La Palma – Season 1 Episode 3 “Exit Tenerife” Recap & Review

Exit Tenerife

Episode 3 of La Palma starts with Jens receiving a call from his superior to get all the staff back to the office. She tells them about the reports from the Canary Islands and directs them to start the evacuation of Norwegians, but to do it on the down low without causing panic. Meanwhile, Erik visits Marie at the police station, informing her that the lawyers are coming. Marie confirms the tsunami threat, and Erik almost has a panic attack. 

Sarah spends the night at Charlie’s, and the following morning, she has an emotional talk with her mother about her sexuality. Although she has always felt that she likes girls, she is worried. Jennifer encourages her to do what feels right, since she is a fantastic person. The family then enjoys some time at the pool. 

Although Jens and his team are asked not to alert the public, Jens calls Jennifer. He tells her about the tsunami reports and that the authorities think evacuating La Palma is not a priority. Regardless, he finds them a ferry that leaves in 20 minutes and insists that they make sure they board before it leaves.

The family rushes to the room to pack only the necessities and race against time to get to the ferry. Sara and her mother try to get Charlie to leave with them, but she is neither in her room nor picking up her phone. When they fail to get a taxi, Fredrick steals a repair company’s van outside the hotel. Jennifer, Tobias, and Sara successfully get to the ferry, but the van owners hold Fredrick back. 

Soon after, a lava eruption occurs, and Alvaro calls the government, and an official evacuation office is issued. Everyone is panicked, and Fredrick tries to find a way off the island. He does not get a boat, but his friend comes to his rescue, and they manage to board one and head to Tenerife.

Before they leave, a woman with a young baby starts begging to board, but it is full. Frederick decides to give up his seat on the boat to the woman and find another way. At the geology institute, Haukur joins Alvaro for a drink instead of leaving. They decide not to die at their desk but take one last field trip up the mountain. 

Frederick gives up finding a boat and calls Jennifer. He tells her to care for the kids and that he will always love her. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices, the director learned that Jens had informed his sister about the tsunami against her orders. Jens was trying to figure out how to help Fredrick and his family get to a safe place. At the same time, a wave researcher offers to help the office figure out safe places, but the director sends him off. Jens calls him back and gives him a work desk. 

At the island, Erik finally manages to get Marie out, and they run into Fredrick, who is waiting outside the police station. He tells them there are no boats available, but Erik might have one available, so the three decide to try their luck. They find a boat, but a thug that Erik and Marie had helped get free from the police station catches up and threatens them with a gun. Erik fights him and gets shot dead. At the end of the episode, Fredrick kills the thug and manages to get Marie on the boat, leaving many stranded people on the island. 

The Episode Review

For a disaster drama, La Palma fails to raise the stakes high enough to make the audience invested in the survival of the characters. The show incorporates other storylines that add nothing to the main plot. Was it necessary for to Erik get shot? They had only four episodes but wasted most of the time on useless plotlines. 

Although there are glaring plot holes, the beautiful cinematography keeps us invested in the fate of the island. To be fair, this is probably one of the best things that this series has going on.