Pandore

Pandore has all the elements of a fine dramatic series. I really enjoy political intrigue and this Belgian production hit all the right notes. You'll root for the good guys and hope the bad guys go down. All the performers were great and the story is first rate.

The main topics are subjects that are attention getters in every country. Having spent my career in politics, the story was exciting for me all the way through. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The twists and turns in the script kept my interest all the way through. I hope to see more series from the same director. I loved Pandore and I'm sure you will, too.

This Belgian series deals with how the judicial system handles serious cases. The concept is one of an incident that opens a Pandora's Box of secrets and interactions. The problem with it is that it appears to lack detail and along the way, one can see mistakes being made in police process. The casting is a bit ludicrous in that the actress who plays the lead character of the judge, looks almost as old as the actors playing her parents. Surely this could have been done in a better way! The role of the police captain is played by someone well beyond retirement age. This really stretches viewers' belief as it would lack credibility. The audio quality, as in many of the French and Belgian productions, is poor, and most of the dialog comes across as muffled. Better sound engineers would have resolved that issue. As with all Francophone series there are recurrent themes of bouts of histrionic acting, anxiety attacks, constant reference to people being "fragile", and the usual older women younger men dynamic! However, it's a bit of fantasy, as it is impossible to believe that any judicial system could function in this way.

I watched the first season. And the first episodes were quite okay and really watchable, but later on some parts/story lines were really ridiculously implausible. Too bad, could have been so much better. Ten episodes in this case is too much I think. If they would have kept focussed on the main story lines and left out all the ridiculously unbelievable parts, it would have fitted in 6 episodes, in my opinion. And that would have made it much more balanced and believable.

I don't know yet if I will watch the second season to find out whether some unsolved issues of season 1 will be solved after all.

Shakespeare would have been proud of this. The story line moves across several concepts, nicely up to date. Even the introductory music and cartoons are clever. But it is the way each idea gets examined or tested and, moreover, the timing of each piece of action that is impressive.

The two main characters sink steadily in their respective lives, one obsessively following her instinct and ruining her career in the process; the other toughing out increasing missteps but losing a family.

On top, throughout, there is the fight for freedom for females from male misbehaviour. This is shown in a number of ways throughout the show. And, understated, low-grade political ineptness bordering on corruption.

At the beginning, an offender is freed and one wonders if the victim will be further attacked - move on! Punches are neither pulled nor glorified: a horrific moment is marvellously shown "endlessly" in the rear view mirror of a car; the beautiful assistant in love with the politician describes her possible future.

I do agree with another commentator that the "rescuing a girl in jail" by pressuring a Saudi Prince is totally unbelievable - ridiculous - the writers should have found another way.

Pandora (Pandore in French), is a surprisingly engaging Belgian political/police procedural. At its core the series explores how its characters react after the gang rape of a female political activist.

The namesake of the show, Pandora, was the woman in Greek mythology who unleashed sin, evil and chaos on the world. In keeping with that theme, the show centers around the many lies, ethical lapses and misdeeds that even good people make when they are stressed, overwhelmed and fearful of failure.

The acting is good, the characters are three-dimensional, and the dialogue is very well written. Plus, it offers a nice look at the European criminal justice system, in which "judges" go out and investigate the crime, and oversee the collection of evidence. I was pleased to see that the show has already been greenlighted for a second season, which should be in 2024. If you like detective dramas, give this one a try.