thrive. After drinking some water, the two doctors pass out and it turns out this was the plan the whole time. Scientists in hazmat suits arrive and seemingly contain the specimens, as we cut forward to Saturday and see everything back to normal…except a solitary butterfly that flies up into the air. On the surface, Room 104 delivers another weird and wonderful episode, one about the beauty of nature and the natural order of things. Yet under the surface lies a larger commentary about climate change and the destruction of natural resources. It’s cleverly written too, especially during some of the segments where Miriam is at the door handing over her material possessions; embracing nature. While I wasn’t a massive fan of the ending, I do think this episode is one of the stronger ones in the series and a great showcase for what this show can achieve. With a fourth season already greenlit, I’m intrigued to see what the next season has in store for us.
