Netflix viewers have been hooked on The Society since it dropped on the streaming service on 10 May. The series follows a group of High School students who return from a school trip to find their town totally abandoned and surrounded by dense forest with no escape – meaning that they are totally alone and cut off from their parents and families. Fans believe that they have worked out why they are all there, citing the popular 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' fairy tale.
© Photo: NetflixThe teenagers are left alone in a new town
The original fairy tale follows a piper who is hired by the town of Hamelin to get rid of their rats, which he leads out of the town using his pipe. When the mayor of the town refuses to pay him for the service, he then uses the pipe to lure the children out of the town in an act of revenge. While some stories say they are never seen again, others say that the piper took them to another land, and even end with the children being returned after the citizens pay the original fee.
© Photo: NetflixThe group attempt to create a society
In The Society, the town is called 'West Ham', and the alternative version they are taken to is named 'New Ham' by the group, alluding the 'Hamelin'. The gang also realise that shortly before finding themselves in New Ham, the same man who drove their bus to the alternate reality was arguing with the mayor to pay him for removing a terrible smell from the town, which soon returns when they refuse to pay him for his service. Not to mention that the smell removal man's name was Pfeifer, which is German for 'piper'. Convinced yet?
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While the teenagers all attempt to work out why they are in the town and how to get back to their families, fans online have theorised that they were taken as a punishment to their parents for refusing to pay the fees. One fan wrote: "Very cool take on the Pied Piper of Hamlin!" Another person added: "Getting super strong 'Pied Piper of Hamlin' vibes from #TheSociety. They really should have paid the guy to get rid of the smell and he wouldn't have stolen all their children (teenagers)." The theory appears to be confirmed in the final moments of episode ten, when you find out for the first time that their families are indeed still alive and safe in West Ham, and have a list of their missing children written on the wall.
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