Hard Broken Season 1 Review – Netflix’s overly theatrical murder mystery falls flat

Episode Guide

Bloody Night – | Review Score – 2/5
Once Upon a Time – | Review Score – 1.5/5
The Natural Order – | Review Score – 1/5
Passcode – | Review Score – 1.5/5
Love on the 6th Floor – | Review Score – 2/5
Better Served Cold – | Review Score – 1/5

The narrative of grisly murder mystery Hard Broken revolves around the enigmatic killing of Yasmine (Rasha Bilal), who met her demise while making her way to the emergency room. Yasmine and her spouse Adam (Muhanad Al-Hamdi) commemorate their wedding anniversary in the company of their friends on the evening immediately preceding her tragic passing.

As the investigators Wael and Sandra investigate, her friend group is thrown into chaos. The authorities thoroughly investigate the scene but come up empty-handed. The perpetrator, on the other hand, consistently stays ahead of the game.

The series primarily looks at themes such as unfaithfulness, treachery, and resentment, delving into the grey aspects of the human psyche and the extreme measures people may resort to when overwhelmed by these moral shortcomings. One can interpret Adam’s actions as him subconsciously seeking the recurrence of a traumatic experience from his past. It was as though he wanted to see his wife cheat like his mother did, so he actually drove Yasmine to it. There is some clever thinking involved in the show, especially regarding the cheating and the way it connects to Adam’s past.

The show also attempts to set up a whodunit but doesn’t succeed at all. At the beginning of the season, we saw an entirely distinct crime, including the people involved and the events leading up to it. In the finale episode, though, it’s all twisted so drastically that it no longer feels like the same crime. The only reason we didn’t figure out who committed the crime is because the show is an elaborate hoax that modifies everything to suit its narrative needs. Additionally, the show’s tendency toward overdramatics makes it difficult for us to take it seriously. 

The show also seems to have numerous inconsistencies in its plot, the story is steered for the sake of shock value, and no hints are given to help the audience figure out the whodunit, all of which contribute to making this a terrible mystery.

What’s worse is that the character arcs don’t feel particularly fleshed out. Not being able to relate to the characters because of poor character development undermines the show’s goal of creating an emotional connection with its audience. Additionally, a few characters and their inexplicable actions are included just for dramatic effect. For instance, Molo, the housemaid, displays strange behaviour throughout the season, and the character’s arc makes no sense at all. Saad, another secondary character, does not contribute anything to the story beyond random appearances and pointless behaviours.

The performers in the production exhibit a below-average level of proficiency in their respective portrayals. This holds particularly true for the actors that play the characters of Adam, Suraiya, and Dr. Youseff.

In its entirety, the show may be described as quite poor, to say the least. The most striking aspect pertains solely to the psychological state of Adam. In addition to its abundance of dramatic elements, convoluted narrative structure, underdeveloped character arcs, and below-average acting, this show is worth skipping.

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