Mo Season 2 Review: Mo Amer Pours His Heart & Life Into An Uplifting & Honest Netflix Dramedy That Ends On A Bittersweet Note

Mo season 2 follows Mo Najjar (Mo Amer) as he tries to survive in Mexico. His asylum hearing is looming and he cannot return to the US without a passport. Nearly every aspect of his life is in limbo, including his relationship with Maria, his family's status, and career prospects. Throughout eight episodes, Mo chaotically stumbles into one problem after another, digging himself deeper into trouble. But in a comically serendipitous way, he is moving closer to where he needs to be as a Palestinian.

Mo's Sincerity & Heartfelt Messaging Is A Strength Of The Show

Without getting into the specifics, as they are essential to the overall enjoyment and experience of Mo's new season, the writing is heartfelt and fulfilling yet bittersweet. Authenticity is a core theme of the show. As Mo bristles against cultural appropriation in comedic ways, Amer infuses a sincere story of a man desperate to connect deeply with his roots.

Each episode increasingly enlightens us about the plight of Palestinians through Mo's experiences as an asylum seeker living in Houston, sharing pieces of their language, religion, and culture with their friends, family, neighbors, and strangers. Meanwhile, each family member has to reckon with the reality that they are out of reach of their homeland and all that comes with that. Amer's earnest portrayal of his onscreen life is profoundly moving, effective, and well-timed.

What comes next is hard to determine, as Netflix will not continue the show after this season, which is a great shame, as Mo season 2 is a must-watch.

The show's central drama moves at a decent pace, with each episode revealing more of the Najjars. Nadia (Cherien Dabis), Mo's sister, takes a backseat to all of it, but she has a significant appearance in the latter episodes as she involves herself in her brother Sameer's (Omar Elba) life. Sameer's story arc is not as fully formed in season 2 as Mo's, but that is expected in a show with roughly 30-minute episodes dedicated to the titular character.

However, what we gain from investing this limited time with Sameer and Nadia adds to the broader tapestry Amer is weaving. Amer delicately balances the plots revolving around asylum, culture, love, autism, grief, and survivor's remorse with careful consideration for how all these elements influence each other. No action Mo takes has a singular outcome; everything builds to a point where each family member must face a hard truth and heal.

The Netflix Comedy Is Suited To Mo Amer's Story

The show is as funny as a comedy-drama about displaced Palestinians can be, but the drama outweighs everything. I mean, the first episode of Mo season 1 sees the character getting shot in a grocery store shooting, illustrating an American tale. Most of the experiences shared aren't really fodder for comedy, but Amer's comedic style is to take these larger issues and distill them into easily digestible jabs at the inadequacies of the US.

As if the universe wants to join in on the laughter, this is the place Mo and his family have waited 22 years to gain asylum for. The casualness of how Amer's show presents the darkest parts of America reminds me a lot of Shameless (the US version). There is a sick humor that underlines the lives of the Najjars in the same way it did for the Gallaghers despite the intense hardships they face. However, Amer has a bit more of a softer, more sensitive touch with his Netflix show, which ultimately tries to shed light on the humanity of Palestinians in the only way he knows how — with a laugh.

Endearing Character Work Creates A Beautiful & Fulfilling Narrative

Mo season 2 has a fair amount of laughs, but the entirety of the narrative is bittersweet. Amer continues to accentuate the importance of reclaiming Palestinian humanity with a generous portrait of complex, relatable, and good-natured characters that reflect an array of lived experiences. His specific story resonates with the many stateless people seeking a home. There is a somberness rooted deep into the heart of the story. Amer's life is the blueprint for the show, but he manages to create an experience that celebrates the lives of all Palestinians, no matter where in the world they are.

In a poignant moment in episode 7, Mo's sister Nadia and their mother Yusra (Farah Bsieso) have an exchange where Nadia implores her mother to stop watching the non-stop news reports. She attempts to convey there is more about themselves than their suffering and pain, and Mo, and by extension Amer's comedy, is just that. It firmly plants a flag of resistance by simply being about more than suffering and pain, which Mo circles back to in the final moments of season 2.

The heaviness of the second season and his somber reality is not pushed to the wayside, as it is integral to Amer and his onscreen counterpart's story. What comes next is hard to determine, as Netflix will not continue the show after this season, which is a great shame, as Mo season 2 is a must-watch.