By: Brandon Wolfe
‘Tyrant’ is still moseying along, trying to spin the situation concerning the rapidly growing public demonstration at the town square into nailbiting television. Yet as volatile as the situation is reported to be (we never actually check in at the scene this week), it’s presented more as a backdrop, an offscreen catalyst for the real meat of “What the World Needs Now”, which is the backroom maneuvering and machinations put into play to resolve the protest without bloodshed.
Now that Sheik Rashid has publicly demanded (not requested, mind you) a meeting with President Jamal, the Al-Fayeed administration is grudgingly forced to accept. Bassam, ever the peacenik pragmatist, believes this to be a good thing, a step in the right direction toward bringing longtime enemies together and pushing Abuddin toward something resembling civilization. Jamal, however, bristles at having to bow to the wishes of a man he has looked upon as his family’s foe for the bulk of his life, but he agrees to the sit-down because he believes in his brother. Then, as the tense negotiation is underway, Sheik Rashid reveals his one and only condition: he will dissolve the protest and calm the rancorous citizenry in exchange for free and open elections to be instated for the office of president of Abuddin, so that the public can decide who will lead them rather than being forced to follow whichever male member of the Al-Fayeed clan is next in line.
To this, Jamal responds with “Let me take that under advisement”, a neutral phrase handed to him by Bassam as a means of political stonewalling. Jamal’s practicing and ultimate use of the phrase is a rare moment of humor on this ceaselessly dour series. It’s not an expression that rolls easily off the volcanic Jamal’s tongue (though, honestly, the wording itself doesn’t sound that much different from the dozens of other similarly polished turns of phrase ‘Tyrant’ has had Jamal unconvincingly utter). Astoundingly enough, Jamal actually does take this under advisement, allowing Bassam to sway him into accepting this proposal in the service of looking like a benevolent man of the people rather than a monster. And it’s here where the episode simply becomes too tough a pill to swallow. Jamal accepting Bassam’s humanistic counsel has been plausible up to this point, but the idea that this fiery egotist could be so easily persuaded to forego his birthright and risk abdicating his family’s dynasty is insane. It’s perfectly within character for Bassam, who self-satisfyingly views himself as an agent of social change, to pursue this angle, but that he’s able to sell it to Jamal without much of a fight doesn’t pass the smell test.
The timeline then flashes ahead three weeks where, absurdly, election season is already underway, with Jamal running against the sheik for office of presidency and lagging his opponent in the polls. The only thing more nuts than Jamal willingly volunteering to risk surrendering his power and legacy is that this entire democratic overhauling process could have gained that much traction in such a miniscule amount of time. Jamal’s standing in the world’s eyes has become actually quite favorable in light of this development, enough that ’60 Minutes’ wants to do a piece on him. As part of that same piece, the sheik also speaks to the reporters and states that Jamal is a lion and Bassam is a lion tamer, an accusation that does not sit well with Jamal, likely because of the truth it contains. On the day of the official signing of the constitutional amendment to allow free elections in Abuddin, Jamal encounters the sheik in the men’s room and decides that he’s finished feeling undermined and outmatched by his new political opponent. In the middle of a violent coughing fit (a physical ailment that the sheik seemed to develop expressly for the purposes of this episode), the sheik is grabbed by Jamal, who bashes the man’s head against a toilet seat before surreptitiously fleeing the scene. Whether the public will believe that the sheik’s condition led to this unfortunate outcome or that foul play was afoot remains to be seen, but it does give ‘Tyrant’ something more substantial to play with in the coming weeks than the dry-toast political discourse it’s been forcing down our throats lately.
Jamal’s assault of the sheik is the only time “What the World Needs Now” manages to locate its pulse. Not only that, it feels like a course correction for the character, who was established as a ticking time bomb, yet once he ascended to power, had inexplicably kept himself restrained and easily pliable. As stated in previous reviews, Ashraf Barhom is not only the sole actor in the cast with any signs of life, but Jamal is the only character that feels in any way complex. It’s not that Jamal is well-written or especially nuanced in construction, but that Barhom keeps the character’s roiling emotions visible just under a precariously composed exterior. He always seems like he’s in danger of blowing up even when he doesn’t, to the point where you feel frightened for the other characters in his orbit. If ‘Tyrant’ has anything at all to be said in its favor, Barhom’s performance begins and ends the list.
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