To be honest, the first time I saw the commercials (Romanian) for this soap opera I hated it. After the first episode I have seen, the 5th or 6th, I hated it even more. But that's just something I happen to do before being totally crazy about some TV series. The first thing I noticed was the opening song and intro with are really well- made, epic music, the instrumental is Arabic and it really really drew me into giving it a chance.The opening title is elegantly summarizing the plot, it's very impressively put together. The leading actors are at their first attempts in acting but what I can say is that they're actually pretty good. Radu Valcan is quite unimpressive in the first 20 episodes but he gives a great character development and a fair amount of emotion on screen, totally worth watching. Madalina Draghici (Ilinca) is as intense for the whole series, a really good actress considering this is her first movie, her being a model. The soap opera cast also contains many important and valuable Romanian actors such as Maia Morgenstern (who masterfully played Mary in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ", Marin Moraru, Costel Constantin, Florin Zamfirescu and Stela Popescu and many others, which truly are icons in Romanian acting.
What I found even more great about this soap opera is the decent amount of action and less cheesy lines and love scenes which are usually predominant in soap operas, making it quite original and authentic and making it look visceral, real and also keeping the audience interested.
What made me roll my eyes were plot holes and some actions that made no sense, but that's how soap operas are right? There is also, obviously, some very very bad acting but I'm going to abstain from giving names, let's just say that some should stick to some things other than acting: dancing, music and making a fool of themselves in TV shows. The kid they have chosen to play the role of Ilinca and Amir's child, Victor, was absolutely awful. I mean, I know he's just a child but I've seen life changing performances given by children younger than him,so I'm positively sure they could've picked a far better actor for the role, unless the kid's the relative of some producer...ahem.
I cringed hard seeing (SPOILERS!) Ilinca and Noor being condemned to being killed in the name of honor just for being saved from drowning and then seeing Aziz's wives and Samira traveling on their own and going on their own outside the palace without it being a crime. Such things as rules being respected just when it's convenient to the plot belittles the intelligence of a soap opera and makes it look fake and stupid. Also, (SPOILERS AGAIN) Ilinca marrying Ovidiu just to make Amir angry was major cringe trigger, her reaction being really childish and not even a little something that should happen in a movie. There is also, of course, the random acting, given by Alexandru Papadopol(Claudiu), Razvan Fodor(Sarpe) who is probably the worst part of this soap opera, and sadly, the worst role Adela Popescu has ever had, her acting is bad, her character is poorly made, her lines are so bad it hurts and overall something they shouldn't have done. (sorry Adela, you're talented, but this sucked, and I know this was supposed to be funny but it's not) Best acting award goes to Marin Moraru and Costel Constantin who make a hell of a pair and make the show look real, Diana Dumitrescu(Oxana-Samira) who probably gives one of the best Romanian performances I have ever seen, being very spontaneous and making a powerful statement in making her character look authentic, Cristina Ciobanasu (Noor)who is really really great, giving strong and emotional moments and performances, Emil Mandanac(Serghei) giving an ambitious performance Scarface-worthy. The guy playing Aziz (Augustin Viziru) is pretty good but tends to overact sometimes and his performance looks embarrassing sometimes.(SPOILERS AHEAD) His final performance in the last episode was absolutely great, it really shook the bones in me, I can tell he's quite an intense individual.
The chemistry between Madalina and Radu is perfect, really really great cast, these two are proof that a good soap opera isn't necessarily always a cheesy fairy tale, and that good stories come from real character development and staying true to your role, even if it means being passive or overdramatizing. They did it, and they did it right.
I was a little upset that the ending, even though it was quite glorious, felt very very rushed, as if they planned to end it all of a sudden. There are a lot of characters whose fate are left at the imagination of the audience, such as Oxana's and her child. I think she deserved a more memorable ending, giving her very intense character. What happened with characters such as Soraia, Amira, Serghei is pretty much a mystery, I would have liked to give a lot more screen time to their final situations, but that's that I guess.
Overall, it's maybe the best Romanian soap opera I've seen, and I've seen MANY. Congrats to the leading actors, I am looking forward to see Radu and Madalina play in more serious movies, they have exceptionally good looks and a lot to give to the audience. A soap opera worth watching. I gave up 2 times but ended up curious enough to continue watching it. Never binge watch kids, it might kill you.
What I found even more great about this soap opera is the decent amount of action and less cheesy lines and love scenes which are usually predominant in soap operas, making it quite original and authentic and making it look visceral, real and also keeping the audience interested.
What made me roll my eyes were plot holes and some actions that made no sense, but that's how soap operas are right? There is also, obviously, some very very bad acting but I'm going to abstain from giving names, let's just say that some should stick to some things other than acting: dancing, music and making a fool of themselves in TV shows. The kid they have chosen to play the role of Ilinca and Amir's child, Victor, was absolutely awful. I mean, I know he's just a child but I've seen life changing performances given by children younger than him,so I'm positively sure they could've picked a far better actor for the role, unless the kid's the relative of some producer...ahem.
I cringed hard seeing (SPOILERS!) Ilinca and Noor being condemned to being killed in the name of honor just for being saved from drowning and then seeing Aziz's wives and Samira traveling on their own and going on their own outside the palace without it being a crime. Such things as rules being respected just when it's convenient to the plot belittles the intelligence of a soap opera and makes it look fake and stupid. Also, (SPOILERS AGAIN) Ilinca marrying Ovidiu just to make Amir angry was major cringe trigger, her reaction being really childish and not even a little something that should happen in a movie. There is also, of course, the random acting, given by Alexandru Papadopol(Claudiu), Razvan Fodor(Sarpe) who is probably the worst part of this soap opera, and sadly, the worst role Adela Popescu has ever had, her acting is bad, her character is poorly made, her lines are so bad it hurts and overall something they shouldn't have done. (sorry Adela, you're talented, but this sucked, and I know this was supposed to be funny but it's not) Best acting award goes to Marin Moraru and Costel Constantin who make a hell of a pair and make the show look real, Diana Dumitrescu(Oxana-Samira) who probably gives one of the best Romanian performances I have ever seen, being very spontaneous and making a powerful statement in making her character look authentic, Cristina Ciobanasu (Noor)who is really really great, giving strong and emotional moments and performances, Emil Mandanac(Serghei) giving an ambitious performance Scarface-worthy. The guy playing Aziz (Augustin Viziru) is pretty good but tends to overact sometimes and his performance looks embarrassing sometimes.(SPOILERS AHEAD) His final performance in the last episode was absolutely great, it really shook the bones in me, I can tell he's quite an intense individual.
The chemistry between Madalina and Radu is perfect, really really great cast, these two are proof that a good soap opera isn't necessarily always a cheesy fairy tale, and that good stories come from real character development and staying true to your role, even if it means being passive or overdramatizing. They did it, and they did it right.
I was a little upset that the ending, even though it was quite glorious, felt very very rushed, as if they planned to end it all of a sudden. There are a lot of characters whose fate are left at the imagination of the audience, such as Oxana's and her child. I think she deserved a more memorable ending, giving her very intense character. What happened with characters such as Soraia, Amira, Serghei is pretty much a mystery, I would have liked to give a lot more screen time to their final situations, but that's that I guess.
Overall, it's maybe the best Romanian soap opera I've seen, and I've seen MANY. Congrats to the leading actors, I am looking forward to see Radu and Madalina play in more serious movies, they have exceptionally good looks and a lot to give to the audience. A soap opera worth watching. I gave up 2 times but ended up curious enough to continue watching it. Never binge watch kids, it might kill you.
