The Turkish TV show “Who Were We Running From” recently aired on Netflix. The show follows a mother and daughter duo constantly on the run as they jump from luxury hotel to luxury hotel.
I recently finished the show and had mixed feelings. While it introduced a curious storyline and unique characters, the show failed to keep the intrigue running after the first episode and was somewhat confusing.
The show’s premise is interesting, as you are immediately submerged in a fascinatingly disturbing mystery from the first episode.
The characters are distinctive: the mother, a stern and determined woman always wearing black, and the daughter, a young woman who dresses and acts like a child — even called “Bambi” after the children’s book. They are on the run from the mother’s past and the string of murders she leaves behind at every hotel she visits. From the first episode, you are left wondering: what is happening?
While the audience is initially encouraged to unravel the mystery, as the duo continues their journey, the big plot holes and unrealistic scenarios make finding an answer an impossible quest.
For starters, the question of who they are running from is never clearly answered. The series does delve into the mother’s background story and her abusive parents — possibly to hint that the parents are chasing our protagonists — but there is never a concrete answer.
Instead, we reach the finale and learn that no one was technically chasing them at all. The mother’s father, previously thought murdered by the mother, makes a small appearance at the end, where he tries to take Bambi. But he never admits to following them.
Honestly, his appearance in and of itself is a bit of a question. In episode three, we learn that the mother caused a car crash that was supposed to kill both their parents, as they disapproved of the mother’s pregnancy. We realize this through the mother’s memories, but we never learn what actually happened in that car crash, how the father survived or what exactly his plan is.
The constant flow of money is also a question. The storyline introduces the mother as a wealthy character who stays in luxurious hotels for months on end. The audience is given some clues as to the origin of the wealth, as her memories suggest that her family was extremely affluent.
But the show never explains how and why she still has money. Her parents, who were never supportive of her and were borderline abusive, never said anything about a will. Also, the mother has never worked. There is constant spending of money, but no evidence of a source.
We also need to talk about the unrealism of the series. From the first episode, the mother clarifies that they need to live under the radar, but neither their actions nor their looks serve that purpose.
The mother is a diva. In the first episode, for instance, she verbally abuses a server when she is displeased with their small table — an event that eventually ends in her killing the manager (a very normal thing to do). Want to stay unnoticed? Maybe don’t kill anyone that bothers you.
Then, we have to talk about the daughter. She is a grown woman dressed as a literal child. From colorful dresses to ponytails, rainbow-colored bags and dolls, she looks and behaves like a child. And people notice as guests are understandably intrigued by this adult’s childish behavior.
Not only are people intrigued by the daughter’s attire and behavior, but also by her beauty. Guests are hypnotized by her good looks and question how she could be the plain mother’s daughter. But one is left to wonder — why is this information important in the storyline? How does it add to the narrative?
After the second episode, the series just becomes repetitive. They keep on escaping, keep on taking magically appearing money out of banks and keep on killing people, all the while leaving the audience baffled by what exactly is the end goal. The plot holes also make it difficult to connect with the characters and form a definite opinion about them because we never know if they are the victims or the villains.
Overall, the show had potential, and the first episode was interesting. Still, the mounting questions, inconsistencies and repetitive nature of the storyline made the show an unsatisfying and honestly confusing watch.
