Disclaimer: I do not believe I have the necessary skills to rate TV shows, but I do what I want!
Having seen the big billboards in the inner city for Wataha, it was with a huge sigh that I started watching it when my partner turned it on.
I love the man, but he doesn’t have the best taste in TV shows… or partners…clearly 😀 Also I have this belief that anything advertised so strongly is usually shit.
2 episodes in and I was looking forward to completing the series.
There are 3 Seasons of Wataha. Which is a show about the border guards between Poland and Ukraine in the Bieszczady mountains. They deal with stopping illegal immigrants, smugglers and traffickers.
In order to not give away shit, I will now give a shit synopsis. Something happens to a bunch of them in season 1, and it’s 1 mans job to find out who the fuck did that thing. After finding the man who did that thing, he is accused of doing the thing that that man did. So he lives in isolation until he has a reason to come out and start doing his thing again, which, dun dun dun, the man who originally did the thing is behind. Then after what seems like a resolution and justice being met out, it seems that the man who did the thing was doing the thing for someone else.
I rate it as: S1 and S2 are Good – OK, S3 is hmm- meh.
The translator who did the subtitles for HBO took some damn chances, but usually on the swear words – which is easy to pick up. Sometimes it seemed that the writers were trying to down play racism in Poland in the episodes that dealt with it, or just used sexual assault, nudity or violence to shock. At times it feels a bit “soap operay”, where people don’t share the/their revelations or storm out before someone can give them a crucial piece of info, or behaves in a really unrealistic/dumb fashion. The story does lag at times, the main female character is fucking annoying, and it doesn’t change through the series. Even in season 3 where an attempt was made to build empathy around her backstory, my fucks for her went down even more. However the scenery, the other characters (the smugglers), the constant reminder that people are shit, exploit everything and everyone, saved the show.
Why watch?
If you want to change your imagined ideas of villages on the mountains, this is a good series to do that.
You like the action? This season is action packed; guns, fire, the big booms.
You like the naked bodies? Some boobies, but sadly no penis till season 3 #Meninsim .
There is a good story here, with some nice twists and turns, also the actors are really good in my opinion.
Shots of the landscape in Bieszczady which will make you question your city life and why you haven’t run away to the mountains yet!
BUT THE BEST PART?
Some really cool swear words !
Like if you walk into a room and it stinks you can say “Ale Jebie!” (It fucking stinks in here)
If someone makes you stop driving a car while you are investigating a disturbance say” Co Kurwa Wiktor!?” (Like wtf Victor)
Oh please note, the person who stops you needs to be called Wiktor 😀
If you get caught smuggling some contraband say “Nie moje!” (Not mine)
Extra points for doing it in a Ukrainian accent.
And when some says things are good (dobra), some rhyming comebacks: ‘Dobra to jest dupa z bobra’ (Good is the ass of a Beaver – my understanding…haha come on it’s awesome)
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZiRKecZ21s
Watched Wataha? Disagree with my professional take? Ale jebie much? Let me know.
Then I Tasted Pierogi 