Sometimes, when watching a new show, you can almost hear the behind-the-scenes machinations as the series tries to sort itself out. That’s exactly what was happening in the fourth episode of Tyrant, as it seems to be suffering from short-term amnesia.
Up until this point, Barry’s nephew, Ahmed, has been almost a non-character, but a sweet and seemingly devoted husband. Now he’s revealed to be a violent, potentially abusive jerk. He spends outrageous amounts of money because he can, cares nothing of the people in his country, drinks too much, and easily loses his temper. Where did this come from? I’m not sure. But the change in tone for his character was a bit jarring.
The episode centered on the 20th anniversary of the chemical attack ordered by Barry’s father. 20,000 people died, and the country still remembers the atrocities. What’s strange is that Barry’s family seems to know all about it, too. So if Molly is aware of the awful things her father-in-law did, why was she so perplexed by Barry’s reluctance to visit his family? Molly is unbearably naïve, even though she actually does seem to know what’s gone on in Abbudin.
Barry tells Molly that he wants Jamal to remember the chemical attack and use it as an opportunity to distance himself from the atrocities their father perpetrated. This also confuses Molly. “Honey, it was 20 years ago,” she tells him. Because mass murder is okay if it was two decades ago?
Emma rightly tells her parents over breakfast that “we’re just the grandchildren of a war criminal.” Molly scolds her which, again, makes no sense. I still don’t know what parents would willingly bring their children to a country when a civil war is imminent and rebel groups are actively planning to throw the regime they’re a part of. Maybe Molly likes having her breakfast served to her every morning?
Sammy has his own problems. Abdul isn’t returning his phone calls and seems to want nothing to do with him. The problem, he tells Sammy, is that he’s ambitious. “If you get caught, you can always go home. Me? I have no place else to go,” he says. Will this bring an abrupt end to this story line? If we can avoid lines like “You’re just gonna blow me, then blow me off?,” that would be great.
At the top of the episode, a man sets himself on fire to protest the current regime. We later learn that he’s a follower of Ihab Rashid and that Ihab has promised to take care of his family. After this, protesters gather to memorialize the anniversary with signs that say “Never forget. Like father, like son.” Jamal wants to send Tariq and his forces in to break up the protesters with violence. Barry wants to let them peacefully protest. Molly, in her ongoing infinite wisdom, tells her husband he can’t “show up like some kind of movie hero and wrap things up in a long weekend.”
By the end of the hour, Barry is imploring his brother not to use violence. “People are willing to die to be heard,” he tells him. “You can be remembered as the leader who had to courage to listen to his people … who do you want to be?”
Again, I think this was meant to be some big, dramatic moment. And like most of the show so far, it just fell flat.
Other thoughts on “Sins of the Father:”
• A flashback shows a young Barry at boarding school when his room is vandalized after the attacks. According to the time line of the show, he marries Molly one year later. I really need flashbacks to show how they met and married so young.
• Tyrant really needs to work on its hokey dialogue. When Ihab Rashid visits the widow of the man who sets himself on fire, her son tells Ihab, “I want to be a great hero like my father.”
• Will Ahmed ever find out what his father did to his bride?
• I’m still waiting for John Tucker to have more to do.
Amy Amatangelo is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog.