Mare fuori: The Sea Beyond

I really enjoyed season 1, and found it to be really addictive, like the best prison dramas. The dramatic pull was so strong that I could easily suspend my disbelief at all the crazy goings on. However, they cranked up the melodrama in season 2 beyond my what I could handle, so I dropped it after episode 4. The death of a key character at a significant moment in a very suspicious manner, and the operatic, slow motion reactions to it was one of the last straws. I wish the creative staff had practiced a little more restraint and tastefulness. However, their strategy seems to have paid off, at least in the Italian market, even if it doesn't displeases someone like me. I'm glad I watched season 1 though.

The first thing to know about this show is that it does not claim to be realistic and it does not pretend to be a documentary on the life of young people in a juvenile prison in Naples. Once you understand this, the show will be awesome. The characters are very well done, the setting is interesting and the story is compelling. I cried with every episode. Massimiliano Caiazzo's acting is perfect.

It does hold your interest in a hard to explain way. The plot is like The Godfather for kiddies, except these "juveniles" look anything but juvenile, perhaps young adults in their mid twenties at least. They are also the best dressed juvenile delinquents. Ciro and Eduardo have a permanent frown, as all of the characters have their quirks. I have never seen so much crying and hugging as on this show between men, or supposedly boys. Carmine started with a hairy chest which got lost along the way along with him and Fillippo growing crazy helmets of hair. Another irksome thing was the repetitive soundtrack. Ok, qualms aside, the acting was good for sure, and even I shed some tears. Did I enjoy this, am I looking forward to more seasons? You bet!

This is a story - not only that characters are fictional as stated but I am fully aware , even if I am neither Neapolitan nor Italian, that situations and relationships among them are not even close to realistic.

But that's not the point. Because it's a story - about the most profound of human experiences, especially when lived at a tender age, it is a story about love and friendship and devotion, about hate and violence , about joy and pain, about the warmth of an embrace when in the depths of despair, about choices, about courage and meekness, about weakness, about redemption and growth, acceptation and reject, about the complexity of human's inner being, about selflessness, about winning battles - with others and with yourself. There's a whole bestiary deployed to impersonate these themes as characters are interestingly making us think of the relations in the animal world: there are dogs (Pino, Filippo, even if of different breed), a panther (Skubra) and a splendid wolf (Carmine), a sheep (Gemma), a nightingale (Naditza), a snake (Viola), a lion (Ciro), a bear (Massimo), a monkey (Toto) and a rooster (Eduardo), all bathed in the beauty of the Italian scenery - what would one want more? Applauses to Massimiliano Caiazzo, Pia Lanciotti and Valentina Romani for captivating the screen and creating so colourful characters!

A downside (in my opinion) : as it unfolds, the serie frequently abbandons its characters leaving stories open-ended after having invested a lot of energy in, leaving the public in a quite consumming sort of quest for an end.

One more thing: having made this serie during those dark years (from 2020 on) it is remarcable how it pleas for freedom, breaking the rules, not losing morality and stay on the truth's side while cherishing relationships above everything. Maybe, in the spirit of the serie, it was the boldest act of all.

The more I watch this series, the more I love it! I'm a social worker on an abuse hotline and have always cared about protecting the unprotected at any age. Youth who get into real trouble often lack the skills to cope with the myriad of issues that populate this series. The workers at this imaginary institution are very familiar to me. Often dedicated, caring without decent pay, and always at the brink of burnout. Bravo 🙌 for finding actors and actresses that bring us into this world of violence, sadness, remorse, and ultimately hope for the youth who are able to find their way to peace.

Thank you 🙏 for this fabulous series!