“The Last Bus” is a Netflix original series about a group of kids who visit a futuristic facility run by Dalton Monkhouse, a famed futurist. To their astonishment, the Genie Orbs zap or vape all other humans from the facility and town to an unknown location. These children who didn’t know each other very well due to a large number of kids at the school become quite close.
Chelsea, Misha, Sophie, Tom, Bethan, Sophie’s younger brother Naz and all of Braelawn Academy, find themselves vested with the responsibility of saving the world. Their confined English universe. They must track down their parents and return them alive. While battling the facility’s Genie Orbs that have seemingly gone rogue, the children learn to support and parent one another. Let’s take a look at how these kids overcame challenges, as well as how they came to terms with a mysterious genie orb that joins them in a fight.
Misha – The Femme Fashion Warrior
Misha is a powerful, impenetrable opponent. Her inherent instinct to protect is rather strong. Sophie, her best friend, is the topic of her projection. Misha sometimes wishes her best friend was as brave as she was, but she knows and appreciates her for who she is. She’s also a fashionista who creates outfits for herself and her closest pal to appear their best.
The first characteristic we notice is that of a leader. Regardless of the situation, she is someone who leads the charge. Her thinking is the source of her superpower. In any situation, she applies rationality. In difficult situations, emotions have no place. When “The Last Bus” begins, we see Misha as a best friend, a confident young woman putting her foot down to test the adrenaline rush of speed. We know there’s more to her at that time.
The guardian is the next trait we notice. When Sophie is unable to defend herself if she is bullied, Misha intervenes and restores equilibrium. Her character journey remains logical until the very end when it is time to defend Borb, the Genie Orb who is guarding the children, against Stevil, the wicked Genie Orb. Misha understands that love is what binds us together through life’s challenges, and friendship is what allows us to grow.
Sophie – The Soft Nurturer.
Sophie is the group’s caretaker. She is fiercely protective of her younger brother, Nas, a 12-year-old prodigy, who idolizes Dalton Monkhouse. Misha nearly drives over a hedgehog on the road during her driving test at the start of “The Last Bus” Season 1, and she rushes to its rescue, displaying her compassion for anything small throughout life.
Being a mother or nurturer comes very naturally to her. It is further investigated when the youngsters visit the Monkhouse facility, and the world slowly descends into anarchy. The Facility is home to an army of Genie Orbs who work under the orders of Dalton Monkhouse, the facility’s principal creator, to establish a better future for the planet Earth. When the children and adults are all vaporized to an undisclosed place, Sophie actively looks out for her brother Nas. Misha and Sophie show that they are the ideal team to save the day in any crisis. The Good Cop/Bad Cop dynamic is effective here.
Tom Collins – The Soldier
Soldiers are known for following orders. We observe Tom feeling betrayed by his mother, who openly mocks him and dismisses him as a non-essential part of her life. Nobody likes being humiliated. He does, however, seek out someone who can act as a father figure. Danny, his friend, is a bully, yet he sees himself as a leader. Danny quickly reveals that he is incapable of leading and flees when the children are in danger.
When everyone in the village goes missing, Tom discovers a phone with a recording of his father’s voice. When his father was ready to go into war at Watergate, he reached out to him, stating he needed him. Tom believes that his father is still alive and that everyone, including the other parents, will be at the Barracks facility, possibly another evacuation point. No one is there when they arrive at their location.
Tom was dismissing a rumor that he wished to see his father one more time. It was his way of expressing his desire to see him one last time. Perhaps one more time. It was the last time he saw his father, who was a soldier who fought at Watergate. Borb, the benevolent Genie Orb, shows him the last time he saw his father, bringing back all of the other children’s vivid memories by projecting images of their close relatives onto the bus, assuring them that there is still hope.
Bethan and Josh: The Spirited Jesters
The group’s jesters, Bethan and Josh Collins, reassure the members that all hope is not lost. Whatever happens, the world is still full of wonders, and children are the source of happiness even though the world appears to be in ruins.
Assuming that they are being killed, they flee for their lives and seek refuge beneath a table, where they encounter Chelsea, a meticulously organized teen who has preciously preserved facility plans with her, which aids them in getting through the vents and safely out of harm’s way. Bethan is more lighthearted, but Josh is on the hunt for his mother, whose heart monitor gives him hope that she is still alive someplace. A ray of hope for all the children who have been vaporized: everyone who has been vaporized is still alive somewhere.
Faith is Bethan’s most prominent characteristic. Josh never forgets that she has faith in her friends to be the finest versions of themselves. From her most vulnerable state, we see her embark on a quest to change her mind, but also to realize once more that anger is not the solution, but love is. When they are pursued by an Orb, Bethan becomes enraged and beats it senselessly, almost breaking it. The Orb remembers her and returns for revenge. Bethan must find a way to approach Stevil and assist him in finding the love he needs to forgive her for her rage.
Chelsea – The Compulsive Planner and Organizer
Chelsea’s life revolves around a to-do list. Her mother is the moral support for her behavior, making her daughter the CEO of everyday life and routine. When Josh, Bethan, and she find a way out through the vents and safely return to the bus, her keen ability to organize and follow a strategy shines through.
Chelsea is struggling to find meaning amid the chaos. Like the others, she wishes to see her mother once more. Only by finding her position among the others would she be able to do so. Josh and Bethan are always there to make her feel welcome and show her around a portion of the school where the stationary is kept for her to use in planning any future operations.
Nasir ‘Nas’ Roman – The Prodigal Teenager of Future technology.
Nas is a prodigal child and Sophie’s younger brother, who has a strong interest in technology. His beliefs and ideas are ahead of his time, and he may be on par with Dalton Monkhouse, who discovers this for himself later on. Their parents have both vanished, leaving them alone to face the universe’s wars as well as confront the perpetrator of this tragedy.
Nas contributes his inquisitiveness to every situation. When the group believes they are doomed, Nas looks for ways to create opportunity. An Orb escapes from the facility and ends up at the children’s school at the start of “The Last Bus.” Nas discovers this Orb in the restroom and keeps it to himself. He tries to capture an orb to study it and rewire its system to have it obey him to do good for him and his friends. A notification takes over all of the town’s technology, stating that everyone must assemble at the Braelawn school for evacuation.
When he succeeds, he creates a genie Orb with a rewired system that treats youngsters as friends, resulting in a new interpersonal dynamic for himself and the others. Borb, the good-natured Genie Orb, begins to look out for the children in a way that is completely new to them in the most unexpected way as a result of his benevolence.
Borb and Stevil – The Good Genie Orb and the Bad & Ugly Genie Orb
The Monkhouse Facility is home to an army of Genie Orbs created to create a completely new planet as part of the New World Order, as seen at the start of “The Last Bus” Season 1. They follow the agenda set forth by its principal inventor, Dalton Monkhouse, who is attempting to improve the world by focusing on issues such as climate change, world peace, and so on.
When Nas summons a benevolent genie Orb named Borb, Bethan summons the polar opposite when she is confronted with an Orb attempting to zap her into oblivion at the bumping vehicle rink. The Genie orbs are controlled by their kin chip with humans, which shapes their interactions with the outside world. If the human demonstrates kindness, the Orb will remain loyal. However, if the human expresses rage and hatred, the Orb does as well, as they have no other feeling to understand from inception.
Nas discovers a means to have a friend in Borb, who helps Bethan break out of her trance when she tries to explain to Stevil why she was so angry with him and apologize to him. Stevil places Bethan in a dangerous situation, and the children use their love to reflect it via Borb, freeing Bethan from Stevil’s control.
Dalton Monkhouse – The Evil Genius Behind the Monkhouse Facility
Despite his portrayal to the contrary, Dalton Monkhouse is a brilliant inventor with goals other than rescuing the world. When he secludes himself in his facility, constructing a sanctuary where he can stay in cryostasis regardless of what occurs in the world around him, his motives are dubious.
When they encounter each other, Dalton Monkhouse, the wicked genius villain, discovers a surprise prodigy in Nas. Towards the conclusion, we view Dalton as a monster who wants to eradicate humans to achieve world peace and allow nature to thrive and flourish. When Dalton’s daughter shows up to steal the Nexus Key to the entire system that controls the entire globe, he has a history of being authoritarian and extremist.
When Dalton’s estranged daughter Lucy almost gets her hands on the Nexus Key, Nas comes to his rescue, and Dalton follows his escapist instincts and flees. As a result, the kids are back to square one. When Nas finally meets his idol, his disappointment has no boundaries, and he must champion his cause and locate his parents, as well as the other children.
Netflix’s “The Last Bus” has characters that intrigue us with a perfect treat when we watch their arcs unfold. They give optimism to a world that is in turmoil and assist you in seeing the brighter side of things. The relationship dynamics they share on-screen is worth watching since it is perfectly nuanced. When you have friends like that, no obstacle is as difficult as it appears if you learn to lean on the support you have.
