Review: 3% – Season 1

Producer: Cesar Charlone, Tiago Mello
Director: Cesar Charlone, Daina Giannecchini, Dani Libardi, Jortaga Crema
Writer: Pedro Aguilera
Starring: Bianca Comparato, Joao Miguel, Michel Gomes, Rodolfo Valente
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller, Drama
Rating: TV-MA

3% is the first Netflix original series to be produced in Brazil. While the show came to Netflix in 2016, its first episode was created in 2011 after the Brazilian Ministry of Culture selected it as one of 8 projects to receive funding for its pilot in 2009. The pilot episode created from these funds featured different actors than starred in the main show and was not used in the Netflix series.

I first started watching 3% because I wanted to practice my Portuguese, and this show provided the perfect combination of English subtitles and Portuguese spoken language. I expected 3% to be the standard dystopian story, predictably in line with Hunger Games or Divergent. I was so wrong.

Content Guide

Spiritual Content: Both the citizens of The Offshore and those in the slums believe in the Founding Couple (represented as a statue of two intertwined figures) who established their society and created The Process. Candidate Fernando’s father is a pastor of this religion, and certain scenes show worship of The Founding Couple via prayer, chanting, and singing. The Founding Couple is referenced frequently throughout the show.

Violence: Death is common throughout the series and methods of death range from suicide (jumping off a landing and drowning), to murder (poisonings and shootings), to being crushed by a gate. The death scenes are mildly graphic, with copious amounts of blood splattered on faces, arms, and clothes. Gore, however, is non-existent, with no entrails or severed limbs to be found. The deaths take an emotional toll on the viewer because of their contexts, not because they are graphically depicted.

At one point, a group of Candidates begin terrorizing the others by beating them with steel beams. I found this scene to be quite tense and difficult to watch, as one character in particular falls from grace and acts in harsh contrast to who he used to be.

In the first episode, the director of The Process forcibly holds a subordinate’s head under water near the point of drowning.

Language/Crude Humor: This series’ native language is Portuguese, but it is possible to watch it dubbed or subbed in English. I watched it subbed and so cannot comment on what the dubbed (spoken English) language is like. There is frequent cursing and profanity, mainly in moments of intense conflict or stress, such as f**k, da**it, and s**t. There is no crude humor to speak of, however.

Sexual Content: There are two incidents of Candidates having consensual sex, with brief nudity shown–once in a bathroom (rough sexual encounter) and once in a bedroom. The nudity is limited to side-breast shots and brief images of backsides. These scenes last no longer than 30-60 seconds each. There are quite a few make-out sessions of passionate kissing.

Drug/Alcohol Use: No drug use. Alcohol is consumed in multiple episodes, but not to the point of drunkenness.

Other Negative Themes: All the Candidates are ultimately going through The Process with their own best interests in mind. They frequently cheat and lie in order to progress to the next round. The Candidates who are with The Cause are constantly lying and putting on fake personas in order to convince The Process organizers that they deserve to be in the 3%. There is a lot of betrayal of trust and open deception at play.

Positive Content: Every episode reveals a different facet of the Candidates’ backstories that causes the viewer to be constantly reevaluating their judgments of each Candidate. There is a constant reminder that individuals and their situations are complex, and judgments should be made thoughtfully. Oftentimes, during The Process exams, Candidates will go out of their way to help a fellow Candidate get through (solving a problem for them, saving them from danger, etc.)

Review

The Offshore is the reward for those people who have the merit to deserve it. Up until the age of 20, children work to become the best of society so that they can successfully make in through The Process and become a member of The Offshore. Candidates Michele, Fernando, Rafael, Joana, and Marco each have their reasons for wanting to get through The Process and learn something about themselves along the way.

3% is amazing almost all the way through. I don’t think I can sing its praises loudly enough. I watched the first episode pessimistically because it seemed like the stage of any other dystopian story on the contemporary market, but the last 5 minutes of the episode left my jaw on the floor and my mouse hovering over “Next Episode.”

Before delving into what makes this series awesome, I’d like to discuss just a few (very few) points of criticism. The camerawork and the music vary from adding great dimension to a scene, to trying far too hard to be dramatic and artsy. The costuming suffers at times, particularly in scenes depicting the slums. In an attempt to make the slum seem “slumy,” the citizens wear oddly patched-together and torn clothing. This in theory is fine, but the finished product looks like the citizens of the slums are wearing new clothing torn into pieces and patched together with other new clothing, rather than old, dirty rags. Lastly, there are a couple of instances where the same footage is recycled very obviously. Ultimately, though, these minor mishaps do not take away from the show’s overall value.

Where 3% shines is in the substance of the storyline and its wide variety of characters. At the end of the series, it is difficult to say who the “main character” is, or even if there is one at all, because each episode focuses on a different Candidates’ backstory and progress through The Process. Viewers will likely form an attachment to a specific character that they personally connect with.

For example,  I was most compelled by Candidates Michele (the focus of episode 1), Marco (the focus of episode 4), and later on by Joana (the focus of episode 3). Michele’a ability to manipulate the people around her by maintaining an air of “innocence” made it difficult for me to decide if I liked her character or not, and this in itself made her extremely interesting. Marco, on the other hand, is someone who I liked instantly, despite his cockiness, and his fall from grace was truly heartbreaking. Finally, I liked Joana for her character arc. I hated Joana from the second she came on screen because of her rudeness, abrasiveness, and dismissive personality; but by the end of the season she became such a relatable and sympathetic character that I couldn’t help but root for her.

Due to its lack of a main character, 3% follows the development of The Process from their initial screening to their acceptance in The Offshore. From the first moment, The Process is portrayed as cold and unforgiving, as the Candidates take off their rags for the initial interview, only to be forced to put them back on if they fail to prove they are deserving. Morality is not necessary to be part of the 3%, as people who lie and cheat to get through each stage are rewarded, while honest candidates find themselves eliminated or killed for their benevolence. “Having merit” means being able to make cubes, talk people into liking you, solve a mystery, or work as a team. The show’s writers are as cold as The Process, and they don’t bat an eye over killing off characters the viewer has become personally attached to.

The candidates are introduced in the midst of The Process, and the dimensions of their personalities and characters are explained through flashbacks throughout the first five episodes. Episodes five through eight mainly focus on how the Candidates are evolving because of their experiences in The Process. The constant character development makes the show real and the characters authentic. In one episode, for example, a Candidate might be portrayed as a complete villain who you want to be eliminated, only for you to root for them to succeed in the next episode when they become heroic and sympathetic.

To add even more dimension, 3% also closely follows the story of the director of The Process, Ezequiel, and his conflicted relationship with The Offshore and the slums. For the first 4 episodes, Ezequiel is a complete monster, seemingly loyal to The Process and all it stands for. He has no issue allowing cheating candidates to pass or lying to his own superiors. However, when his backstory is revealed in episode 5, right and wrong become extremely blurred, putting the spotlight on the true villain of the series: The Process.

Each stage of The Process is worse than the last, causing increasing emotional, mental, and physical harm to all of the Candidates. Because The Cause seeks to destroy The Process, it (and its adherents) become the de facto heroes working against the barbaric system. Members of The Cause are brutally tortured and lied to by Ezequiel and his colleagues, further cementing the idea that The Cause is the hero of the story.

However, episode 8 throws the entire mission of The Cause into question with the revelation of its deceptive methods of recruitment. The season ends with no clear message about what is right and what is wrong or who I, as the viewer, should be rooting for. Is it better to be happy and safe as part of The Offshore, or to fight against The Process as part of The Cause? The question is best answered on a character-by-character basis, as no two individual’s situations are alike.

3% ends with nothing resolved and too many loose ends to count, basically ensuring that I will be eagerly and impatiently awaiting the next season. If you like unexpected story developments, enjoy moral quandaries, and want to be thoroughly entertained, then this is the show for you. Be prepared to binge.