Start As You Mean To Go On
Right from the opening frame of the first episode, we’re plunged headfirst into the thick of the action. Quicksand certainly begins as it means to go on. A blood spattered table and floor pave way to show 18 year old Maja as the sole survivor of a school shooting. Shook up, covered in blood and with the murder weapon by her side, the police arrive and bring her into custody. She’s the prime suspect in this massacre but is she really guilty? This opening ten minute segment, complete with long shots and ambient music really sets the scene for the series to follow and is also where we’re first introduced to the recurring flashbacks that crop up throughout the series. The first of which cuts back in time to show Maja meeting a cocky, self-assured boy called Sebastian outside a club. He tries to convince her to go inside but she refuses, telling him she has to go to work. Not taking no for an answer, he decides to see her the following day and she agrees, promptly igniting the flames of romance to begin blossoming between them. As she’s invited onto his luxurious boat and given an array of food to try, Maja notices something strange about Sebastian’s father. She doesn’t get long to dwell over this though as a dreamy summer with Sebastian paves the way for her to fall completely in love with him. Meanwhile, things aren’t as rosy back at the police station as Maja is introduced to her first of many hearings. It’s not good news and the true gravity of the situation is presented to her as she learns there’s no way of her returning home. She’s the sole suspect in this case. Her fingerprints were all over the murder weapon and worse, she has to stay in solitary confinement with no way of reaching her friends and family until this ordeal is over As she’s walked out of the room and toward her new home away from home, we cut back to a flashback of her walking into the classroom with Sebastian on that fateful day. The door slams shut and gunshots follow, ending the episode as shockingly as it begun. As an opening episode, Quicksand does a fantastic job building tension throughout its run time. The flashbacks between the present and past work so well here and really bring the most out of the narrative. With plenty of question marks still hanging over the show, we’re left with one question to ponder – who really is responsible for the shootings?
