New South African series has heart but lacks structure |All Social Updates

The Brave Ones review: New South African series has heart but lacks build

South African mythology hasn’t been explored much yet, so Akin Omotoso’s new supernatural Netflix show The Brave Ones is a great way to learn more about it. The first episode of the six-episode series was released on September 16, 2022. It stars Sthandile Nkosi, Tony Kgoroge, Nomalanga Nkosi, Bonko Khoza and others in a mix of genres.

The Brave Ones follows the lives of Ntsiki, a young woman struggling, and Ayanda, a desperate mother. The two women live in very different circumstances and situations. Though their lives are different, they have a lot in common, and it all has to do with the supernatural lives of the ancient gods known as the sages and the beings in the title.

The official Netflix synopsis of the series states:

This captivating supernatural fiction series is based on African mythology. It has mystery, romance, corruption and magic.

The Brave Review

The Brave Ones review gives nothing away.

When a project has well-developed characters from other worlds, the writer has to build the story around them, which often makes the story better. But when the story is more powerful than the characters in it, sometimes it can overpower them, no matter how strong they are.

The Brave Ones is a good example of this type of storyline. The idea behind the show as a whole is very ambitious. Talking about South African legends is a big step in the right direction when Greek and Norse mythologies are already established as big ideas. But Omotoso’s recent work fails to bring up the spooky heroes in question.

The show could have easily gone darker, which would have made it more interesting, but it’s moving in that direction very slowly. And before we know it, the six-episode miniseries is over.

But that doesn’t mean it has nothing good to offer. Although the series is mostly about supernatural things, it is based on the real world of social class. We see a lot of corruption in the project that Luthando (Tony Kgoroge) is working on, which ties some of the side stories together.

In a way, the supernatural theme is used as a metaphor for the real-world destruction of a community and their country. The “Tree of Life” is a supernatural being and the idea that their country will be destroyed and they will have to move is connected to it. As distressed modernity is used to hark back to ancient myths and legends, no one knows what to expect, just as the people living in the land of Ilanga do not know what to expect.

People who are being abused need a New Age hero who knows where they’re coming from. This is how Ntsiki’s Brave One is born. Some people might even compare her to the character Eleven from Stranger Things, but she’s more of a goddess than an experiment. But her royal avatar doesn’t really come through, so her character arc isn’t as powerful and interesting.

The show is more about family drama than anything else. Sometimes the smallest and simplest action is enough to make waves, and Ayanda’s family problem adds to the story’s emotional quotient in small ways rather than having the big picture of a goddess in it. So the human factors are a big part of what keeps the show going.

The Brave Review

Should you watch The Brave?

When you watch the show, it might seem like a lot is going to happen in the six episodes of the season, but once you’re done you’ll find that you don’t remember many of the characters. Some episodes have very odd pacing, and the fact that the story doesn’t flow in a straight line doesn’t help. Much of the mythology needs to be explained so we can understand where each character comes from.

But that only happens at the end. Watching the episodes, you can’t help but be interested in what might happen. The idea is great, but it won’t reach its full potential until the characters are well developed. No matter what kind of family moments there are on the show, they all help build the story. But it’s not very good at building characters.

Those who dare

Moments that people have been looking forward to for a long time, like when Ntsiki finally accepts himself as the brave, don’t work out. These kinds of turning points don’t always make for caring about the character. In any show or movie, the main character should be someone the audience wants to win over. While we understand that her tragic past drives her to accept who she really is, we can’t feel how sad that is and want more.

Ntsiki does not suit a character who is meant to be a goddess who has been brought back to life. On the other hand, the costumes for the native people are perfect, but other parts of the movie could have been done better, like the action scenes, the introduction to the lore, and the demonstration of how powerful the powers of The Brave Ones are. At shows like this, audiences want moments that push them to the limit and make them shudder. If the show picks up for a second season, maybe we can see just how big the work really is and how well it fits the theme.

You can now watch The Brave Ones on Netflix.