By Nayera Yasser
In a city out of the context of time, a mother and an uncle join forces to poison the king to gain his throne. Meanwhile, the terrified son runs away to live amongst the snakes in the wilderness.
This opening scene of Ramadan’s most anticipated TV series was quite enough to leave the audience both bewildered and anxious for more.
“Al-Ahd” (The Covenant) can easily be categorised as this season’s biggest production, as the cast includes seven A-list stars who have never worked together before. Asser Yassin, Ghada Adel, Arwa Gouda, Saba Mubarak, Sherien Reda, Hana Shiha and Kenda Alloush, amongst others, play the leading roles of three vicious families on a quest.
The characters’ brutal fight over the throne, plus their super natural powers and numerous interrelationships, sparked a resemblance to another famous series, “Game of Thrones”.
“Game of Thrones” is an American series based on George R. R. Martin’s series of novels entitled “A Song of Ice and Fire”. The series debuted in 2011, and is currently continuing on its sixth season. The story revolves around a few notable houses involved in a civil war over the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.
Due to the massive international fame of “Game of Thrones”, the Egyptian audience is already familiar with the plot, while many are loyal fans. A few days following the premiere of “Al-Ahd”, many started discussing the notable resemblances between the two plots.
Both series discuss human nature in general, with no regards to time and geography, as the two writers preferred to set their events in fictional countries. Also, both scenarios depend highly on mythological elements to unfold their tales. More importantly, the two are built on the drastic love for power and control as the characters do not hesitate before killing and deceiving their closest loved ones, including their mothers and siblings.
“Al-Ahd” is currently airing on more than five private Arab channels. It is the third work by Mohamed Amin Rady after his previous major success with “Neran Sadeka” (Friendly Fire) and “El-Sabaa Khataya” (The Seven Sins). The writer’s previous series in addition to “Al-Ahd” show his great love for fantasy and big prominent casts.
