Contains spoilers For “taken”.
The most immediate impression left by “taking” is its pure scale. The program opens onto the dramatization of the 1947 Roswell accident from Roswell, in which metallic / rubber debris were recovered in the aftermath of a failed military operation in Roswell, in New Mexico. Although the accident is officially attributed to a defective weather balloon, a conspiracy theory alleys that it is concealment for the landing of an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Bohem addresses this almost real aspect of the incident with surprising ingenuity, while it transforms a plot into a deep history of terror, fear and vulnerability which covers whole generations.
In “Taken”, three families play a key role: Keys, Crawfords and Clarkes, which end up playing their respective parts in the formation of history and the future. The truth linked to extraterrestrials is so terrifying that it transforms the morally balanced individuals into cruel and accomplices instigators, which guarantee that the longtime truth on extraterrestrial experimentation on humanity never proves.
At the same time, some suffer from the traumatic test of extraterrestrial kidnappings, such as Russell Keys (Steve Burton), a veteran of the war who undergoes convulsions for a certain time and learns that his state of health is caused by a foreign implant (inside his brain). Russell is not the only target here, because extraterrestrials have removed countless humans as part of their experimental reproduction program for decades, leaving pain and trauma following their cruelty. Their goal is to create a perfect hybrid, and the birth of Allie Keys (Dakota Fanning) finally allows them to promulgate the next step in their terribly ambitious plan.
These horrible revelations are only a small part of what “taken” brings to the table, because the series skillfully woves trees and family lines to examine the disastrous effects of choice. Sometimes empathy towards extraterrestrials turns into deadly errors, inadvertently condemning humanity and their relationship with anyone who is not of this planet.
What is most interesting in the involvement of Spielberg with the show is the darker treatment of these very traditional themes, which feel more fanciful or mild in its previous filmography. The darker “war of the worlds” is a post-“taken” company, which explains the radical change in tone from extraterrestrial stories of heat, fear and wonder to those where the presence of extraterrestrial forces emerges as a warning or a threat. “Taked” is one of the darkest treatments of this concept, echoing the new science fiction collections such as “Lilith’s Brood” by Octavia E. Butler, “ Who explores human-Alien hybrid identity in the way few gender stories have.
