Summary
“The Calm Before the Storm” presents potentially deadly consequences for the girls as Mariam finally commits to her revenge, no matter the cost.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, or so the quote goes, and that’s an idea that AlRawabi School for Girls has embodied throughout Season 1 – Episode 6 saw Noaf getting closer to Layan, and Rania basically sacrificing herself – and facing the ire of her father – for the pair of them, it was really Mariam who began to emerge as a true villain, determined to enact her revenge whatever the cost.
While it began as a simplistic tale of well-meaning girls getting their own back on their tormentors, solid character work has shifted those dynamics somewhat.
AlRawabi School for Girls Season 1 Episode 6 Recap
When you’re in high school, it’s easy to believe that the world doesn’t extend beyond its walls. Your social dramas feel all-encompassing. So, on that level, it’s easy to see why Mariam would be so adamant about using her leverage against Layan and Ms. Faten.
She hasn’t seen the other side of her that Noaf has, and as Rania later explains when she figures out that Dina was the one who took the pictures of the couples, she doesn’t quite understand how dangerous Layan’s family is.
As it turns out, the gun we saw in Layan’s brother’s possession was a pretty big hint that this family isn’t to be trifled with, and despite Rania’s warnings and promises, Mariam makes the decision to contact them anyway regarding Layan’s whereabouts – an act that is guaranteed to have ramifications, not that Mariam considers them.
AlRawabi School for Girls Season 1 Ending Explained
Those ramifications occur in the form of Layan’s brother Hazem, who takes his gun to Laith’s place, and an off-screen gunshot leaves a big question mark over the ending of AlRawabi School for Girls Season 1.
Who shot who? Is someone hurt or dead? Or is this all just a red herring designed to set up a second season, which in typical Netflix fashion, “The Calm Before the Storm” does capably. At this point, answers are thin on the ground, but if the show proves successful, which one suspects it will, then maybe we’ll get to find out.
In the meantime, Mariam takes Layan’s place as queen bee at the school, completing her arc, which has inexorably led downwards throughout all six episodes.
Ironically, she has less reason to behave this way than Layan, Rania, or Ruqayya did, all of whom were driven to their extreme misbehavior by complicated family dynamics and social anxieties. In many ways, this has been a story about them, and about understanding that bullying, as awful as it is, doesn’t occur in a vacuum.
Even those who bully others are people, often taking their own problems out on someone other than themselves. Mariam’s arc has shown how a seemingly well-adjusted, “normal” person can become a villain because of circumstance, while the other girls have learned several harsh lessons of their own.
