Tyrant

So, watching this show's first episode. It's shaping up to be Game Of Thrones meets The Godfather, IN THE MIDDLE EAST, with our House MD-lookalike protagonist in the role of Michael Corleone, is older brother in the role of Sonny, and his father as the Don. And our protagonist seems to play politics with a Tyrion style. We've also got a clear Arya/Sansa dichotomy in the children.

And some hilariously uncomfortable Ho Yay. The Sansa-son is gay! Talk about a walking, talking Drama Ball! I mean OMFG!

And plenty of Fanservice for the ladies. Specifically, Furo Scene complete with Skinship Shave.

Also, Dynastic Drama. Lots and lots of Dynastic Drama.

edited 25th Jun '14 6:09:58 AM by TheHandle

Also, lots of rape.

Disappointingly, white wife character appears to be Too Dumb to Live, or else has a religious restriction against ever using a search engine.

I think it's mostly the former. "My husband's father has just died. This isn't just a normal family situation. If anything happens to his brother, he might find himself obligated to become the ruler of an unstable country with a bunch of people wanting him (and by extension us) dead. WE SHOULD GTFO NOW."

Heck, if I had been her, I would have brought the freaking passports along as soon as possible.

I think the entire role both his family and the ambassadors have in this story is to be un-savvy, Blank Slate, Fish out of Water types who try to apply US middle-class, (possibly Minnesota Nice?) values and expectations and tastes to an environment where they're just not a good idea. She's basically like Michael Corleone's wife, except not nearly as sharp. I fully expect that this will tear them apart and that becoming decadent hedonists like Dorian Gray is one of the best things that can happen to hem.

Also, I'm pretty thrilled that so much of it is filmed in Morocco. They know how to do luxury, oh yeah!

But, seriously though, our protagonist has a bad case of Poor Communication Kills and Cannot Spit It Out.

Ah, and I really loved the twist in the end. Talk about Bait the Dog!

edited 25th Jun '14 11:16:55 AM by TheHandle

In all fairness to the wife, she's concerned for her husband's mental health (and it does sound like his trauma is affecting his life) and he doesn't seem to tell her anything. She doesn't have a measure on how extreme the situation is. I expect that will change very soon.

And in all fairness to the husband, how do you tell someone you love and been with for at least 20 years that capable of killing just to prove to your dictator father your a worthy successor? He want to be a good, normal person, and the surefire way to ruin that illusion is to let others know you're not.

Regarding the twist, I loved how they built up to it. From the beginning, it was clear that he resented his father and brother. Then, you have his fear about being stuck there. Then you have his father wanting to drag him into the terrorist affair. Then, he upstages his brother and proves, to himself and to his father, that he's capable. My favorite part was how they edited in the event with his father's acknowledgment.

More than anyone, I'm worried about the son. He's going to get himself hurt really badly and I don't want to see that happen. He's not exactly likeable, but he's pretty realistic.

He's an entitled brat, but he didn't do anything egregious or malicious. But, depending on where you are, getting into a gay affair is not a good idea. This isn't Marrakech.

I like the daughter.

The mother and son seem like they crawled out of the wrong genres. The mother thinks she she is a Fixer Sue from a Lifetime Movie of the Week, who is either Wrong Genre Saavy or Genre Blind, while the son is straight out of an ABC Family drama, being a whiny Emo Teen suffering from Gayngst (which, of course, is fine for certain situations, but this show is leaning more toward global ethical issues rather than personal troubles).

The daughter, on the other hand, despite being a bit of a Jerkass to her mother and brother, is well aware of the fact that the country is IN FREAKING CONFLICT and that they never should have left home in the first place. Likewise, she recognizes that her father is a Stoic Woobie with a Dark and Troubled Past, so when he says "it's dangerous," she knows he means that "IT'S DANGEROUS." Moreover, due to her father's psychological troubles and the rest of the family's ignorance, she is setting up to be an Only Sane Man - er, woman. I have high hopes for this character.

I get your view on the mom, have no idea what you mean with the brother. He's not angsty- a brat, yes, but he's probably the most cheerful/optimistic character. He's also completely comfortable with his sexuality and not afraid of persecution (even when he should be), as shown by his blatant flirting. His biggest problem is his poor relationship with his father, but he doesn't brood over it. The daughter is much more angsty than he is.

Of course, his optimism is going to be (and has been) slapped in the face repeatedly, so yeah, the angst will come, but as of the first episode it's nonexistent.

The second episode was a lot of fun. It's... well, let's just say that such a show wouldn't have been made anywhere in the Middle East. "Is this the first time you've seen a woman's breast?" she says, as her bosoms heave like a nubile daughter waiting for a vampire at the moonlit window.

But that was just the jarring part. The fun part was how they've managed to imbue what looked like an ominous political thriller with a "heartwarming", family soap opera feel. "Aw, look, Bassam is such a good brother, he's willing to dirty his hand to protect his bro!"

Bassam could have been more clever about the kids; I could see that outcome coming from a mile away. Still, he did say the right words. I love how the Alfayeed negociate.

Still, I wonder if Jamal almost dying because he got his dick bitten off is going to come out.

So I like how the story's evolving so far. It's very Ripped from the Headlines, but it makes for a coherent story.

And the wife gave a pretty good monologue to her husband this episode.

Yeah, the wife is getting much more likeable. Or less unbearable? Still stupid she didn't realize that the government controlled the media, though.

I really want this story to be about Basam's turning from a strong moral character into his father, with everybody suffering and tragedy Woobies galore, etc., but the show doesn't seem quite so dramatic. What happened with the son and the security guard guy, for example. No grand miscommunication that causes untold suffering, or drunken mistakes that ruin everything, the guy just says "it was a one-time thing, I'm not going to risk more, sorry I hurt you", and the son is obviously unhappy, but understands and doesn't push. Of course, it's still to early to say this plotline is buried forever, but this episode definitely felt like a resolution to me.

However, even if Basam isn't becoming his father, I still want him to become ambitious and ruthless. The first episode promised this when he shot that man, but it was cheapened when the next episode indicated he did it for his brother.

As for the Ripped from the Headlines aspects, I suppose it's a good thing, but they need to be careful with how they portray these issues.

edited 16th Jul '14 12:00:43 PM by RandomaNama

He's a Social Climber. My bet is, once Bassam establishes himself more in power, he'll go right back to seducing Sammy. To be tremendously blunt, this guy doesn't seem to mind being someone's bitch if it'll let him go places.

So far they've been pretty sensible about how they went about it. Bassam waving Ghaddhafi's Death March under his brother's face and appealing to pragmatism was a very nice touch.

edited 16th Jul '14 12:11:57 PM by TheHandle

Since the guy is inspired by Bashar alAssad and the show is called Tyrant, I think a Face–Heel Turn is a Foregone Conclusion.

Yeah but I think it'll be Pragmatic Villainy in the style of Michael Corleone and David Xanatos, rather than proper villainous villainy. He'll do whatever gets the job done and keeps him and his children safe.

But I'm counting on Handsome Terrorist to seriously piss him off. That kid is not out for justice, he's a Knight Templar out for Revengeance.

Wait, so this show is actually good? or at least decent so far? Because I wasn't expecting it to be.

Also, the Middle Eastern main character is played by a white guy. White washing is a serious problem in the movie and tv industries.

edited 16th Jul '14 2:09:03 PM by higherbrainpattern

Well, it has its truculent Darker and Edgier moments, but it's pretty damn cool overall.

And the Moroccan palaces are amazing. Gosh, this makes me nostalgic.

Free elections, huh?

And that scene... that scene in the bed... with the thing on camera... all the time...

Lady Macbeth is proving to be a Jerkass of epic proportions.

I really like how almost every native Arab constantly speaks English with Just a Stupid Accent. Jamal's hyper-slurred delivery is especially embarrassing, it's like he has cerebral palsy. It's kinda touching, though, how much he trusts his brother.

WHAT? JAMAL? DAFUQ! Is he now just hiring what he used to rapeforcibly take, or is this a Honey Trap? He may jeopardize his chances like this!

Ah, no, it's all okay. Well, why doesn't he do that instead of abusing random helpless women? He looks like he had a lot more fun, too.

Aww, poor widdle Jamal, nobody loves him except maybe a Hooker with a Heart of Gold... probably not even her, though. So he has to kick people around, epecially weak and helpless people, to feel good about himself.

This guy is Unfit for Greatness writ large.

And Uncle Cough is starting to seem like he's actually stupid, taunting and provoking Jamal like that. He seems more interested in winning the election than in helping the people and the country.

Alo, I think we have our villain. We had him since he called to Shoot the Hostage, really, but now it's confirmed; he was the one responsible for that exploding truck.

edited 1st Aug '14 8:39:06 AM by TheHandle

He was getting under Jamal's skin, effectively (and nobody said he was a nice guy). He wants Jamal to slip up and throw a tantrum, hurting his election chances in the process. He also wanted to drive a bigger wedge between Jamal and Bassam. I don't think any of this is stupid. And in all fairness, it's not stupid to assume that your political rival won't assault and attempt to murder you in a very public, significant event, especially since there's easy ways to prove (surveillance, witnesses seeing both go into thew bathroom) that he's alone with you. I think this is any rational human being's default assumption.

Also, Jamal was always going to be a villain. He might have been listening to Basam, but the show never let us forget his treatment of his daughter-in-law or his would-be assassin. The uncle is too, I guess, but I'm only seeing him as The Dragon for now. This may change if he gets more active, and if Jamal falls from power.

He could have died then and there, Ahab becomes leader of the opposition, and then the whole idea of saving lives and achieving peace falls apart. It really was a risky move.

If he died then and there it's because of his health, which he has no control over. Like I said, Jamal attacking him like that was unpredictable. If you were mocking a public figure, one who's been very proud but otherwise rather easy-going, at a very public event, would you assume they would try to kill you? No, because that's a ridiculous and incredibly stupid overreaction. Even if mocking them was enough for them to want to kill you, they wouldn't do that then and there.

So what's the general consensus on this show? Good quality and worth watching so far?

My siblings think it's shit. It might be because they're homophobic (Sammy's scenes got them ugh-ing intensely), and besides very reluctant to extend to Arab actors and characters the same licenses to fanservice and libertinage, respectively, that they would give to Western performers. Also, Bassam's wife is perceived as an epic Scrappy; she seems clueless and out-of-place beyond belief (she's been getting better and sharper, but they weren't that patient). They also think the pacing is kind of all over the place, and the borderline-Omega Cast stretches suspension of disbelief.

And I have to agree with them on that point; Abudeen seems so very small. Like, Monaco or Liechtensten levels of small. Yes Minister managed to make Great Britain sound a lot bigger with just three actors and an office. There's way too much focus on the family and personal drama, and not enough on the actual challenges of dictatorship and transition. I understand that they had to make Jamal a bit of an idiot way in over his head, but this is too much, you'd think he'd had zero education in Statesmanship.

edited 4th Aug '14 4:42:29 AM by TheHandle

I like how self-aware Jamal is about the reality of how much he sucks at being President. (and at being a person in general). Reminded me of this oglaf.

Whatsherface the wife is in for a surprise soon.

edited 6th Aug '14 2:57:13 PM by Ever9

Which one, Betty or Veronica?

Just started watching this show. Someone needs to equip Bassam's wife with Google. In the first few episodes it's as though she somehow missed the memo about her father-in-law being a brutal dictator with the blood of thousands on his hands.

One Shirtless Scene after another... it's getting tiresome. It's not even Game Of Thrones' Sexposition, it's just "talking about important stuff while half-naked".