Netflix SA has – as we all know – recently put out what could be South Africa’s first big-budget fantasy series. Although coined as a superhero series by the streaming giant, it’s a significant win for local lovers of fantasy and a great way to showcase that this type of production has a huge fan base to sustain it within the country and abroad. This doesn’t negate that we are arguably living in the golden age of fantasy series. As such, the expectation of what is a great series cannot be overlooked, even within our infant industry.
The Brave Ones was an incredible idea brought to life by Akin Omotoso, the legendary actor, director, producer, and writer who is the project’s showrunner. There are five cardinal pillars of how to write a fantasy series. As an avid fan of the genre, I’ll walk you through and explain how The Brave Ones measures up.
- A Central Conflict
This is the base story that brings the protagonist and antagonist into direct conflict, and in the case of The Brave Ones, the MacGuffin is “The Tree of Life” and the blood of Ntsiki, the brave one. This conflict is what writers refer to as an “external conflict”, meaning the factors of this conflict aren’t personally involved, causing shallow conflict in which a person’s thought process can be overturned. The most classic example of this in superhero movies is what happened in Batman vs. Superman. In that film, their conflict was so impersonal it could be turned around over a shared name of a maternal figure (Martha-gate). Compare that to the Tony Stark-Steve Rodgers conflict in Civil War, which initially was the Sokovia Accords that set the two characters on opposing ends. And even though that was a great conflict, it was still external, making it not the most significant conflict. What broke them was the realisation that Captain America knew that Bucky had killed Tony’s family while under Hydra’s control.
The resolution is not set up throughout the series; it seemingly comes out of nowhere and feels like an attempt at a great plot twist. But with no setup, it falls flat and goes against the character’s personality. For the entire show, Ayanda is portrayed as a fierce mother, driven to murder to save her child. Now, am I, as the viewer, meant to believe that she would not use every available resource to find the child she’d been separated from? In another twist, the secondary guide was shown as the villain out to slay the Brave One to recreate the world in her image: another plot twist that came out of nowhere but fell flat for lack of proper setup. Thus the audience is detached from the outcome.
- An Established Power Structure
A power structure is a basic hierarchy of who the power players are, the middle threats, and the underdogs (the protagonist is usually among them). In this case, Ntsiki and her sister are the underdogs, with Funeka (Keke Mphuthi) and her fiance, Nkosi (Bonko Khoza), who has a shady past. The counsellor is another figure who is the median in the power structure between Ayanda and the community since he is responsible for ensuring the casino’s construction despite community protests.
The hierarchical structure is also at work in the spirit world from where Ntsiki’s powers emanate. The story explains that Ntsiki is the most powerful, but because she isn’t as knowledgeable as the guides, she is somewhat behind the eightball against them. That fact sets up the stakes, putting Ntsiki in a position of power but not invincibility.
- A Well Developed Setting
Worldbuilding refers to the type of world in which the story takes place. Think of the Wizarding World in Harry Potter that exists in the same realistic world of London in the ’80s or the dystopian world set in the future in Blade Runner.
Modern-day South Africa is where The Brave Ones takes place; this makes it a little difficult to suspend one’s belief as the first five minutes of the series are ethereal and create this landscape of magic. And the stark contrast to the Ilanga township removes you from that supernatural mindset. Setting a story in the natural world makes it difficult to believe the effect the magical world may have on the natural one since the destruction of the Tree of Life means the destruction of magic. It’s tough to believe this would cause any harm as we live our day-to-day lives without magic. That then estranges us from the story.
The dissociation is worsened by the scene where the security guards from the gala event break into Ntski’s home and hold a gun to her head because she stole an expensive bracelet at the gala dinner the night before. This is unrealistic. It would have achieved more if this world was dystopian, set in the future, and a lawless world where the Tree of Life affects the inhabitants of this world. Only four characters have magic, and their use of it is fairly isolated. This would also assist with the set design. One of my favourite props in this series is Ntsiki’s family home; this house is a beautiful work of art, but it’s out of place as a house in the township as we know it. It would be idyllic in a dystopian universe.
- A Supernatural System
One of the most crucial factors in creating a fantasy world is ensuring you understand and convey the rules of the magical system. This gets the audience immersed in the world, and they understand the limitations and stakes of this world as well.
The opening scene of the series is flooded with exposition. Three guides in the show give context, but it isn’t clear. The bracelets, for example, are said to endow Ntsiki with her full power. However, we never really see the scale of this power because she seems remarkably powerful, even with the bracelets locked away in a museum. There is also an issue where we see her use her abilities the first time before we are abruptly cut away, and the next shot is her waking up from a dream. The transition robs us of a great scene in which we could’ve seen her journey in the shocking moment when she used her powers, how she freaks out afterwards, her denial, and her confusion. All of that is taken away, causing the audience to dissociate. In the moments where she does use her powers, she exhibits skills she shouldn’t have since she’s been in denial, which doesn’t make sense.
This lack of continuity affects Ayanda. We don’t understand how she can contact her deceased family members since the possession happens differently each time, another confusing factor. Also, we have no scale of the power of the Tree of Life; in the scenes where it is being destroyed, we don’t see what effect that has on the general world, just the mourning of The Wise Ones who protect it. So as there are no stakes, even though the final two episodes are the most action-filled, viewers aren’t as interested in how it ends.
- Complex Characters
The titular characters often need to be complex for audiences to resonate with them. Grey areas in characters often make them remarkable heroes and villains or antagonists. In this show, they get the bases correct on a shallow level, resulting in interesting characters who lack depth.
As the story goes, Ntsiki gets lost in Nkosi’s side story, which is more compelling. And in her denial of her powers, she spends too much time lost in the love story with Siya, whom she uses as a form of escape. Her doing this stifles her character development, and the twist in the penultimate episode that Ayanda is Ntsiki’s mother ruins her character as she is driven into villainy and even murder to protect her children. This isn’t the character who wouldn’t use all her means to reconnect with her long-lost child.
The side stories that exist to move a single plot point are indicative of writing that wasn’t fully fleshed out but had great potential to be incredible. The twists in this series don’t resonate because they aren’t planted throughout the series; they appear out of nowhere and take viewers out of their viewing experiences. It felt as though things were thrown at the wall in the hopes that one would stick for an impactful finale.
I love this show conceptually, but I wish it had a little more time to be fleshed out as the story turned into a soapie drama and less like a fantasy origin series. The show didn’t benefit from being marketed as a superhero show because of Ntsiki’s self-centred and morally-questionable character. She’s a thief indifferent to her mass murder and doesn’t go out of her way to save people, as archetypal heroes would. Perhaps an anti-hero narrative would’ve worked better.
The show, in conclusion, is a great stepping stone for us to create more content like this; the market of fans is there. We would be remiss to be dishonest about the standard and quality expected in these shows, especially when there is such a large influx of incredible fantasy series. The essence of this show is special and unique, and I hope to see more shows like this in future with the kinks worked out. Perfection is impossible, but greatness should be the goal.
