Netflix Welcome to Eden season 1 recaps: Episodes 1 to 8

Welcome to Eden is the latest suspenseful sci-fi drama on Netflix. The Spanish-language series starring Spanish-Mexican pop star Belinda released today on the streaming service! Welcome to Eden centers on an island that appears to be dream, but in reality, it’s a secret nightmare.

A group of influencers are lured to the island under false pretenses and soon find themselves forced to assimilate into a strange new group of people. They must fight for survival, all while pretending they bought the con.

Spoilers ahead for Welcome to Eden season 1

Whatever the reason you’re looking for recaps, we’ll be breaking down each episode below so you can keep tabs on anything you might have missed or catch up between episode breaks.

Welcome to Eden episode 1 recap: The Trip of Your Life

Welcome to Eden begins with a young woman who we later learn is Zoa (Amaia Aberasturi) searching a seemingly deserted island for her friend Judith to no avail.

We then rewind two days earlier to find out exactly what precipitated that opening. In Barcelona, Zoa lives with her younger sister Gabi (Berta Castañé) and their father, who tends to be away with his girlfriend more often than not and their mom is mostly out of the picture. Zoa gets an invite to a festival that looks like a cross between Fyre Fest and Coachella, complete with music, dancing, a DJ and plenty of partying.

The only downside is that Zoa’s contract doesn’t allow her to bring a plus-one, but she breaks the rule anyway and invites her best friend Judith (Ana Mena) to go with her. Given that the opening starts with Judith going missing, that’s probably not a good idea.

But despite Zoa ignoring the rules, she and Judith are allowed to board the boat to the island where the Eden Festival will begin. The entire thing is a very secretive affair as everyone invited to attend the festival is told to meet in a secluded warehouse before getting the ship that takes them to Eden. They also have to give up their cellphones, which is particularly hard for Africa (Belinda), who is a famous social media influencer.

On the island, the party gets underway and it looks just as fun and exciting as you could expect. Upon arrival, everyone gets a special wristband, but only some of them light up, including Zoa’s—but not Judith’s. Later, it comes time for the specially-selected group to get a chance to try the new Blue Eden energy drink they’re all there to celebrate and hype.

The group is told that only a few people were “randomly” chosen to try to the drink. We know that’s not true, as a behind-the-scenes area shows the people in control, like the blue-haired techie Mayka (Lola Rodríguez) and the de facto leader of Eden, Astrid (Amaia Salamanca), specially choosing members of the group to become the taste-testers. What’s their true purpose? That remains to be seen.

When the time comes, Zoa is invited to try an energy drink alongside Africa, Aldo (Albert Baró), Charly (Tomás “Tomy” Aguilera) and Ibon (Diego Garisa). After that, the party really kicks into high-gear, as the energy drink seems to function like a drug, making everything disorienting and hard to follow for the five tasked with drinking it.

Zoa connects with a guy named David (Jason Fernandez), then later, Nico (Sergio Momo) who keeps her from falling off a cliff while under the influence of the drink. Ibon meets a redhead named Alma (Irene Dev) and Judith hooks up with someone named Orson (Joan Pedrola). But Judith ends up stumbling upon something she clearly shouldn’t have seen—a security guy named Ulises (Alex Pastrana) attacking and almost drowning a bartender. Judith relays her concerns to Orson and he brushes it off.

Elsewhere, Astrid connects with her cohort and significant other Erick (Guillermo Pfening), who seems to run the place with her. They talk about what they expect to see from their chosen group, which includes Africa, Aldo, Ibon, Charly and Zoa.

The next day, the group of five awakens on the deserted island. The majority of other attendees have already left the island to return home. We finally see how Zoa ended up searching for Judith at the beginning of the episode. One of Mayka’s drones leads the group to a hidden part of the island that looks like a cult compound and they’re greeted by many of the other party attendees. Astrid steps forward and welcomes them all to Eden.

Then, in the final seconds of the episode, a desperate Judith is seen running from Orson, who catches up to her and grabs her as she screams.