Noughts + Crosses Episode Two Review

The second episode of Noughts + Crosses sees more exploration of the world of Albion and shows the growing relationship between its young leads.

Tensions are rising after the death of a young Nought man due to police brutality. The tensions are stoked by Jack Dorn (Shaun Dingwall), the self-declared leader of the Liberation Militia, leading to the Prime Minister (Rakie Ayola) and the Home Secretary (Paterson Joesph) clashing on how to handle the crisis.

Callum (Jack Rowan) makes history by being one of the first two Nought cadets to graduate from Mercy Point and becomes an army officer. His plans to take his relationship with Sephy (Masali Baduza) to the next level. But Sephy’s boyfriend, Lekan (Jonathan Ajayi) becomes suspicious.

At this early stage in the series Noughts + Crosses shows it can handle personal stories and the big social themes. The central premise of the show is two people from different races entering into a forbidden relationship – it compared both the personal and social themes.

In this episode Callum suggests he and Sephy go to Sanatus, a secret haven where Noughts and Crosses can hang out. Sanatus was a mix of a speak-easy, a nightclub, and a love hotel. This part of the plot shows Noughts + Crosses was willing to into more mature content than some other YA dystopia adaptations which have to cater to a PG-13/12A rating.

The show was also more willing to show characters swearing and certain acts of violence that are normally toned down for franchises like The Hunger Games and Divergent. The benefits of the show being shown after the watershed.

As well as inter-racial relationships being banned there’s a double standard if a couple gets caught. This was what happened with a Cross man and Nought woman, where the woman got most the blame and flack. Her lover even had to torment her so he can save face.

Lekan was shown to be a vile piece of work. He’s a character you will love to hate. He’s a bigot who leads the harassment against Callum and he treated Sephy horribly. He had a dominating personality who tried to control Sephy. Lekan succumbs to jealousy quickly and treats Sephy likes his property. This was evident when Sephy tried to break up with him and he wouldn’t accept it. It does lead to the question of why was Sephy with him in the first place? The only theory I have is they were expected to be together because they were from elite families.

Within the upper echelon of government, ministers argue about how to handle the increasing tensions between Noughts and Crosses. The Home Secretary is a hardliner who wanted to launch a crackdown against the Noughts. The Prime Minister wanted to calm things down things and prevent violence. Her solution is a public inquiry about police brutality which seems like this world’s version of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. However, Dorn had a different view of the Prime Minister’s policies because he sees it as an attempt to keep the Noughts passive.

The Home Secretary and Dorn are two sides of the same coin: they both want segregation of the races and power for themselves. The Home Secretary made a speech at Mercy Point where he wanted the races to be separate despite the historical importance of the ceremony. Whilst Dorn states that the Crosses were occupiers – a bit like how some indigenous people would view European colonialism.

The episode does add to details of the world. One of the biggest involved Mr. Okonjo (Joe Vaz), a Nought who own the docks and thought about his self-interest. He states he’s a businessman and he had an affinity for the Crosses: he considered old European religious blasphemy. Another detail was at the parade where the graduates who had them perform an African war dance. My favourite detail was a painting in the Prime Minister’s office where that looked like a European military picture but celebrating an African victory.

The second episode builds on the relationship between Callum and Sephy and builds on the personal and social conflicts in the world. It’s a treat for people interested in social issues and social commentary.