With the holy month of Ramadan ongoing, Nawell Madani and Simon Jablonka have hit Netflix at an accurate time. Thicker Than Water, a French crime drama thriller recently premiered on Netflix. Highlighting the struggles of a minority community residing in a modern French world, this thriller deals with several sensitive issues. This is a tale of survival, struggle, stereotypes and strength narrated to us by Madani as Fara Bentayeb. An aspiring journalist who is stumped by her ethnicity and religion despite having abundant talent.
Thicker Than Water has compiled several plotlines into this suspense thriller. It is highlighting Islamophobia in French, showcasing the importance of holding onto our loved ones and questioning racism in a sophisticated manner. In this Thicker Than Water review and ending explained, let us take a detailed look at Fara’s journey. Will she be able to protect her siblings, keep her job and deal with the drug lords simultaneously? Let’s find out!
Thicker Than Water: Fara Stands Against French Journalism Industry
The series propels forward by showcasing Fara as an aspiring journalist. Becoming a news reporter so that her father would notice her has always been Fara’s goal. She has been striving to become a news anchor since a child and now as an adult, her dream is about to come true. In the first few episodes, we get to know how Fara is being treated poorly because of her Arab ethnicity. As the episode moves forward, Fara doesn’t get the position she was promised since it has been given to another French blonde.
In a fit of rage, Fara, who was going live, accuses the 24 News channel and claims them to be racists. Her allegations end up wreaking havoc on social media. The news channel’s ratings start to drop and the commenters almost start a campaign against them. To save face, 24 News offers Fara a glamorous position. Though Fara’s childhood dream comes true, there is another problem waiting for her. And it isn’t just a problem, it is a threat the Bentayebs don’t realize at first.
Salem’s Mistake Makes Bentayeb Family A Target
Thicker Than Water isn’t just Fara’s story though, it is centred around three Bentayeb sisters; Fara, Souhila, and Yasmine. The three of them share a strong bond with each other, this bond is challenged when Salem gets involved in a deadly mess. Even though these super sisters try to portray themselves as invincible and highly optimistic, their lives are a tangled mess. While Fara’s career is frailing, Yasmine’s marriage isn’t working well. Souhilla, who is a single mother to two daughters, Imene and Lina, has to go through financial crises often.
And despite these struggles, they bond over dinners at their mother’s place, especially during Ramadan. As Fara gets ready for another dinner at Louiza’a place, she is contacted by Salem, her only brother. He simply asks to park his car at her place, feeding her a lame excuse. But Fara’s hackles rise when she finds her import-export dealing brother the cause of her and her family’s arrest.
The Bentayeb Family Is Distraught Yet Daring
The Bentayeb sisters believe that Salem was involved in a hit-and-run case initially. But, later, as the series progresses, they get to know about Salem’s involvement with a drug kingpin, Oumar Diawara. This drug dealer sends his henchmen, Mayo and Ketchup, after them when these sisters burn Salem’s car. They were oblivious to the fact that Salem has hidden drugs worth millions of dollars inside his car. Here ensues a dramatic cat-mouse chase between the Bentayeb sisters and Diawara.
While they are dealing with the aftermath of Salem’s choices, they also have to get their distorted life back on track. Fara changes her hair colour from black to blonde so that she would fit in. Yasmine, who is married to Karim and has two sons, Rayan and Riad, tries to make her marriage work. On the other hand, Souhila is trying to give the best life she could to her daughters. Louiza is busy strengthening her daughters and asking them to believe in god and keep going. But the threat lingers over their head, now deadlier though.
Thicker Than Water Ending: Do Fara And Her Sisters Survive?
It takes a trap to get out of one, and sacrifice to survive. The Bentayeb family has never had it easy. Louiza’s husband has always been a news druggie, he could never put anyone above that. As a result, Fara got obsessed with being a news anchor so that her father would finally look at her. But then, he ran away and abandoned them all. Louiza had to work three jobs a day, and live in a questionable neighbourhood in a foreign country. And while the other two sisters were trying to move past their dad’s betrayal, Salem never tried to do that.
He wanted to give his mother a decent life, protect his sisters and provide for the entire Bentayeb family. He chose the wrong way and got involved with the wrong people though. Oumar has Lina kidnapped and the entire Bentayeb women struggle to pay him back. As Thicker Than Water nears climax, we get to witness the epic gunfight between Fara and Oumar’s men. As the sirens wail closer, with Fara lying on the floor, Oumar and his crew are trapped. Fara, Lina and the entire Bentayeb family survive. Moreover, Salem and his father have a huge fight with Salem finally moving his mother out of the neighbourhood.
Thicker Than Water Review: A Commendable Familial Survival Story
Blending in comedy, survival struggle and showcasing a beautiful family, Thicker Than Water has set high parameters for itself. Questioning the French journalism industry and letting the world know of the struggles faced by a minority community is a commendable job. The actors need to be applauded for their brilliant acting skills and the writers should be appraised as well. The makers haven’t tried to overdo anything or emphasize only any one character. The series has achieved the right balance between the screen time for each character.
Thicker Than Water is a fast-paced suspense thriller with each episode ranging from 30 to 40 minutes. It has blended the genres perfectly and portrays an intriguing familial drama. The fallout between the sisters, their way of coping with their problems and still sticking by each other is the highlight of the series. Overall, Thicker Than Water stands at 4 to 4.2 ratings from us.
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