Calm Before The Storm
Will Marian give up on her revenge?
Episode 6 of Alrawabi School for Girls begins a week after the events at the party. Rania’s antics see her Father lash out, with the girl sporting a nasty bruise across her eye. Layan stays by her side, although Rania believes her friend should lay low and not bother seeing Laith for the time being. Despite Mariam feeling sorry for Rania, she’s still going to follow through with her revenge, turning away from Dina and Noaf and walking purposefully up the hallways. In fact, it turns out she overheard a conversation between Layan and Rania earlier in the bathroom and this gives her ammo to go after Laith – and in turn Ms Faten. While Ms Faten prepares to be given an honorary award for her behaviour, Layan bunks off school again to hang around with Laith. Mariam is determined to make the most of this opportunity, calling off Dina and Noaf. Her friends aren’t going down without a fight though, and the pair remain determined to stop Mariam before she does something stupid.
What does Abeer find in Faten’s office?
Well, Ms Abeer is just as curious, breaking into Faten’s office to check through her laptop. She’s intent on finding a contact number for Layan’s parents. While she rings their “emergency contact”, Rania finds out Dina was the one who took the picture of the couples together. She stupidly forgot that her reflection can be seen and now Rania is on the war-path. Confronted by the bully, Dina and Noaf finally open up and admit everything about the revenge. Only, Rania warns them about how dangerous Layan’s family are. When they head inside, everything comes unraveled as Areeb brings the family into the office and informs them about Layan’s absence from school.
Does Mariam get her revenge?
Mariam’s plan coincides with this too, caught in two minds about whether to send a message across to Layan’s family or not about her whereabouts. Rania warns Mariam that bad things will happen if she sends this message, bringing attention to Layan’s brother’s gun and how dangerous this family are. Rania pleads with her to stop and even offers to leave her alone if she does. Well, Mariam makes her choice and sends the message, despite what ramifications this is going to have. Midway through the meeting at school, Layan’s brother receives the text and heads down to Laith’s pad. Rania tries ringing but of course Layan’s phone is on silent. Pounding on the door brings Hazem into the fray, as the pair find themselves conflicted and unsure what to do next. Back at school, Faten’s award is thrown across the room by a furious Layan’s Father, who holds her personally responsible for whatever happens to his daughter. Well, at the house Hazem pounds Laith, knocking him to the ground. Brandishing his gun, Hazem holds it up to his sister and questions her about their family. As the camera cuts outside, a gunshot ricochets through the air. As the episode closes out, Mariam turns from the bullied to the bully, taking up Layan’s spot as the head girl, leaving things wide open for a possible second season. However, it dos leave us with some niggling questions too that need to be answered.
Who fired the gun?
One of the big points of contention here is surrounding thee stand-off at Laith’s house. Now, given all of this occurred off-screen it would suggest that no one was actually killed and this is just a red herring. It could be that Laith or Layan tackled Hazem and in doing so, he shot blindly in no particular direction. It seems unlikely that Hazem would kill his own sister so that leaves the alternate possibility that he killed Laith. Either way, we won’t get any answers this season. For us personally, we’re more inclined to go with the first theory; no one is dead and it was just a warning shot.
What happened to Ruqayya and her family?
The last we saw of Ruqayya she was kept inside by her family after the scandal. It seems like she’s not going to be going back to school any time soon, although that could change if this is green-lit for a second season. Ruqayya’s reasons for bullying seem to be simply to fit in, desperate to prove herself. Given she’s essentially classed as the “ugly duckling” back home, it’s fair to assume she’s desperate for approval from Layan and Rania. Despite being one of the main aggressors in Mariam’s bullying, it soon becomes clear that she’s actually the one who’s the most insecure. In the end, the bullies actually end up being the ones with the more rounded character arcs, bringing everything full circle as Mariam becomes the head girl, leapfrogging her way through the ranks by getting her revenge.
The Episode Review
The final episode rounds out with a big ol’ Netflix cliffhanger as wee’re left to groan and wonder if this show will be renewed or not. There’s definitely a lot to like with this one, especially the well-written characters and the unusual location. In the end though, there’s some poetic irony with Marian coming full circle and inflicting misery on Layan and becoming the aggressor in the situation. Personally, it would have been nice to see her give up and not exact revenge on Layan, becoming the bigger person, but it seems her character development has been stuck in this “revenge at all costs” mode for most of the season. While that in itself isn’t bad, given everyone else around her has actually grown and evolved, it is a little disappointing. Still, this simple but effective six episode revenge thriller has been an enjoyable watch. Let’s hope this one is renewed for a second season.
