S03.E01: Spring

[ShellSeeker]

Quote

With Jamal’s life in danger and Abuddin on the verge of plunging into chaos, Barry steps forward as interim president and sets the stage for democratic elections. Daliyah takes a leading role in the nation, bringing her close to Barry. Swept up in the tides of revenge, army leaders overstep their bounds in securing peace. An American General who shares history with Leila arrives in Abuddin.

[scrb]

No word on the shooter?

[skyways]

• Urgh American General??? Prepare for some implausible, ridiculous angst non-sense. Can they keep this series political and cultural??

[slothgirl]

at least Jamal isn't dead

[Addlepated]

Does the title refer to Arab Spring?

[cyberfruit]

On 7/2/2016 at 3:13 PM, skyways said:

• Urgh American General??? Prepare for some implausible, ridiculous angst non-sense. Can they keep this series political and cultural??

It's the American way.

Regarding Nusrat -- wow. Just wow. 

[Ariah]

Nusrat, no! (I saw it coming, though. But still, she's the most tragic character in this show.)

I know most people here don't like Barry - I'm in the minority who does. Right now he's waaaay over his head, trying to do the right thing in a world where there's no right choice. Although he did surprise the whole room when he said he's not running in the elections. I'm pretty sure he'll change his mind soon...

I'm also pretty sure Molly is going to dig herself a grave. Her jealousy may be semi-founded (there is great chemistry between Barry and Daliyah, and there's little to none spark between Barry and Molly), but the way she's "knowingly" looking down the other woman... "We share a lot of things," she says. Does it mean she can share her husband?

The thing is, I actually like Daliyah while I dislike Molly, so the whole martial-bliss vs extra-martial affair makes me a little biased towards extra-martial activities. It probably makes me a bad person.

[scrb]

This is a fantasy land.  With the long lead times of production, they can't hew too close to current events but they try to make the Caliphate roughly Isis.

It seemed at the start that Barry could be like Assad, educated in the West but ultimately becoming a brutal oppressor, willing to kill to keep power.  But they couldn't make either Jamal or Barry unsympathetic to the audience so maybe Abbudin is the most moderate of Arab states, something like Jordan, which appears to have avoided the strife that has hit the Arab world.

In any event, Abbudin seems pretty chill for a place that just went through civil war as well as an invasion and occupation from the Caliphate.  Women don't cover themselves up, the clerics aren't too extreme and other than some initial crackdowns, it's relatively peaceful, until Ihab and the Caliphate come back.  Leilah even becomes the first minister of an Arab nation, something which is probably a long ways from happening.

i guess they want to show that Barry is naive, that these tribal enemies will eventually revert to war.  He naively sets in motion Ihab's release and thinks Abbudin can march peacefully towards democracy.

In real life, Isis is losing territory and is launching more and more terrorist attacks vs. civilians or encouraging "lone wolf" followers to kill, both in the US and Europe as well as in Muslim nations.

The show will return to violence but the previews made it appear the Caliphate will attack or destabilize Abbudin In order to take it over and make it their new base.  But the US and allies now have Isis on the run so they'd never allow the Caliphate to invade.

[sjohnson]

Truth and Dignity really works best as a way to keep the fundamentals of who owns what, and how much money they make, more or less the same, while reining in the state violence. Despite all the sentimentality, it's really pretty conservative. The show is already trying to present it as a real democratic revolution of the spirit or some such nonsense. It does detract. 

Don't care for the village squeeze, all those years together should really count with his wife. Unless he wants to reinvent himself as Bassam, which it's not clear he wants at all. But perhaps the show should focus on that, it's a genuine dramatic choice to make? 

Sammy and Emma should be thinking about getting out while the getting's good, not sure why they're not thinking about college.

[Artsda]

Nusrat.:(  I hate they killed her off. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Artsda

[Valmarmar]

On 7/2/2016 at 4:18 PM, slothgirl said:

at least Jamal isn't dead

Yes - Barhom plays this complex character so well, I could not imagine this show without him !! 

[slothgirl]

Barry is an idiot... let's all sing Kumbaya while sending the MOST dangerous adversary somewhere else so that you no longer have much control over what happens to him. Of course he's free now... duh.

Molly is an idiot for worrying about other women in Barry's life right now instead of whether her own life might get cut tragically short in the middle of a revolution. She needs to listen to Leila who knows far more about this stuff.

Both Barry and Molly are idiots for not getting their kids the hell out of there instead of sitting around the breakfast table reminiscing! Barry has already seen that he is absolutely at the whim of the military (which is pretty much always the case in these situations). Neither he nor Rami had any ability to prevent the arrest of Leila and Ahmed.

The pretenses on which they were released were idiotic. Did I eyeroll though the explanation of why the "officers" who required their imprisonment and trial agreed to not only let them out, but to make Leila a prominent member of the cabinet?? Seriously? Why on earth would the military go along with this hairbrained "Truth and Dignity" idea, especially if it means Jamal and Leila don't pay for their crimes (since that was the ONE thing they wanted in exchange for not just arresting Barry too and declaring martial law)? Just because Barry says "we're going to do this"? That was some quick about face for the "officers" being represented by that one Colonel.

Anyone supporting the T&D campaign is an idiot if they think the Caliphate supporters are going to stop trying to completely take over by whatever means necessary regardless of diplomacy or elections. That's what the Caliphate is all about. By definition, it can't co-exist and remain in whatever place it is given by democratic process.

The showrunners are idiots for focusing so much on Barry/Molly home life crap. I can watch Lifetime for relationship drama and angst. I can watch 50's tv shoes for happy family gatherings around the breakfast table. I want to see Moran Atias crumble with self-loathing while looking in her mirror because she couldn't bring herself to kill Jamal. I want to see her relationship to power and Abuddin. Basically any scene with her is a scene I want to watch. I want to see her get an Emmy for this show.

I want to see something realistic happening, like the way Barry's initial coup in season 1 went sideways immediately because of his inexperience. Maybe the arrival of Chris Noth and the US military will start to inject some much needed realism into the plot. Cause "Magic Barry" is wearing really thin. He should be dead 10 times over by now.

Edited July 7, 2016 by slothgirl

[scrb]

In the show, the Caliphate is on the run.  They were expelled from Abbudin and presumably the kid jihadi from last season was killed.  So they negotiate to get Ihab freed so he can help them take over Abbudin.  First, Ihab failed so why would he be useful?

Second, if the Caliphate is losing territory that they want Abbudin as a new base, would the allied powers battling the Caliphate just look the other way while they went into Abbudin?  Especially the US, which prefers peace in Abbudin after the short civil war, wouldn't just stand around and let the Caliphate take more territory.

I guess the facial burns and the eye patch now makes Ihab an unambiguous monster, while in the first season and part of the second season, he did seem to have genuine grievances against the al Fayeds.  But he got egged on by that chick who died, so now he wants vengeance and also thinks he should be president of Abbudin.

[NorthstarATL]

Sorry to see that ending for Nusrat. Leila seems to be embracing the new normal and dressing fabulously (Molly needs to take notes, though I doubt she could pull it off.) Speculating that Mr. Big will fall for Leila and THEY will be the new power couple, which should make the guy who arrested Leila pretty nervous. When did Barry and Molly's daughter arrive?

[Constantinople]

I figured Nusrat wasn't long for this world when I saw "Special Guest Star  Sibylla Deen" in the credits, but faked suicide didn't occur to me.  I was thinking more trial and execution.

If Barry is having nightmares about armed men marching into the palace and shooting his family, perhaps he should send his family back to California.

Smooth move with Ihab.  Barry may as well have FedExed him to Caliphate HQ.

[ganesh]

On 7/2/2016 at 7:47 PM, Addlepated said:

Does the title refer to Arab Spring?

I thought that was deliberate.

On 7/7/2016 at 1:01 AM, Ariah said:

The thing is, I actually like Daliyah while I dislike Molly, so the whole martial-bliss vs extra-martial affair makes me a little biased towards extra-martial activities. It probably makes me a bad person.

You're not a bad person. I don't get Molly at all. She's been all over the place. 

 

On 7/7/2016 at 0:20 PM, slothgirl said:

Both Barry and Molly are idiots for not getting their kids the hell out of there instead of sitting around the breakfast table reminiscing!

I thought the daughter was gone to the USA. I was surprised she was involved. 

A little bit heavy with King Lear. 

I agree from a tv pov that Jamal can't be killed off. 

Edited July 9, 2016 by ganesh

[candall]

I was so excited about this coming back, I waited until I could plop down with undivided attention and a bowl of pistachios.  But I had to peek at the forum while I was watching, so now I'm bummed that Nusrat's about to die.

Just got there. . .yikes, that was harsh!  But hello, my next comment was going to be that Faithful Retainer Aziz is about to be revealed as a power player.

 

I'd be happier without the time-suck that is Molly, but FX isn't even committed enough to run a spate of eps from last season to prime the pump, so I guess I should just be pleased the slot isn't filled with comic book superheroes.

********************

--He's not the Svengali that is Jamal, but I like Barry Bassam more than most posters.  I'm counting on Big Governor Logan to bring his usual juice.  He's not exactly getting hotter with age, but he's holding up just fine.

--Preach, Leila--Ahmed's about as powerful as a Hershey Kiss melting on the dashboard.  Gonna trip on that bottom lip, buddy.

--Daliyah has had a number of different "looks"--and she's carried off every one of them.

--Geez, spend your fake suicide nickel on little Nusrat, but no one thought to pick off freakin' Ihab?

[slothgirl]

22 hours ago, candall said:

I'd be happier without the time-suck that is Molly, but FX isn't even committed enough to run a spate of eps from last season to prime the pump, so I guess I should just be pleased the slot isn't filled with comic book superheroes.

--Preach, Leila--Ahmed's about as powerful as a Hershey Kiss melting on the dashboard.  Gonna trip on that bottom lip, buddy.

--Daliyah has had a number of different "looks"--and she's carried off every one of them.

--Geez, spend your fake suicide nickel on little Nusrat, but no one thought to pick off freakin' Ihab?

Yeah, I would have liked to see some previous episodes in advance of the new season. Maybe they are trying to give Hulu a better shot by making it hard to watch the previous seasons? Maybe gettting a kickback from Hulu is of financial importance?

I want Daliyah's hair stylist. Of course, I'd have to also have her hair to pull the styles off, but I was mesmerized last season by her asymetrical braid. I even watched on demand and rewound several times trying to get better looks at it so I could do it. Nope... not enough hair and the hair I have is too wildly curly to cooperate.

Leila is the only main character smart enough to run that country. She understands the needs, dangers, and limits of power better than any of the rest of them.

They were really in a bind with Nusrat. They couldn't set her free, even though 1/2 the country would be celebrating the assassination of Jamal, because that would set a dangerous precedent. They couldn't execute her because 1/2 the country was thrilled about what she did. Unless the planned to keep Leila and Ahmed in prison for good, they were out of options for dealing with Nusrat. After all, they "executed" Barry for staging a coup where Jamal wasn't even hurt, and Barry was the previous ruler's son... a true Al Fayeed!

"I'm here to meet your every need" guy is quite the Rasputin / Cardinal Richelieu, etc. 

Edited July 11, 2016 by slothgirl

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, as soon as I saw that Sibylla Deen's name was listed under "special guest star", I knew Nusrat wasn't making out of this episode alive.  I was surprised that it wasn't actually Leila's decision, but the butler took it upon himself, because he knew that it had to be done.  It's still too bad though. Nusrat really was one of the most tragic figures on this show, and was probably never going to get any kind of happy ending.  I do hope Sibylla lands another gig soon.

So, if I'm understanding everything correctly, Barry's plan is to form some kind of panel, where everyone confesses what really went down this entire time, and then this would lead to "healing."  And then in six months, another election will happen, but Barry plans on stepping down, and letting someone else take it.  And pretty much all the potential candidates will serve as his cabinet for now.  Yeah.... that seems like a stretch, Barry.  Good luck, buddy.

I couldn't stop laughing over how obviously jealous Molly is over Daliyah.  Literally, as soon as she saw her the first time, her eyes already looked like they wanted to shoot out lasers.  Wasn't it just last season, she was flirting with that kind of skeevy lawyer, herself?  To be somewhat fair, I can understand being somewhat surprised over how beautiful she is.  She's probably only behind Leila on that front.  There must be something in Abuddin's water system.

I don't care if she's kind of evil, I am so on Team Leila for President.  She would be awesome.  And wear more awesome dresses.  Moran Atias is breathtaking.

Letting Rashid go is already backfiring, I see.

Not surprised Jamal is still alive, but I'm not going to complain.  Ashraf Barhom is too charismatic to go.

Chris Noth has now arrived as some kind of general, who seems to be called in, because the Americans don't like Barry's current plan or something. I'm sure he'll shake things up.

[TVForever]

Barry's playing a dangerous game with Daliyah. They're very attracted to each other- it happens. And now his wife at least suspects as much, even if she doesn't really know for sure. Time to choose- if it's Molly, then it's time to stop playing footsie with Daliyah and commit to the marriage. If it's Daliyah, then let Molly go to get on with her life.

[slothgirl]

21 hours ago, TVForever said:

Barry's playing a dangerous game with Daliyah. They're very attracted to each other- it happens. And now his wife at least suspects as much, even if she doesn't really know for sure. Time to choose- if it's Molly, then it's time to stop playing footsie with Daliyah and commit to the marriage. If it's Daliyah, then let Molly go to get on with her life.

yes... while she still HAS a life... before they cart them all away for execution.

Seriously.. Barry's playing multiple dangerous (read: stupid) games!

[Dowel Jones]

20 hours ago, slothgirl said:

Seriously.. Barry's playing multiple dangerous (read: stupid) games!

"But, but, but I'm an American.  They'll listen to me because I am the voice of reason.  Even though I have no clue about their culture here."

[millennium]

On 7/11/2016 at 4:05 AM, thuganomics85 said:

I don't care if she's kind of evil, I am so on Team Leila for President.  She would be awesome.  And wear more awesome dresses.  Moran Atias is breathtaking.

When she was in prison, I was like "omg, forget the special cookies, get her some clothes and cosmetics, this is cruel and unusual punishment."

[Maherjunkie]

Quote

 I'm counting on Big Governor Logan to bring his usual juice.  He's not exactly getting hotter with age, but he's holding up just fine.

I came here for this reason.  I haven't seen all the episodes-is his role very big?