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Let me start my review with a confession. I have expected little from the series, and I expected it to handle the topic discussed very sarcastically, but let me tell you, I was wrong, and this series had overstepped my expectations.
What’s AlRawabi School for Girls?
AlRawabi School for Girls is a six-episode Netflix mini-series created by Tima Shomali and Shirin Kamal. It depicts a group of high-school females in Amman, Jordan, as they plot revenge on their School’s version of “Mean Girls.”
Netflix created and produced other series, such as Paranormal and Jinn, the first Jordanian series produced by Netflix before AlRawabi School for Girls.
What’s it about?
Starting with the story, This teenage drama series, starring the upcoming talent, reworks ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘Get Even,’ following a gang of outcast teenage girls seeking revenge on their school bullies. They turn everyone’s lives around in unexpected ways as part of their goal to conduct takedowns.
The story is well developed with a meaningful plot, making me live within it and feel it while watching the series. Also, it worked on reality, and this was clear. The entire story was real and meaningful, and nothing was off or fake.
It’s a women-led series, and we love it
It is also worth mentioning that two hard-working women-led AlRawabi School for Girls. Tima Shomali and Shirin Kamal collaborated to create this incredible series, and Tima Shomali directed it too.
In an interview, Tima Shomali stated,
“As a teenager, I felt the lack of shows that talked about young girls at that age. There wasn’t something that I could relate to that also entertained me. Today, there is still limited content directed at young people, particularly girls. That’s how the idea of creating a show that young girls around the world would relate to was born.”
And Tima Shomali and Shirin Kamal showed this throughout the series. The idea of having a series directed to girls and entirely made by girls is empowering for every female watching it, which is needed in the middle east the most.
The cast:
Coming to the cast, Andria Tayeh, Joanna Arida, Noor Taher, Rakeen Saad, Salsabiela, Yara Mustafa, and the rest managed to act professionally to produce a new, different series that can be compared with international work.
Andria Tayeh, in the role of Mariam, managed to make us all cry with her, laugh with her and feel her pain. She acted freely and was professional enough to show us how talented she is and how she enjoyed the role!
Joanna Arida, in the role of Rania, was perfect for her role and managed to do the villain role in an excellent way that We’ve hated her sometimes! But at the same time, I felt bad for her sometimes and wanted to give her a hug in some situations, which is what defines a talented actor exactly!
Noor Taher, in the Role of Layan, was a mega success for me! The way she managed to be evil but at the same time make me cry for her was huge! Everything was done perfectly, and the way she showed the excellent part in the evil personality was enough for me to love her character!
Salsabiela, in the role of Ruqayya, is the one we’ve hated the most throughout the series but also managed to make us all feel bad for her! Salsabiela played Ruqayya’s role insanely! The way we managed to love and hate her specifically made me realize how talented she is.
Rakeen Saad, in the role of Noaf, was insane! Although we’ve seen Rakeen in many works before but this role hits different! The character of Noaf is brand new and different, and Rakeen managed to do it perfectly!
Last but not least, in the role of Dina, Yara managed to play the cute girl’s role well and made us all feel bad for her most of the time for how kind she is!
Also, we can’t forget the rest of the cast, who managed to make us all feel the vibes within the series and feel like we’re one of the Rawabi girls!
Best part? The soundtrack!
Moving forward to the series Soundtracks, the soundtracks were perfect. They showed the identity of the series, which is needed to establish the identity of the middle east, which is something we are used to from Netflix in their Arabic series.
The Arabic independent music playlist used throughout the series caught everyone’s attention and showed them the hidden gem of the Middle East music industry, which was much needed.
Also, the Rawabi School for girls Anthem showed the ethnicity of the School and made us live in the strict School’s mood along with it being a girl’s school, which was insane!
Showing Amman:
As for the setting, the setting was perfect and showed us the beauty of Amman in a very professional way. Also, the School looked exactly like a girl’s school, which made the setting more realistic for the audience!
Our final thoughts:
Coming to the ending, where I’ll be somehow critical. The end was bizarre for me, and I was distracted and lost after I finished it, and I was questioning which side I should take but other than that, everything was in its proper place.
Overall, the series is a masterpiece that will give us the space to talk about more topics openly and opens the way for others to create such good quality series in the middle east. Chapeau to the whole cast on this excellent work!
Didn’t feel closure in the end. I was left feeling lost not knowing who died if anyone did and if so was there remorse for going too far.