Tyrant

I have to say I enjoyed this show and binge watched all 3 seasons ! So was exceedingly annoyed and frustrated that the last episode left the whole series hanging with no real ending! I get that networks pull the plug on many a show on its ratings but they normally give fair warning to allow writers to assemble a reasonable finale to the show however this was either not done for this show or the writers gave up? Either way as a viewer you feel ripped off after investing many hours over 3 seasons to end with a host of unresolved storylines is frankly a disgrace!

To be honest in this day and age of catch up tv recorders etc how any network can get a true reflection of a shows following by audience viewing on the actual night of broadcast is beyond me.

With a stunning and fascinating portrayal of a middle-eastern power structure, FX has outdone themselves yet again.

What does it mean to have true power, and can you ignore power when you are born into it? The central conflict of this show thrusts it's main characters back into the fray of just such a situation. It portrays power as both freedom and a prison. The Al-Fayeed family, rulers of a fictional middle-eastern country are no different from any other modern Monarchy except that it is still in defacto power and uses brutal tactics to stay there.

Assad, Khadaffi, Saddam, Bush...

These names conjure Dynasty's and dictatorships, and for thousands of years the power struggles within their individual kingdoms were largely ignored by western powers, or swept quietly under a convenient media rug. But for Barry Al-Fayeed, the violence and politics of his family have been left behind. He has no desire to rule anything then his pediatric practice.

As the younger son of a brutal dictator, Barry took advantage of his families wealth to leave the country behind, and hasn't seen home in twenty years. His wife and children are somewhat ignorant of their husbands and fathers old world, knowing only that they are 'sort of' royalty and that grandad is rich. Their ignorance is typical of the average American family, not stupid, but simply devoid of the truth of the day to day in tyrannical regimes in many parts of the world. When his brothers son is due to be married, Barry is called home, and the cycle begins again.

But the truth is, Barry's legacy is one of bullets and blood, of violence and ruthlessness, of intimidation and manipulation. What makes a tyrant? This show promises to show just how far one man will go to secure his family, his country, and his power.

My wife and I really enjoyed watching Tyrant. That is, till season 3. Then it just got ridiculous. So the eight stars are for the first two seasons. Season 3 ended with one star.

I will go through a few points about various elements of the show.

Casting - It doesn't seem like anyone is out of place, but there were a few confusions about child versions of a few characters. One of the children looks nothing like the adult version of the character, I was confused and had to look up the cast. Other than that the cast is solid.

Writing - Generally well written with a few odd circumstances but nothing that cannot be explained later in the show. I am glad the writers were up to the task because the show is very dialogue based there isn't a lot of action but I was still pulled in episode after episode.

Acting - Adam Rayner is the main character is this show and as far as I know it's his first lead he has had for a major network. All I can say is that he is playing his role right. This can be said for the rest of the cast with a few exceptions. I cannot say too much without giving away spoilers but I have no complaints about the acting.

Set - Most of the show was filmed in Morocco, the show is not set in Morocco but it had me convinced it was a middle eastern country.

I'm impressed with the courage it took to put this on TV. This is not an easy subject to cover and the honesty it is dealt with says a lot about the willingness of the entire crew to take risks.

The acting is superb and everyone gives their character the exact nuance required to convey the sliminess, brutality, tortured indecision, suffering, or shallowness required.

I never thought I'd see such depth and truth portrayed on a mere TV series. The people who put this on have guts and I'm impressed. I will continue to watch for as long as the producers, directors and actors are willing to avoid shallowness or cave to "political correctness."

I'm not a big fan of sex, nudity, or brutality on TV but this story could not be properly told without representing the characters as they really are.

Congratulations! And I'll be praying for you.