Some series are better left unwatched, and some justify getting paid to write about them. Sometimes, the phrase "I've seen it so that you don't have to" could sum up a section like this perfectly. I've endured Obliterated so that you don't have to suffer through it. Maybe you've already made that mistake — trusting Netflix's recommendations. That's what happens when you put your faith in algorithms. We worry about AI taking over the world with nuclear codes, yet maybe the real machine rebellion is convincing us all to watch Obliterated. Our last sight before death might be Netflix's smug algorithmic face.
Obliterated was promoted as "the new series from the creators of Cobra Kai," a marketing spin that attempts to brand the producers of a series whose success was unexpected (and for many, still inexplicable). Netflix's algorithmic reasoning pushed it into trendiness, blurring the line between luck and quality.
Perhaps that's why Obliterated unfolds in Las Vegas, a hub of artificiality and falsehoods. There, "an elite special forces team tracks a deadly terrorist network" (quoted from the series description). That's the excuse for crude jokes, naked and drunk people, nonsensical dialogue, and breaking (fake) things. It's The Hangover without the humor and exploding gadgets. Horror, pure horror. A lesser-dressed Acapulco Heat with no self-awareness and absolutely no shame.