WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS BELOW
When I was in first grade or so, my best friend and I were OBSESSED over the hit Nickelodeon series House of Anubis. Every week on Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. the newest episode would air, which was awfully late for someone so young. My ability to watch the show was 100% conditional on my behavior that week or on that specific day, meaning I often missed episodes.
Having no DVR at my childhood home meant I could only watch the episodes that came out live, so if I missed an episode I would be devastated. Basically, my favorite show as a child was a series with huge plot holes, but I ate up every second.
When I heard it was coming to Netflix, I immediately texted my best friend in disbelief. It was time to binge-watch yet another series and take a trip down memory lane (also to figure out all the random episodes I had missed in the past).
Unfortunately, only the first season of the show (consisting of 27 episodes) was on Netflix and it only took me a few days to watch the show in its entirety. Each 20 to 30 minute episode ended with a cliffhanger and kept me pressing “next episode” every chance I got.
The plot of the show is about a quirky American girl named Nina, who enrolls in a British boarding school late into the semester. She lives in Anubis House with her roommate Amber, a partner in crime/love interest Fabian, and friends Patricia, Jerome, Alfie, Mara, and Mick.
House of Anubis is a classic “slow burn” style piece of media, and watching it today, I loved it just as much as I did before. Nina and Fabian have a subtly flirtatious vibe, and the two of them work together to find the missing Cup of Ankh that is hidden somewhere in Anubis House.
The head of the house, Victor, used to petrify me, but watching it back he is honestly just funny. He is allegedly 95 years old but does not age, and is supposed to be terrifying but really is just clueless half the time about what the kids in the house are really doing. He runs a secret society in the basement based on “tipping the scales of life” and using the cup of Ankh to gain eternal life for all members involved.
Fortunately for the kids involved that don’t want this to happen, Nina, Fabian, and the rest of the “sibuna” gang find the Cup of Ankh first. An intense series of weird Egyptian objects and complex riddles lead them to it, and they are able to prevent Victor and the other teachers at the school from getting it.
The show was just how I remembered it, but my favorite parts of it have changed in some aspects. The plot is still pretty good if I am being honest, but a lot of it did make me laugh. The acting is subpar at best, and at times I could not help but cringe at some of the lines. Fortunately, the combination of nostalgia and mystery in the plot kept me hooked and so when I finished the first season I was left wishing Netflix had more seasons out. I think it would be really cool to see this show remade in a book or a more adult-style TV show! I’d love to see the plot thicken.
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