This is a really grim look at life among radicalized Muslims, combined with a gripping story about a terrorist plot. The fact that there have been well-known cases of Western teenage girls becoming ISIS brides makes this fictional story especially harrowing. The two different tracks of the series -- the radicalization of the girls and the effort to thwart the terrorism -- are both compelling, though it's the story of the teenagers that makes this a unique series.
As with Fauda, the scenes of daily life among the terrorists seem harsh but realistic. Apart from the the squalor, there is constant fear of brutal Isis punishments--whipping, dismemberment, execution--and drone attacks. I didn't want to feel sympathy for anyone belonging to a group that beheads people, but it was hard not to feel for Pervin, the young mother trying to escape Raqqa with her daughter.
There is barely a moment of relief from the tension, desperation and dread, so it's not always easy to watch, but it's hard not to want to see the next episode. I am surprised there is no Season 2, but maybe it's just as well that the writers didn't drag out a series that worked extremely well.
As with Fauda, the scenes of daily life among the terrorists seem harsh but realistic. Apart from the the squalor, there is constant fear of brutal Isis punishments--whipping, dismemberment, execution--and drone attacks. I didn't want to feel sympathy for anyone belonging to a group that beheads people, but it was hard not to feel for Pervin, the young mother trying to escape Raqqa with her daughter.
There is barely a moment of relief from the tension, desperation and dread, so it's not always easy to watch, but it's hard not to want to see the next episode. I am surprised there is no Season 2, but maybe it's just as well that the writers didn't drag out a series that worked extremely well.