"Encounters," a four-part documentary series on Netflix, explores various beliefs and assertions around unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and extraterrestrial life, providing a platform for believers to share their perspectives and experiences. While the series is periodically engrossing and thought-provoking, certain proclamations, such as one individual's assertion of being an alien, might not necessarily convert skeptics.

Under the direction of Yon Motskin and produced in conjunction with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, "Encounters" revisits four notable tales of purported UFO sightings, approaching each story with a level of respect and curiosity. Yet, the evidence presented might leave many viewers, particularly skeptics, with persistent questions and doubts. Some may even find Spielberg’s well-known fictional works, such as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T.," to be as believable as some of the anecdotal evidence presented.

"Encounters" thoughtfully explores several compelling stories, such as the January 2008 event over Central Texas, wherein over 300 individuals reported witnessing unexplained lights in the sky, regarded by researchers as the most significant civilian sighting in recent decades. Steve Allen, a pilot and businessman from Stephenville, Texas, along with other seemingly credible individuals, shares his awe-inspiring experience of observing high-intensity lights moving at unparalleled speeds, likening it to a spiritual encounter. However, efforts to capture this phenomenon on video were mysteriously compromised, fueling further conspiracy theories.

Another episode, "Believers," revisits a peculiar 1994 incident in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, where around 60 schoolchildren reported an encounter with aliens emerging from a shiny disc, who purportedly delivered telepathic messages about prioritizing environmental conservation. Decades later, while some former students uphold the legitimacy of this event, others suggest it may have been a product of collective imagination or mass hysteria. It raises the question: why would highly intelligent extraterrestrials choose children in a playground as the recipients of such a crucial message?

In the episode titled “Broad Haven Triangle,” children's sightings again are a focal point, this time hailing from the Broad Haven Primary School in Wales in 1977. Students reported seeing a flying saucer, and despite drawing remarkably similar renderings when separated and questioned, critics argue that their descriptions bore a striking resemblance to UFOs depicted in contemporary sci-fi films, such as “Forbidden Planet.”

A subsequent episode, "Lights Over Fukushima," ventures into theories linking UFO activity with nuclear power plants and hypothesizes that advanced extraterrestrial beings could be dwelling deep within our oceans. These discussions on the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in 2011, including reports of inexplicable lights in the sky, seamlessly blend into a discourse on spirituality and psychology. Miho Ninagawa’s claim of being an alien, presented without substantiating evidence or counter-argument, might find skeptics and believers alike tilting their heads.

Common questions pervade these narratives: why do UFOs seem to prefer remote locations over bustling cities? Why is recorded footage perennially grainy and indistinct? Why are the descriptions of both spacecraft and beings stereotypically consistent—flying saucers, and elongated limbs with oversized heads and eyes, respectively? Why is the communication from these alleged extraterrestrial beings always so cryptic and their interactions so brief?

While "Encounters" enables a diverse array of voices to share their UFO beliefs and experiences, it may fall short in providing the unequivocal evidence that skeptics might require to be swayed. Whether interpreting these phenomena as otherworldly encounters or attributing them to psychological, environmental, or technological factors, the series leaves viewers to decipher the mysteries of these unexplained occurrences.