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Brave New World

Peacock‘s Brave New World is a sultry spin on Aldous Huxley’s landmark dystopian novel, complete with pretty people, tons of orgies, and candy-like pills called soma. Soma is what keeps the citizens of New London from indulging in their darker impulses. These rainbow-colored pills are introduced in the opening minutes of the series and soon reveal their more sinister hold on people.

Brave New World is set in a dystopian future where humanity is split into two societies: the rambunctious and off-the-rails “theme park” of the Savage Lands and the neat, orderly, and idyllic New London. The citizens of New London are organized by classifications that are assigned to them when they are created in a lab. (Pregnancy is a taboo in New London.) After being born, children are conditioned to behave in accordance to their caste. Little round pills called soma are given routinely to keep people’s “levels” balanced. That is, keep everyone drugged and complacent.

But what exactly are soma? What do the different colors of soma mean in Brave New World? And what are the soma in real life? Here’s everything you need to know about soma on Brave New World.

WHAT ARE SOMA ON BRAVE NEW WORLD?

Soma is one of the few things that the Brave New World series absolutely carries over from the books. Aldous Huxley took the name “soma” from Vedic traditions, where it is a divine drink used in all sorts of important rituals. In the book as in the show, it is a drug that leaves people feeling blissed out and happy.

When John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich) joins the society of New London, he is struck by how it is used to control the masses. Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay) finds herself spiraling after learning that it is possible to not take soma and to feel real, poignant emotions.

Soma pills on Brave New World — Photo: Peacock

WHAT DO THE DIFFERENT SOMA COLORS MEAN ON BRAVE NEW WORLD?

As the first season of Brave New World goes on, we learn that different colored soma mean different things. We learn in Episode 5, for instance, that yellow soma is reserved for emotional trauma.

In Brave New World, Alpha Plus Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd) is soma counselor, which means it’s his job to oversee distribution of these pills. Lloyd told Decider that soma was his way in.

“Ultimately, it’s every spectrum of the rainbow, in terms of how severe your need and how distant you are from your true center balance,” he said, noting that violet was the default for all the characters. “As a counselor, I get the orange or yellow.”

“Know what, you’re on the orange? Knock yourself out. Have a good time. This one might be more than you need, so therefore, you’re not in emotional trauma. You might have a bit of a trip,” he said imitating Bernard’s thought process. “So it’s playful.”

It’s playful for the characters of Brave New World, but it was less than fun on set…

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WHAT DID THE ACTORS ON BRAVE NEW WORLD USE FOR THE SOMA?

Harry Lloyd told Decider that working with the soma pills on set was a “nightmare.”

“They’re these little hard sugar balls. You can’t get it down in the first swallow. We looked at the jelly ones, which look bad on camera when you touch them, but they go down a bit easier,” Lloyd said before revealing his soma secret.

“I quite often — if you see a pill appear on screen — I’m barely popping it. I’m miming it. I’m doing everything I can. But Bernard is Mr. Soma,” he said.

So soma might be beloved by the residents of New London, but at least one Brave New World cast member couldn’t stand them.

Where to stream Brave New World