Angel Shaw is a TV Lead Writer and Critic with ScreenRant who knows far too much about Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.
Among the more bizarre elements of Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is the frozen custard shop called"Coldies." Of course, this horror series was pretty bizarre overall, which was precisely the point.
It mixed a variety of genre tropes, though each is turned on its head. The most notable in this regard is the"deadly in-laws" trope—it really looked as if Nicky's wealthy family was preparing to ritually sacrifice Rachel. Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen also played with the serial-killer trope, and that's where Coldies comes in. We learn in the very first episode of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen that the town where Nicky's family cabin is located is famous for Coldies Frozen Custard. The place is long since shut down, since the owner, Larry Poole, was discovered to have murdered three women. Nicky has Rachel listen to a podcast in which a would-be victim describes her experience with Poole. She notes that, while held captive in the man's car, she found a Barbie shoe and attempted to appeal to Poole by revealing that she has a daughter. It didn't work, and she wound up tossed on the side of the road with a cut throat. Later in the horror series, we see Rachel's parents, Ali and Jay, stop at Coldies for a treat on the way to their own wedding back in 1997, before Poole's crimes were discovered and the shop was shut down. While Jay finds Poole's strangeness funny, Ali is immediately uncomfortable. She demands that they leave, and Jay reluctantly agrees to appease her anxiety. It was certainly creepy, but what's bizarre about this whole story is that it has nothing to do with Rachel's curse in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, or her mother's fate. The Coldies Storyline Seemed To Lead Nowhere In Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen There were several reasons to believe the Coldies story would prove important. Shortly after Rachel listened to the experience of Poole's would-be victim, she found a Barbie shoe, like the one mentioned in the podcast, on the bathroom floor . The fact that Rachel's mother actually met Poole further suggested this character would be important. Finally, the location of this serial killer seemed to suggest that he was Jules' Sorry Man. Overall, Larry Poole was a red herring. We were meant to think that he would turn out to be the Sorry Man, or that it would be him who ultimately killed Ali. Still, a great deal of effort went into this story for it to have just been a way to throw viewers off track. There had to be another way that Coldies and its chilling owner served the plot of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. How Coldies Was Important To Rachel & Her Mother's Story Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen's early episodes dedicated a lot of time to showing us that Rachel is anxious, paranoid, and superstitious. At that point in the story, it was unclear whether she was truly observing supernatural omens or if this was someone with a rather significant psychological problem. The fact that Rachel was ultimately wrong about Nicky's family trying to kill her seemed to emphasize that she is neurotic and prone to delusions. However, there was one moment in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen episode 1 that suggested some supernatural-level instincts. Rachel was rather miraculously able to draw the Coldies logo without ever having seen it before. It blew Nicky away, and when he asked how she did it, Rachel had no answer. She seemed just to have some instinctual connection to the place. We later see that Rachel inherited this instinct from her mother. Ali had that same anxious energy. Her fiancé kindly tolerated it, but it's clear that, like Nicky, he didn't actually believe Ali when she claimed something was wrong. Of course, as the audience, we know that Ali was exactly right about Larry Poole. The characters of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen thought that Ali and Rachel were just two extremely anxious and paranoid women. Nicky even says later that it makes Rachel difficult to love. However, the Coldies story demonstrates how unjust this is. These women weren't trusted or listened to, even by those who claimed to be their soul mates. It was ultimately part of why both woman couldn't bring themselves to believe the same of their partners. Netflix's Horror Miniseries Contained Several Important But Unexplained Details The Coldies story isn't the only aspect of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen that still felt a bit puzzling by the end. The various omens and examples of Rachel's anxiety were often a bit difficult to understand. Another prime example is her need to be trapped in a box before having sex with Nicky. The strange moment came and went without any explanation, but it served as another example of just how neurotic Rachel is, and how much effort Nicky has to put in to accommodate her. It contributed to that early question of"Is this girl actually just mentally unwell?" Subscribe to the newsletter for TV horror symbolism Explore deeper takes on Netflix horror and cultural meaning—subscribe to the newsletter for careful analysis of motifs like Coldies and the instincts-versus-anxiety themes in shows such as Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. Ideal for curious viewers. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Another odd element was the frequent appearance of foxes. They certainly contributed to the overall creepy tone of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, but they also came with their own symbolism. The two foxes seen represented Rachel and her mother. The first one seen dead on the toilet being nursed on by newly born cubs was Ali, who died while pregnant with Rachel. The second, which was caught by Nicky but ate off its own foot to escape, was Rachel herself. She certainly suffered because of the curse, but she made it out alive. Overall, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen had a whole lot of weirdness going on. It's a horror show all about omens and intuition, emphasizing the importance of trusting instincts. However, this is all contrasted with the revelation that no number of signs and symbols can bring certainty about the future, especially when marriage and relationships are concerned. Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is about women, social institutions, mental health, and unbalanced relationship dynamics, as well as good old-fashioned thrills and chills. Coldies and other devices serve each of these themes. 9/10 Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Horror Release Date March 26, 2026 Network Netflix Showrunner Haley Z. Boston Writers Haley Z. Boston Cast
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