I have enjoyed the acting and Maggie's performance in particular, but I'm having a hard time believing much of the plot. I'm not happy about the depiction of Nessa's sexuality either.
When the series first begins we see Nessa as a competent and intelligent professional business woman/diplomat. However, by episode three were suppose to suspend all that we know about this character and believe that she was a naive young woman 8 years ago in Gaza. Were suppose to believe she put herself and Atika (a woman she claims to love the moment she met her) in harms way so she could find out where some missing money went while ignoring warning after warning every step of the way. Were suppose to believe she was that naive about the dangers of the Middle East, despite the fact that she witnessed her father killed in front of her as a child.
Are we suppose to believe she put herself in harms way all in the name of being "honourable" to stop fraud at her university? Are we suppose to believe she can't see her brother's point of view of doing what was necessary to get her out of Gaza alive? This comes across as completely preposterous to me. Nessa comes across as stubborn not honourable.
All the rape scenes have a troubling aspect to me as well. Even before we knew what happened in Gaza, (I believe it was Episode 1) we see Nessa attempting to hook up with a bodyguard that she outs as an Mi-6 agent. The choreography of the sex scene made sure to emphasis Nessa's wanting to have sex while she was laying on her stomach or being taken from behind. Same thing happened in Episode 5 when she hooks up with the guy at the bar who inevitably rapes her. She immediately turns on her stomach and is willingly seen on all fours, before she's violently attacked.
We see in the Gaza flashback that is exactly how she is raped. She's raped while being forced on her stomach. I have a really hard time with how the writer/director is depicting rape victims. Its almost as if the writers want the viewers to blame Nessa for being raped on some level because she's self destructive/naive. I can easily see how having her reenactment of the position she was raped in can be interpreted by some ignorant viewers that she obtains some kind of sexual satisfaction from being raped or reliving it.
I realize the writers want to depict a complex woman struggling to deal with her assault 8 year later. How it changed her (as if sleeping in safe room isn't enough). I realize some rape victims want to reclaim their sexual identity and power in complex ways, but I don't think you can leave rape and its aftermath up to interpretation. I think its really irresponsible to do so because it can give legitimacy to rape culture.
I don't even know what I'm suppose to take away with Nessa's feelings for Atika? Is she being self destructive because she can't be with the person she loves so she randomly hooks up with men? Why not randomly hook up with other women?
Also on the preposterous front is the depiction of every American character. Its been way over the top. I've lost track on how many American TV shows have pointed this out, but the FBI is not involved in espionage. That is the role of the CIA. Had it been a CIA agent involved in the fake affair to use as a cover for the assassination plot that might have been more believable. That is just one example of the writers ignoring the real world in order to make their fictitious world work.
In this fictitious world there are no British Neo-cons. Tony Blair never existed and Mi-6 never helped the US lie about WMD in Iraq. That's a bit too self-righteous for my liking.
We also have to suspend belief of the existence of the NSA and British/Israeli equivalent in this fictitious world too. Were suppose to believe all these spy agencies need to rely on Israeli telecom firms to do their snooping. Sure.
When the series first begins we see Nessa as a competent and intelligent professional business woman/diplomat. However, by episode three were suppose to suspend all that we know about this character and believe that she was a naive young woman 8 years ago in Gaza. Were suppose to believe she put herself and Atika (a woman she claims to love the moment she met her) in harms way so she could find out where some missing money went while ignoring warning after warning every step of the way. Were suppose to believe she was that naive about the dangers of the Middle East, despite the fact that she witnessed her father killed in front of her as a child.
Are we suppose to believe she put herself in harms way all in the name of being "honourable" to stop fraud at her university? Are we suppose to believe she can't see her brother's point of view of doing what was necessary to get her out of Gaza alive? This comes across as completely preposterous to me. Nessa comes across as stubborn not honourable.
All the rape scenes have a troubling aspect to me as well. Even before we knew what happened in Gaza, (I believe it was Episode 1) we see Nessa attempting to hook up with a bodyguard that she outs as an Mi-6 agent. The choreography of the sex scene made sure to emphasis Nessa's wanting to have sex while she was laying on her stomach or being taken from behind. Same thing happened in Episode 5 when she hooks up with the guy at the bar who inevitably rapes her. She immediately turns on her stomach and is willingly seen on all fours, before she's violently attacked.
We see in the Gaza flashback that is exactly how she is raped. She's raped while being forced on her stomach. I have a really hard time with how the writer/director is depicting rape victims. Its almost as if the writers want the viewers to blame Nessa for being raped on some level because she's self destructive/naive. I can easily see how having her reenactment of the position she was raped in can be interpreted by some ignorant viewers that she obtains some kind of sexual satisfaction from being raped or reliving it.
I realize the writers want to depict a complex woman struggling to deal with her assault 8 year later. How it changed her (as if sleeping in safe room isn't enough). I realize some rape victims want to reclaim their sexual identity and power in complex ways, but I don't think you can leave rape and its aftermath up to interpretation. I think its really irresponsible to do so because it can give legitimacy to rape culture.
I don't even know what I'm suppose to take away with Nessa's feelings for Atika? Is she being self destructive because she can't be with the person she loves so she randomly hooks up with men? Why not randomly hook up with other women?
Also on the preposterous front is the depiction of every American character. Its been way over the top. I've lost track on how many American TV shows have pointed this out, but the FBI is not involved in espionage. That is the role of the CIA. Had it been a CIA agent involved in the fake affair to use as a cover for the assassination plot that might have been more believable. That is just one example of the writers ignoring the real world in order to make their fictitious world work.
In this fictitious world there are no British Neo-cons. Tony Blair never existed and Mi-6 never helped the US lie about WMD in Iraq. That's a bit too self-righteous for my liking.
We also have to suspend belief of the existence of the NSA and British/Israeli equivalent in this fictitious world too. Were suppose to believe all these spy agencies need to rely on Israeli telecom firms to do their snooping. Sure.