The nature of faith, the power of grief, and how to kill a monster you can't even see.
"Bird Box Barcelona" raises some big questions, and its ending opens up plenty of possibilities
for future sequels.
Warning - spoilers ahead.
Before getting into the events of "Bird Box Barcelona," it makes sense to do a recap of
some details from the first film that are crucial to the new story.
Staying alive is immensely challenging in the world of "Bird Box;" survivors are forced
to blindly traverse areas to avoid seeing the creatures.
Those who are lured into looking at the creatures have one of two fates: either they kill themselves
or they're manipulated into becoming a Seer to carry out the creatures' requests.
Even if survivors manage to keep their blindfolds on, the creatures can mimic the voices of
lost loved ones or anyone close to their victims to try and convince them to take their blindfolds off.
In "Barcelona," the creatures' power is even deadlier, but they face even savvier survivors.
There's a greater focus on putting blindfolds on animals in "Barcelona" since the creatures
can affect them, too, and there are new kinds of blinders the survivors use, like Sebastián's
blacked-out goggles.
More new survival tactics utilize sounds and dogs to alert groups of the creatures' presence.
However, not even the best survivors can be prepared for the arrival of a Seer, a faction
that's also much craftier and deadlier than we see in the original "Bird Box."
Sebastián is a dedicated Seer at the start of "Bird Box Barcelona."
He's shown to be capable of devastating and unpredictable actions against unsuspecting survivors.
He has no place for mercy in his mission to "save people" and is especially dangerous
to a new group he comes across.
As the survivors try to make it to a possible safe haven up in the mountains, Sebastián
works toward sabotaging them.
He lies to them about everything and lets the group's dogs loose to deprive them of
their canine guides.
However, he's not able to stay under the radar for long, as English survivor Claire is able
to uncover the truth about him.
But as Sebastián travels with the group, he begins to question his purpose and whether
his actions are really "saving" people.
Soon, he's unable to ignore the carnage around him and begins to have a change of heart as
he remembers what life was like before becoming a Seer.
His time with Claire and a young German girl named Sofia starts to clear his mind of the
creatures' control over him.
It's why Sebastián eventually breaks from his Seer control and decides to help Claire
and Sofia reach safety just as his leader who killed his daughter years prior confronts
the survivors.
Once Sebastián rejects his status as a Seer, he does everything in his power to get Claire
and Sofia to the aerial tramway that will take them to the supposed safe haven in the mountains.
However, Father Esteban and his fellow Seers are hot on their tail.
It ultimately leads Sebastián to send Claire and Sofia forward so he can keep the Seers at bay.
While Sebastián is able to create a blockade to the tramway by making a car explode, it's
not enough to keep the power of the creatures and Esteban from manipulating him.
Esteban and a hallucination of Anna continue to try and restore Sebastián's faith, but
Sebastián remains firm and no longer believes that God would want this.
"Why did you abandon us?"
"Because deep down I always knew that you killed her."
However, this doesn't stop Esteban, now masquerading as the hallucination of Anna, from miraculously
walking over the flaming car toward Sebastián.
To prove his independence from the creatures, Sebastián charges Anna and ends up stabbing
Esteban through the gut.
Unfortunately, Esteban pulls Sebastián onto the metal rod as well which punctures his torso.
Sebastián decides to not fight back to keep Esteban trapped.
They both end up dying as a result of Sebastián's sacrifice.
While it's sad to see the reformed Seer fall, his wishes to reunite with his family and
finally do the right thing are fulfilled.
While Sebastián makes his sacrifice, Claire and Sofia try to make their escape.
They nearly meet a quick death from the tower falling apart and seem stuck with no way to
power the lift from their location.
Claire realizes that she has to alert the people on the other side that they need help
by ringing a bell, but the sound draws the attention of one of the creatures.
When it arrives, it torments Claire with maddening voices and nearly kills Sofia by luring her
toward the edge of the tower with her mother's voice.
Thankfully, Claire keeps her head, saves Sofia, and gets both of them onto the moving tram safely.
When Claire and Sofia arrive at the castle, they find a sanctuary that's very similar
to the one that Malorie finds at the end of the first film.
In the safe haven, Sofia has a tearful reunion with her mother, and Claire starts to receive treatment.
While talking to a doctor about Sebastián and the other Seers, Claire realizes that
the creatures could be tapping into people's grief and trauma to control them.
"They can be reached, you know.
They're still in there…somewhere."
It's at this point that they discover that the facility is running tests on a Seer they
captured to find a cure, but that's not all that's here.
The survivors also have a creature locked in a containment room and are using it for
tests, leaving a foreboding air over the finale of the movie.
One of the biggest themes of "Bird Box Barcelona" is how faith and trauma are used as destructive
tools, both by the creatures, Esteban, and his followers.
Sebastián is originally led to believe that the creatures are "angels" sent by God to
guide him in his path to save humanity.
But his eyes are opened and he sees that their only desire is to orchestrate cruel and painful deaths.
A big reason that Sebastián and even Esteban are turned into Seers is because of the distinct
grief and emptiness they share.
Esteban has lost his faith by the time he becomes a Seer and is desperate to believe
again, while Sebastián is suffering from immense grief stemming from the loss of his
family, especially Anna.
That's why she is an influential, spiritual guide for Sebastián and why she becomes one
of the keys to the creatures' control over him.
Claire even has a conversation with a sanctuary doctor highlighting how the creatures use
grief and emotion to target vulnerable people.
This depiction of the creatures' power touches on how faith can be manipulated to justify
terrible acts and convince suffering people to take dangerous paths.
Sebastián breaks through the destructive sense of faith instilled by the creatures,
and it's ultimately what makes him capable of redemption.
While Sebastián's redemption symbolizes a thematic change of heart for the character,
it also represents a major turning point for the franchise.
His story shows that the Seers can be cured.
For the first time, we see that a Seer can actually defy the creatures' power and act independently.
Claire tells Sebastián's story to the people of the sanctuary, and it means that others
may find ways to stop the Seers.
However, Claire is far from the first to know that Seers can be cured.
In the final scene, it's revealed that this new group of survivors is trying to find a
way to cure Seers by testing the blood of one who's been captured.
The tests aren't just for curing Seers, though, as the ending also implies that scientists
are looking for a way to fight the creatures.
The survivors are also exposing animal test subjects to the captured creature in the hopes
of finding an antidote of sorts to their powers.
Sebastián saved two people, but perhaps this research will make humans immune to the monster's
power and turn the tables against them.
Although Netflix has been pretty quiet about "Bird Box Barcelona" leading up to its release,
there has been some discussion by lead star Mario Casas about his character, Sebastián.
In an interview with MovieWeb, Casas not only discussed his genuine love for the "Bird Box"
franchise, but also how Sebastián is depicted as a complex and emotionally compelling character.
He said,
"I think it was important to have a complex character who should also have a very deep
emotional side, and I think it's something that hooks the audience.
I like when a character is not always a hero, and he has many more layers, and he has a
dark side, and there's ambiguity."
This is a perfect way to describe Sebastián's character and his emotional story arc.
Casas also went on to describe his views of the creatures that tie to some of the realizations
made by Claire later in the film, revealing,
"Well, I would say that it has a lot more to do about trauma and how these characters
have this lack of humanity.
I was thinking more of these creatures as feelings of fear, stress, loss, sorrow."
His analysis of the creatures as being more emotional and mental entities rather than
physical ones fits perfectly into their depiction in the world of "Bird Box" and how they torment
their victims.
"Then they take form based on us: our fears, our grief, our pain…"
The ending of "Bird Box Barcelona" leaves the future of the franchise at an interesting crossroads.
There seems to be more story to tell with these Barcelona survivors; a sequel could
see Claire and other members of the sanctuary in a dangerous new fight for their lives if
the contained creature breaks out.
Or Claire could lead a group to another sanctuary and continue to research how to defeat the creatures.
Of course, the "Bird Box" series has already expressed interest in taking its formula around
the world, so we could see another entry set in a different country.
It would let us see how other survivors in a different setting are coping with this dark new reality.
It could also lead to more reveals about the creatures and survivors, and maybe that story
could build toward a larger world that would see different characters come together to
take out the creatures for good.
The possibilities are endless.
With "Bird Box Barcelona" showing that survivors are testing Seers and looking for a way to
defeat the creatures, future entries could explain how other countries are approaching
research into the monsters.
It would be interesting to see how other countries and cultures have been affected by the creatures'
arrival and their destructive abilities.
With "Barcelona," we got more thematic perspectives on religion and grief being connected to the creatures.
New international entries could touch on other aspects of humanity that are being twisted
and manipulated.
While the original "Bird Box" features a star-studded cast and garnered a lot of attention from
subscribers when it premiered, it doesn't seem like we're getting a continuation of
that story any time soon.
"Bird Box Barcelona" establishes itself as more of a standalone spin-off set within the
same world, and never directly referencing or hinting at events or characters from the first film.
But does that mean that we'll never return to the world of the original?
No, but fans shouldn't expect a true "Bird Box" sequel for a while.
There haven't been many signs that a more straightforward "Bird Box 2" is in development,
and the film's ending hints more at a "Barcelona" sequel rather than another American entry.
Perhaps if the franchise continues to touch on different stories and characters from around
the globe, it can all culminate in a finale that teams up the survivors to defeat the
creatures for good.
But if a traditional "Bird Box 2" isn't the next entry in this franchise and the story
continues branching out internationally, it's likely that a return to the plot and characters
of the original isn't happening.