What I don't want to give you is a plot overview or a character description. What I would like to do with this article is to analyze more in detail what the exact motifs are behind the path and what it tries to achieve with the overall theme .
For a long time I felt like I wouldn't find that one series again that gives me the same feeling lost had once given me. A feeling of wanting to know the final destination of the chracters.
The path combines the very nature of being human. It depicts the theme of people being left alone in our world. Being vulnerable and tired of the world. Being exhausted by the faults that were forced upon us. It discusses the dangers that especially those people can experience when getting in contact with a cult. Basically, it presents the thin line between people that want to help you become one of their own and people that just want to help you out of altruistic reasons. Although, wouldn't we all reach for any help when being left alone completely? Who would be your best chance of moving froward? Anyone, right? The left alone people in our world are the very reason why cults like scientology and comparable notions of allegedly helpful institutions have become so succesful. At the same time it is also the people being hurt by extreme circumstances in their lives. People who lost their fathers, their mothers. their friends. Holes that can't be filled and sometimes even fears that can't be choked, hate that can't be disposed - you have been traded the wrong cards and you want to have your fair revenge for it. Those people often find no union in regular human connections. They need a brotherhood, they need a cult, they need people that feel or experienced similar things. They are looking for a true connection through pain.
Some people truly believe in the change of their own habits and their own shortcomings. Other people might also belief that there is a conditionless love in other people for oneself and even others won't believe anything you tell them. Truly there are many different people out there. In the path the people of the cult or the movement want to simply help you become who you really are in your inner and most motivated core. A true believer, motivated through the light - the hope of a better future. The confrontation of weakness and strength; relevance and invisibility is what makes the Path truly interesting. How would we behave in such a context. Who would we be? Do you see yourself as a strong human being who is ready to help others? Or do you see yourself as a selfish human being who is maximizing his own well being. What is it that makes you who you are?
All of those types of people are part of the Meyerist movement in the series. Not everyone who reaches your hand for help has only your very best in mind. People, depending on their true intentions, can lead you into a deep, dark vacuum and look for their goals and detects ways how to leverage your well being into their own well being - they are longing for power and for real human arbitrage. Others truly believe in the community and the change for the world. Madness and Love is always a dangerous mixture and it can be at times highly explosive. Naturally, those people have often been spotted in history and the most famous symbol of those people is the snake in Adam and Eves garden of Eden. The snake is the symbol of sin and temptation. Much of these themes have happened throughout history. One of the more popular illustrations of that is Hironimus Bosh
The illustration depicts on the very reason why we are humans and the consequences of our behavior. Humanity is flawed in every way and we cannot accept what we have, we long for what we desire. We hurt even the ones we truly love and we miss the chance to protect our loved ones. This is the very reason why we end up in hell with our fears and ideas of omni potent experience - judgement day is upon is. The madness will appear and eat us alive. We will lose sanity and our body and soul will get imprisoned in our biggest fears - we couldn't accept what we had in our own hand.
When translating apocalypse which derives from ancient greek you will realize that it means discovery or reveal. The apokalypse is nothing else, but the revelation of what we have created. Judgement day is nothing less than uncovering what we did wrong and what made us become what we are.
For my own taste this is fascinating in every way. All of this is what I can see and depict in The Path. The notion of humans weakness and it's consequences. The only true healing we have is love and love causes jealousy and hate for those who can't love or who are not allowed to love or who don't get loved.
I personally really enjoy the topic of The Path and I like how the characters and the symbols blend into each other. Let's hope the series continues to develop it properly and delivers a valuable show for all of us.
Yours,
HubrisCubris