We Are The Wave – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Recruitment Drive

Episode 3 of We Are The Wave sees the group’s operation come to fruition as our misfits, now going under the alias of The Wave, hear the shops are closing in 5 minutes, prompting them to hide until the store is completely empty. In the middle of the night, the group head out and pack up all the luxury clothes but run into problems when they try to leave. Thankfully, Tristan teaches Lea how to lockpick and they manage to break out.

Unfortunately, they’re stopped by a security guard in the parking lot who pulls a gun on Tristan and fires in a blind panic. Lea steps out the van and manages to diffuse the situation before it turns violent though, showing them the suitcases of clothes and convincing him to see their way of thinking.

Convinced the video can’t be traced back to them, The Wave donate all their clothes to those who need it. As they walk around school, they find their video has gone viral. As Rahim revels in his newfound confidence, he comes crashing back down to Earth again when he finds out he’s being evicted in six weeks thanks to the government building luxury apartments where they’re currently living.

At their weekend hangout, Tristan and the others discuss their next mission after drawing up a symbol to use for The Wave. Rebelling against the system, they spray-paint important messages about sexism, capitalism and the system on adverts before painting their new symbol around the town.

As The Wave’s power begins to spread, Lea and the others question whether they should increase their numbers. Tristan tells them they shouldn’t; the bigger a group gets, the more likely it’ll be to self-destruct. It’s something that prompts Lea to storm off as the rest of the group call out Tristan’s desire to keep things as a tight-knit group, making an off-hand remark about how it could turn into a dictatorship. As the group splits for the night, Hagen awkwardly asks Zazie to go out with him, prompting him to head back home with her and share a beer with Zazie’s grandfather.

Meanwhile, Lea heads home and immediately gives Bjorn the cold shoulder before breaking up with him during her family’s party. In prison, Tristan and Lea face-time one another, where she reveals the news about her relationship before they discuss their differing circumstances. Cutting through formalities, Tristan tells her the real reason he’s in prison – he went after the CEO of a company but ended up killing the wrong person. The reason he doesn’t want more people joining is because he’s worried the truth would get out.

The next day, the rest of the group show Tristan a whole army of people joining their ranks. Watching them partying and drinking in their hang-out, he laments the group’s desire to party rather than start a revolution. Lea takes the stage and spills her heart out about the situation and her journey to freedom. While Lea rallies the troops, Zazie asks what they’re going to do next, prompting Lea to mention the slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town.

Their mission sees them head out to spark a wave of change while Tristan warns her things will go wrong if she continues down this pass. After kissing her, Tristan hangs back and refuses to go along while the large group smash bottles and cause an unruly wave of chaos in their wake, all the way to the slaughterhouse. Smashing windows and climbing the walls, Zazie leads the group while Lea hangs back and watches the unruly group swarm inside.

With interesting ideas around revolution and muddied messages as these groups get bigger, We Are The Wave delivers another thought provoking episode. Chock full of drama and with another ending that promises plenty of drama to follow, Netflix’s German drama looks set to explode into action from here on out.