In several of the scenes of the series 1899 of Netflix, a pyramid is a recurring image. So are a beetle and a key. As the plot progresses, it becomes apparent that the three symbols are part of something more elaborate. At the same time, they allow the narrative to tell several of its darkest points in a more elaborate and much less obvious way. Which, without a doubt, is one of the intriguing points of the story.
But what does each of them mean? The argument of 1899 he managed to relate the trio of objects to his premise in a profoundly unique way. Which allowed the central mystery to be barely shown during the last episodes. She also linked the script’s perception of time, identity, and reality through the various meanings she used to punctuate its limits. Which includes that both the pyramid, the beetle and the key, had a relevant place in the plot.
each of the symbols are codes needed to end the simulation. Also to build a much more elaborate idea about the texture of the plausible in a story of multiple interpretations. if in 1899 nothing that is around the characters is real, how to interpret the limits that subdivide that idea?
The scriptwriters chose to create a perception of considerable interest about the elements that surround the passage of the narrative. After all, nothing that tells the story of 1899 it is completely reliable. What allows the symbols to be the ones that hold the doors that open and close in the memory of its main protagonists.
the pyramid of 1899
The pyramid and the key are meant to remind Maura who she is and, most importantly, what she must do in each simulation. Every time she wakes up she is not able to remember what happened before or after the end of the previous simulation. So the pyramid, a symbol of transcendence in several cultures, is used in 1899 What a beacon in the midst of memory loss.
It is a subliminal message coupled with Maura’s journey to reconstruct, step by step, the phenomenon experienced by Kerberos. Also of his ability to create a road map through the events that he must relive in the midst of the probabilistic phenomenon that occurs in each simulation.
If each discarded reality was the result of a decision, the pyramids can indicate what is the breaking point, the limit or how far one can advance in memory to take a step forward. One of the most curious phenomena of 1899 as history is that it uses memory as a moving stage.
The key
In the same way as the pyramid, it is an encrypted message that allows Maura, and in a way Henry, to recover the empty spaces of his memory. Especially how the total experience they live relates to their child. After all, the boy has both symbols tattooed on his ear and, in some way, they define his existence. Or rather: the way in which his life is the essential point on which all simulations are heldbefore or after.
At some point, all the simulated realities will have to coincide, and both the key and the pyramid indicate the path to follow for that to happen. Elliot, the focal point of the entire dynamic of multiple realities, is also a common thread through which the story of 1899 can be understood as a whole.
the beetle of 1899
The beetle that appears in 1899 it is also a code that opens doors or, in any case, hidden memories. So each of them is a way to build an understandable scenario, even when the characters forget what they experienced from simulation to simulation. The meaning of the beetle goes back to Maura’s actual memories. In one of them, she appears with her son Elliot, asking the latter to release one of the insects that he keeps captive in a jar.
The phrase that accompanies the scene of 1899 It couldn’t be more significant. “Free them if you love them.” Which makes it more than clear that every time one appears, it shows a door to another simulation. Also that it could be a memory (on another layer) that will be ordered appropriately.