Special Case Series – Exceptional Work or Just Imitation?
We are just a few days away from the final two episodes of the series “Special Case,” one of the latest drama productions that began airing at the start of 2024.
Since the first episode, the show has caught the attention of viewers and has ranked first among the most-watched productions on the “Watch It” platform. Some have even compared its artistic quality to international works. However, others found these evaluations to be exaggerated, noting that the series is riddled with flaws despite the makers’ efforts to present their best work. Which side do you belong to?
“Special Case” is a 10-episode drama comparable to the short series that have become a winning streak for platforms. On one hand, it doesn’t bore the audience, and on the other hand, it promises new seasons and long-term success if luck favors its creators.
The story revolves around the young lawyer Nadim Abu Sari (played by Taha Desouki), who is almost a genius in everything related to numbers or connecting details to solve complex cases. Despite his sharp intellect and being at the top of his class at university, he remains unemployed due to his autism.
Nevertheless, he perseveres and seeks employment in a prominent law firm, outshining his peers by a huge margin, even as some of them try to claim his success and ride on his coattails, leveraging his pure heart and indifference to titles or material gains.
Artistic Evaluation of “Special Case”
From an artistic standpoint, this is Desouki’s first real leading role, especially as it departs from the realm of comedy through which he stormed into the world of cinema and drama, and where he has been confined since the beginning. It cannot be denied that the young actor has made an effort to portray the “autistic” character without evoking pity, sympathy, or exaggeration in displaying reactions.
However, at the same time, it is easy to deduce that what he presented in his performance was not the symptoms of autism itself, but rather an imitation of the performances of other actors in international artistic works that have addressed similar cases. The closest and most prominent of these is the medical drama “The Good Doctor,” where Freddie Highmore played the role of the brilliant surgeon Dr. Shaun Murphy, who is also autistic, facing challenges and complexities that may threaten his professional career or the lives of his patients.
When comparing the two works, the result favors Murphy, not only for reasons related to acting abilities, but for the skill in dramatic narration, the plot, and the weight of the dialogue. With “Special Case,” the dialogue is mostly superficial, and the series lacks logical and comprehensive dramatic narrative.
With the events accelerating more than necessary, it would have been better for the presented cases to be more intricate or for them to be given greater space—at least—to allow for a deeper understanding of the characters from within, other than Taha Desouki followed by Ghada Adel. The audience hardly knows anything noteworthy about any of the other characters, the same mistake made by the creators of the series “Zayneham,” starring Ahmed Dawood, which was aired at the end of 2023.
Bright Spots in the Work
Despite the aforementioned, the series “Special Case” has a good core that could produce a truly exceptional work if the level of writing is improved, situations and characters are given deeper dimensions, and the threads are interwoven with maturity to build upon them dramatically.
To be fair, there are some positive points that managed to touch viewers’ hearts during a few scenes, such as the portrayal of the young Taha Desouki by the child actor Adam Al Nahas, and Nabil Ali Maher playing “Jamil,” the owner of the bookstore, the only one who sees “Nadim” as a human being rather than a special case.
The best aspect of the series is its soundtrack composed by Hani Shannouda, who returns to the silver screen with his music after an absence. The soundtrack, braided with the songs of the band “Al-Masryeen,” is employed in a good dramatic manner, creating a warm feeling of nostalgia among the audience and increasing the speed and intensity of their connection to the work.
The author, Mahab Tarek, deserves credit for introducing a detail that indirectly shed light on Palestine, where one character referenced the novel “Safe Weddings” by the writer Ibrahim Nasrallah, reflecting the suffering and heroism of the Palestinians and the details of their daily lives in the face of war, bombing, and sniper fire.
Lackluster Addition or Strong Content?
Apart from the series’ artistic level, it is necessary to address whether “Special Case” managed to offer an addition in terms of raising awareness about autism to the younger generations, especially since similar cases are rare in Egyptian drama. Recently, we can recall one of the stories of the series “Except Me,” specifically “My Life’s Dream,” in which Mayan El-Sayed played the lead.
What sets “Special Case” apart is that the performance did not become melodramatic, and it depicted those with autism as ordinary people with some difficulties that do not hinder them from leading a normal life and excelling.
This was confirmed by the childhood scenes of Nadim that opened the episodes, showing how he discovered his skills and dealt with bullies, making the series present a positive model that can be encountered in our daily lives, not just on screen.
Taha Desouki was chosen for this cause because he is beloved by children, and thus can be their first and safe gateway to learning about the subject and accepting others. Furthermore, seizing on the positive context left by the series, the channel “CBC” exploited the popularity of the series to raise awareness about autism and attract attention to the institutions and cases that require care and attention.
10 Episodes Are Not Enough
Some fans of “Special Case” feel frustrated because the series is limited to only 10 episodes. On one hand, many stories are still in their infancy, and on the other hand, the audience has just begun to connect with the characters and explore their depths, signaling the potential for a second season later in the same year.
It’s worth noting that the series “Special Case” is written by Mahab Tarek, directed by Abdul Aziz Al-Najjar, and produced by Tarek Al-Gennaini. The cast includes Ghada Adel, Taha Desouki, Hassan Abu Al-Rous, Hajer Al-Siraj, Ahmed Tarek, Nabil Ali Maher, and the children Adam and Haddan Al-Nahhas.
