Pop Culture & the Law: La Palma (Part 1)

Netflix's Norwegian hit La Palma

Recently, Conor and I watched Netflix’s hit show La Palma, with our 9-year-old and 13-year-old boys. At the end of the show our kids gleefully yelled, “Plot armor!” If you haven’t seen La Palma yet, it's a Norwegian four-part series that follows a family vacationing on the island of La Palma. The island is off the coast of Spain and has an active volcano. Some scientists theorize that if the volcano erupted a large part of the volcano could slide into the ocean, triggering a devastating tsunami. 

‍

‍

The show is a fictional account of what might happen if that theory is correct. The four episodes follow the fates of the family as well as a team of scientists and other vacationers. The show is rated for mature audiences and normally I wouldn’t have suggested it for family movie night. But after watching it myself, I decided that our kids could handle it and would enjoy the drama. One of my key reasons for deeming it appropriate family viewing was that the show is not a gritty, realistic account of a tsunami. It is a feel-good survival story (apparently a favorite genre for Norwegian filmmakers). 

‍

Plot Armor and Setting Realistic Expectations

I don’t know about you, but I can’t resist checking out the reviews of things I watch and read to see if people agree with me that something is awesome or terrible. To my surprise, many people didn’t like La Palma. Of course, a lot of people must have liked it enough to watch as it stayed in Netflix’s Top Ten for weeks. The disappointed viewers seemed universally upset at the unrealistic ending. 

If these disappointed viewers expected to see something more akin to a documentary then it makes sense that the ending felt unsatisfying. I’m not sure what my kids expected, except maybe to not be bored. When the show wrapped up, they noticed the same thing as the disappointed viewers. But instead of being annoyed, they described it as “plot armor” and declared La Palma a great show.

Plot armor is where a character is protected because they are essential to the story.

While they might not admit it, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as fun of a family movie night if that plot armor wasn’t there. Because we were looking for a fun family show, the plot armor didn't take away from our enjoyment of the show. It got me thinking about how important it is to set expectations at the outset. This applies to many facets of life of course, from raising kids to training for a marathon to the practice of law. In legal cases, it's common for people to have preconceived notions about the facts.

There are many ways to set expectations. Similar to the idea of road-mapping, expectation setting can be achieved by flagging something that might surprise or confuse your audience. For example, if you are dealing with an injury case you may need to address the expectation that the accident wasn’t “that bad” or that the person is “mostly fine” or “lucky to be alive.” For some, these expectations may seem callous or unreasonable, but we all view things through our own backgrounds and experiences. To a person who has never experienced road rash, it may seem like a minor inconvenience. Setting proper expectations may be as simple as having a treating doctor explain the differences between a minor scrape and road rash.  

An easy way to make sure your audience isn’t going to be disappointed is to ask questions about their expectations. This could look like asking a client what they hope to get out of litigation, asking opposing counsel what their ideal mediation would look like, or asking a witness what they expect a deposition to be like. Sometimes this can clear the air and make sure we are not setting ourselves up for a disgruntled audience. 

Setting expectations does not have to be complicated, but La Palma reminded me of how easy it is to have different expectations from other people. Figuring out ways to set accurate expectations can help avoid a disgruntled audience. Of course, La Palma also brought up the classic legal issues of duty, negligence and causation. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I consider the plot of La Palma as if it was a question on a Torts exam in law school!

‍

Leslie Hulburt is a co-founder of Hulburt Law Firm. She is an experienced trial attorney who has litigated cases against major corporations, manufacturers and government entities. In addition to the law, she has worked at the washingtonpost.com and as a garden teacher for elementary school students. These experiences give her a unique perspective on the most compelling way to present a case. Leslie finds inspiration in countless places, including movies, tv shows, books and podcasts. Pop Culture & the Law explores the ways our favorite entertainment can offer wisdom in the practice of law.