Moksha World

10. House of the Dragon

I have to confess that I am not a huge fan of Game of Thrones. I found it very confusing to follow all the characters, even just their names. Science Fiction isn’t always a hit with me so I really just watched this series so I would know what people were talking about. I almost didn’t make it past the opening ten minutes because of the White Walkers. I can handle a lot in a TV show,  but not creepy dead beings that are hard to kill because they’re already dead. I do admit that this is a rich world with a lot going on and I’m hoping that by filling in more background I’ll enjoy visiting Westeros more this time around. Maybe I’ll even go back and rewatch GoT. And actually understand what’s happening. I could read the book but I have way too many TV shows to watch on this list alone!

9. Babylon Berlin

I loved the first two seasons of this series. But I was a bit disappointed with Season 3. It seemed a bit normal and didn’t have the pizazz of the first two seasons. Season 3 ended with a stock market crash which I must have learned about in school but didn’t recall anything about it. I remember talking about both World Wars a lot in school but there is a lot in the series that if we did talk about it, I must not have been paying attention. It seemed so unbelievable to me that human beings couldn’t work out their conflicts. However, seeing the events unfold from the perspective of a human being, even if a fictional character, has changed my view a lot. I understand more about what happened and how it could in fact happen again. As you’ll see in the rest of my 2022 picks, I’m turning into a bit of a history buff and want to review this topic before Season 4 is released. If you haven’t watched the series, go watch it! Im diesem Augenblick (Right now)!

8. Kurulus: Osman

If you read my recap of 2020 lockdown shows, you’ll recall that I was really, really into this series about Ertugrul (Osman’s father) who laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. I knew absolutely nothing about this history so it was informative, the action was a nice bonus. I’ve watched a few other Turkish series and Dirilis: Ertugrul is still my favorite. Perhaps this series is not for everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Dear Netflix – if you are reading, please acquire the Osman series so I can continue my journey. I have invested five seasons already, I would really like to know what comes next. I considered watching some episodes on Youtube but didn’t find any with subtitles. Although I enjoy the horses and the sword fights, I do need to know what everyone is saying. This wasn’t a case of not paying attention in history class. I am sure we never discussed the formation of the Ottoman Empire. Dramatic presentations are never the entire perspective, but this added a new dimension to my knowledge of the world and its history.

7. Lord of the Rings 

After Return of the King was released, I had a hard time getting excited about new movies. Peter Jackson’s representation of Middle Earth was so compelling that I still feel connected to it. I don’t know what to expect from the series but I hope it brings back the happy memories and sense of excitement that I felt about the movie trilogy. A trip back to Middle Earth could be just what we all need after the past two years!

6. Aranyak 

I took a chance on this series because I am still finding it difficult to find shows to watch. And because I watch a lot of Indian content. Cop dramas are a major go-to for me (if you haven’t realized that yet, I’m confirming it for you now). There isn’t much to change about police procedures except that the laws are different internationally. However, crime and motives are universal. Setting the series in a small town in North India instead of a major city like Delhi or Mumbai was an interesting choice. Small towns always have a lot of secrets and this was no exception. The writers did a good job keeping the story interesting and not falling into predictable plot twists. I’m not sure how they’ll pick up the story after the season finale, but there are a lot of threads they can choose from. I hope they keep a sense of the rawness of the production instead of the stylized productions we know as “Bollywood”. For anyone who still thinks Indian content is just about song and dance, this will show you a different side of India. This series was a top show for Netflix worldwide, not just in India. It’s time to face the reality that India does more than “Bollywood”!

5. Lupin

I really enjoyed the first two seasons as I outlined in a previous post. Season 3 is on the way! There are things about this series that I normally wouldn’t like but it has such immense appeal that I made an exception. It does seem strange that a thief can continue stealing and never get caught. But his personality and how he carries off these escapades is entertaining and often surprising. This is definitely a show to enjoy almost as a different reality – maybe somewhere between Earth and Middle Earth? But for any of you over-thinkers like me out there – give your brain a timeout and enjoy!

4. Law & Order

I’ve written about my relationship with L&O in a previous post, so I suppose it’s a bit redundant to say I’m looking forward to the new season. I haven’t seen a release date yet although a few returning characters have been confirmed. I wonder if they will address the rising crime rates in NYC? The start of the COVID pandemic? So many possibilities…

3. Anna Karenina

Netflix announced recently that a new version of Anna Karenina will be their first original Russian series. I absolutely loved this book and have seen several movie adaptations. It is an intensely complex story, and therefore a very long book! In my opinion the Western adaptations oversimplify the story to focus on Anna and her tragic love story. This is only a part of the bigger story Tolstoy was telling. Count Vronsky in particular doesn’t get a favorable representation in most adaptations. In many ways, he was a victim of the same societal restrictions as Anna, they just affected him differently as a man. It is not just about Anna’s adultery, it reflects the hypocrisy of society in terms of gender, status,  and even the influence of religion. Perhaps this new adaptation won’t cover all of this but at the very least I’m expecting lavish sets and costumes. As I was writing this post, I read that a new TV version of Crime and Punishment is also being developed. This is another fantastic Russian novel and I hope a TV version will inspire more people to give it a read. Both of these books profoundly influenced me in so many ways. But that will be a topic for a future post!

2. Ganglands (Braqueurs)

This took me a couple of episodes to get into. At first I thought this was just a predictable story involving a lot of gun violence – action simply for action’s sake. But the characters started to interest me and threw me a few surprises. I may not like surprise parties, but I love when TV characters surprise me! The actor who plays the main character, Sami Bouajila, is definitely worth checking out in other series. I love coming across new actors and then seeking out their other work. This often leads me to other shows, books, music or ideas I may never have come across otherwise. By the final episode, I was really hoping they would come back with a second season and voilà! Netflix has confirmed a new season. No release date yet.

1. Gomorrah

The final season was released in Italy a couple of months ago and was just released on HBO Max in the U.S. earlier this week. I put every other show on hold to find out what happens to Ciro and Gennaro. This series has had great reviews from the TV industry. It is an intense series and not intended for audiences that dislike violence. I can’t say that I’m surprised by the finale but I was left with a sense of loss. So many characters lost their lives over the five seasons and I wonder what they could have achieved in life under different circumstances? I realize these are fictional characters, but mafia stories are not exactly science fiction. I often wonder how I would react to events in various TV shows or movies.  Would I make better choices? It feels quite easy far from Naples to say that I would. But who knows? In those circumstances I may not have the luxury to choose a better path for myself. I definitely do not want to be like Ciro although his ability for strategizing is pretty impressive. If he had chosen a different path, what could he have accomplished with that ability? This is a harsh look at life that changed my opinion about how to contextualize the mafia. Towards the end, I started thinking about Bernie Sanders and income inequality. Maybe we should all start thinking about that more instead of condemning people. Not to excuse them, but there is often more to the equation than just a personal choice. That is a concept that comes up a lot in various shows, but is told in this series as a harsh and unavoidable reality. I’m very curious what the producers will come out with next. You can also check out L’Immortale on HBO Max which focuses on what happens to Ciro after the Season 3 finale.