Swamp Thing season 1, episode 1 review: Pilot

“Let’s see what you are?” Minor spoilers for Swamp Thing season 1, episode 1 follow.

In the debut of Swamp Thing, Dr. Abby Arcane is called back to her hometown in Louisiana when a sudden outbreak of an unidentifiable disease occurs around the swamp.

With help from Dr. Alec Holland, she attempts to identify what is causing the outbreak as well as finding a cure for it.

DC brings the horror

There’s much that can be said when adapting Swamp Thing. The character, even within the same run by writers and artists, can range from occupying the horror genre to fantasy to science fiction with no real cross over of them, so it was going to be interesting how the show was going to adapt it. Turns out though, the team decided to go for a horror show, with some science fiction elements, and they simply go for it in this first episode, to great effect.

Like all good horror, much of this episode focuses on building the atmosphere of the series, as well as the tone, instead of downright just showing the monster that you should be scared of. There’s a mystery at hand and this episode does a great job building up the mystery with a dim, often gloomy, atmosphere to the look of the show, which also affects the tone in a really effective way.

When this episode does show the monsters though, it’s honestly incredibly creepy, especially one scene set in a hospital lab that was very reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing. There’s not an overuse of the monsters so, when they are used, that fear of them is still there. Then, that little glimpse of Swamp Thing that we do get in this episode is both mesmerizing and horrifying, very much earning that “R” rating.

Different is good

As much as this episode feels like a faithful adaptation of the tone and genre of the source material, nearly every single change that they make to the source material makes this episode and, as it continues, the show better. Plus, both Crystal Reed and Andy Bean give fantastic performances as Abby and Alec, respectively.

Arguably the biggest change is the dynamic between Alec and Abby, namely, they actually meet before Alec is turned into Swamp Thing. This adds so much to their relationship just on a surface level because it shows that there was a kinship there before Alec was Alec no more and, if they do end up going a certain way in the show, will bring even more character drama for Abby.

As for the actual character changes in Abby and Alec, these are for the better as well. Abby is now a doctor and not simply someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s an active part of the journey and this is as much her story as Alec’s, if not more hers based on how this episode was almost entirely from her perspective. As for Alec, he actually has a personality now! That’s pretty much the biggest change to his character, he actually feels like a real person and, as such, you care and are scared for him when he gets turned into Swamp Thing rather than just caring for the creature he becomes.

What’s causing the epidemic?

This episode also sets up a really interesting mystery for the series as well with who’s causing the mutations in the swamp, which is leading to the deaths of multiple people. It’s not that the swamp has a certain magical property to it like could’ve been done, re: The Parliament of Trees, but there’s a certain, bio-restorative formula (not the name used here though) as the crux of the mutation.

If you’re a fan of Swamp Thing comics, your automatic first guesses are Anton Arcane and Jason Woodrue, but the great thing about this episode is that you truly have no clue. It really feels like a mystery that is leaving you breadcrumbs along the way, just as it is with the characters on the show.

Swamp Thing starts off its series with a bang and is maybe the best first episode of a DC Universe show to date.