Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 25

‘The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King’ Book Review: Quick and Funny

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Don’t be misled by the book blurb for ‘The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King’, it is so not “Heartstopper meets Derry Girls”! But it’s a fun breezy read nonetheless, about exuberant teen Patch, who like the title says, is a total drama king, exaggerating the most minor inconveniences as if they were major catastrophes.

This romantic-comedy by Harry Trevaldwyn follows 16-year-old Patrick AKA Patch’s resolve to find himself a boyfriend before prom in the new school year and land the lead role in the drama club. He ropes in the help of best-friend Jean, also his romantic advisor courtesy her two month long relationship with her ex-boyfriend. At school, Patch’s chances of striking a spark with someone seem extremely bleak, but at the drama club, which is also attended by other schools in the town, he sees two new potential candidates, a confident, handsome American called Peter, and Max, an equally attractive but shy local British boy.

Now, here’s the thing, I only read the blurb for ‘The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King’ AFTER I finished the novel and was submitting a review online for it. It was on a list of recommendations for ‘Pride Month’ readings, and this was the most affordable title, which is why I instantly bought it. And there were no expectations of reading something that was a mash of ‘Heartstopper’ and ‘Derry Girls’.

Protagonist Patch is a true drama king, loud, overtly chatty, theatrical, self-centered, quite annoying in parts, but also a hilarious over-thinker. ‘The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King’ begins with Patch writing a dramatic letter to a pen-friend called Pierre and then making a resolution to get his first boyfriend before prom, just like the very many movies he consumes. Predictable, but also cute. And like any dramatic lead character, he also has an ‘arch nemesis’, a girl called Tessa, who used to be his close friend, but she dumped him and Jean for a more popular clique.

Most of the novel follows Patch as a hyperactive over-thinker, torn between whether he should pursue the cool and confident Peter or the more reserved Max, before even befriending them or finding out if they’re into guys. His best friend, Jean, of course, reminds him of this, kicking off their awkward, comedic mission to learn more about the boys and see if Patch has a real chance with either of them. Jean turns out to be a sweet, endearing character, happy to play the supportive sidekick to Patch’s chaotic “main character” energy.

Despite Patch’s exaggerated view of the world, author Harry Trevaldwyn keeps many in the tale events grounded in realism and the tone is almost always comedic. Patch frequently finds himself in embarrassing situations, much like any regular 16-year-old with big dreams of becoming a famous actor but no tact when it comes to navigating people or emotions. Whenever he is utterly conflicted about something, he simply barges into a teacher’s room for advice, which was very sweet – that a teen student trusted a teacher enough to discuss his personal problems. Other times, he relies on his divorced mom’s self-help book for older readers. LOL.

Overall, ‘The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King’ is a quick, easy-to-read teen fiction novel, where a lot might depend on how much the reader ends up liking Patch the protagonist.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

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‘Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft’ Review – A Jet, A Heist, A Global Scandal

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

A staggering 700 kg of cocaine were seized in 2013 from a private jet in Punta Cana, which carried one shady passenger, two French pilots, an unexplained third pilot, and 26 suitcases stuffed with the drug, earning the case the nickname ‘Cocaine Air’.

The three-part French Netflix documentary ‘Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft.’ (Y a -t-il un dealer dans l’avion) revisits the case, beginning with a disclaimer that reads as follows: The facts in this documentary have been meticulously verified. However, it’s possible that some people may not be telling the whole truth.

As a viewer, that makes one think: oh, so a lot of it is ‘their word versus ours’, so we’ll just have to treat everything ‘said’ in the documentary with a pinch of salt. In-fact, by the end of the documentary, it’s pretty easy to assume who isn’t telling the whole truth. For investigators, the case appeared straightforward: everyone on the private jet, including the pilots, was involved in the cocaine smuggling. The pilots, however, insist they had no knowledge of the drugs, arguing that a passenger’s luggage is not their responsibility. But the real question is… who was calling all the shots?

From the interviews of Pascal Fauret, and Bruno Odos, former elite war pilots who turned business aviation, arrested for flying the ‘Cocaine Air’ flight, to the really random but entertaining interview of Pablo Escobar’s former chemist, this Netflix documentary is packed with interesting accounts on the case. The most important being Christine Saunier-Ruellan’s side, the examining magistrate who led the investigation into the cocaine air business from the French side. She gets a very ‘James Bond’ entry, in-fact, almost all the interviewees in this docu-series get an entertaining introductory frame. “This story was made for Netflix,” she tells the camera. And she is quite right!

File photos of pilots Pascal Fauret, and Bruno Odos (Source: Netflix)

The “Cocaine Air” case became a global scandal, dragging some prominent names through the mud during the investigation. French pilots Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos maintain their innocence in the docuseries, recounting the nightmare of being imprisoned in Punta Cana, where jail conditions were out of a horror movie. “We were sure we were going to die there,” they tell the camera. Archival footage of the prison shows they weren’t exaggerating. Fortunately, their military backgrounds earned them significant support back in France, elite pilots with clean records, suddenly arrested and swiftly jailed in a foreign country.

Revisited mostly in chronological order, ‘Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft.’ manages to get almost all sides of the tale, tracking its developments for over a decade. Since the pilots were arrested in Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana, the docu also features interviews of authorities from there. And in a good call, the documentary creators do not involve family interviews and keep this free from emotional entanglements.

If you’re an international viewer unfamiliar with the case, you’ll likely enjoy this true-crime documentary, which also features a daring escape straight out of a thriller. It’s well shot, backed by hilariously fitting background music, and filled with colorful interviewees, some of whom are clearly not telling the whole truth.

Rating: 7 on 10. Watch ‘Cocaine Air’ on Netflix.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 6 Review: Romance, Rivalry & Rising Threats

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“Well, the usual. Nothing serious.” – Good Boy episode 6 begins with the doctor saying nothing’s wrong with Dong-ju (Park Bo-Gum) and everybody can breathe an immediate sigh of relief. Yay to no clichéd life-threatening diagnosis in what’s supposed to be a fun action-comedy. The way Dong-ju collapses at the end of Episode 5 while talking about Muhammad Ali dying from Parkinson’s was ominous, to say the least.

Quick recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 5: The villainous customs officer Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se) is arrested and interrogated by Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi), while Dong-ju and team leader Joo-Yeong (Heo Sung-tae) observe from behind a one-way mirror. However, Joo-Yeong reveals nothing and, to everyone’s shock, is soon allowed to walk free. While the team continues gathering evidence against him in the hit-and-run case, they’re also tasked with capturing a criminal nicknamed the “Drug Demon” (Lee Ho-jung), who is behind a new psychedelic candy spreading through South Korea’s streets. In a twist, the cops already get the Drug Demon in custody but mistake her for a human-trafficking victim, as she pretends to be one during a raid. The Drug Demon starts to show romantic interest in Dong-ju after he rescues her, however the episode ends with Ji Han-na (Kim So-hyun) kissing Dong-ju. And then he falls!

Titled ‘Counterpunch‘, Episode 6 of ‘Good Boy‘ splits its focus between Dong-ju’s efforts to find evidence against Min Joo-Yeong and the “Drug Demon” case. Trapped in a police safe house as both witness and suspect, Lee Ho-jung, who plays the drug linchpin, tries to get the cops off her scent by giving them some leads to a drug operation run by a rival. Yes, Dong-ju is back on his feet, not health red flags, and once again chasing the bad guys.

While there isn’t a lot of action in this episode of ‘Good Boy’, there’s significant intrigue in the investigation proceedings, and the entire athlete-cop squad also gets to go on an exciting drug bust outing. After Han-na’s kiss, Dong-ju is beaming with newfound confidence and charm, and his rivalry with Jong-hyeon intensifies. The men aren’t just vying for Han-na’s attention but are also competing to prove who’s the better cop, leading to some pretty comedic moments. Although the romance between Dong-ju and Han-na continues to move at its own sweet pace, Han-na still isn’t sure if she really wants to date him. Although Park Bo-gum’s puppy-like charm as Dong-ju is increasingly getting hard to resist for the tough ex-Olympic shooter.

It’s beginning to feel slightly far-fetched how carefree and fearless primary antagonist Min Joo-Yeong is, but actor Oh Jung-se sells the sinister part convincingly. Despite being under police scrutiny, Joo-Yeong unabashedly continues his criminal activities and not too surprisingly: he is also plotting to teach ‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju a lesson. In a significant development, Han-na and Jong-hyeon uncover a paper trail that reveals a shocking corporate-political nexus, one that’s only going to spell more trouble for their team.

Heo Sung-tae as Joo-Yeong, the leader of the special-crime-unit of athletes remains the biggest comedic relief in “Good Boy”. Despite being a senior cop, he is the defacto punching bag for everybody, especially the police commissioner and now he is also beginning to face some family drama. Sung-tae’s comic timing is a great asset to the series, but this episode also gave him some emotional scenes, which he doesn’t carry with the needed sincerity. Unless, of course, the makers deliberately directed him to play even his most vulnerable moments for laughs, including a scene where he’s expected to cry and reveal a more tender side.

This episode of “Good Boy” is an improvement over the last edition in many aspects. It balances the police investigation, violence, romance, and comedic elements well, serving viewers a little bit of everything. It’s fast-paced and also introduces a new supporting character who might stick around for the rest of the series. Things get quite tense in the final minutes, setting the stage for another tragedy, and a “counterpunch” no one expects.

“Good Boy” is streaming on Prime Video.

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Rachel Rising Volume 1 Review: Black, White, and Weird All Over

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘Rachel Rising’ by Terry Moore is a wild horror tale about its titular protagonist, Rachel, rising from her death, with bloodshot eyes, dried lacerations on her throat, and no memory of what really transpired. She hitches a ride home, meets her friends, and tries to come to terms with what’s happening to her. So she’s like a walking-dead person, but a lot more sentient than a zombie, and much less scary than a ghostly spirit. If anything, people seem to think she might’ve gotten hotter!

I absolutely loved the opening panels of ‘Rachel Rising’ volume one, which collects the first six issues of the comic book series by Terry Moore. The artwork looks like gorgeous ink-on-paper, and the opening pages have no dialogue – eerily carrying the story through pictures: a young woman walks through a forest path while a body slowly emerges from the ground, like a scene from a horror film. Think ‘Night of the Living Dead’, ‘The Dead Don’t Die’, or even ‘Evil Dead Rise’.

One of the first people Rachel meets is her aunt Johnny (yes, a very weird name for an aunt), a mortician who hilariously assumes Rachel is a figment of her imagination. After all, Rachel shows up at her workplace late at night, and it seems years of working with corpses may have made Johnny a little cuckoo. And honestly, nobody’s blaming her. Aunt Johnny is instantly likable, so it’s no surprise that the confused and disoriented Rachel turns to her for advice and support.

A panel from “Rachel Rising”

A subplot in ‘Rachel Rising’ also follows a creepy little girl doing dastardly things, while a mysterious older woman keeps an eye on her. How Rachel and this child’s stories intertwine remains an enigma in the first volume of the series. On the other hand, there are plenty of deaths and bizarre events to keep the reader turning the page, combined with the big puzzle of Rachel not dying despite her vital signs indicating she shouldn’t be alive. Interestingly, Rachel has a supportive best friend, Jet, who doesn’t freak out over the possibility that Rachel might be dead, instead, she promises to stick by her and help figure out what the hell is going on.

The story reminded me of the Japanese drama ‘Eien no Kinou‘, which follows a young boy who is killed in a road accident but rises as if nothing happened and continues his life, while others help him figure out what went wrong. But while ‘Eien no Kinou‘ was an eccentric romance about a walking, talking, loving corpse, ‘Rachel Rising’ is more sinister in nature. And while the characters don’t yet address the elephant in the room, it’s clear by throughout Volume One that someone murdered her.

Who wanted Rachel dead? The answers are clearly reserved for later issues. Until then, we know somebody is out killing people, though their motive is unclear. Issue #5 in Rachel Rising also introduces a wacky old doctor who examines Rachel and confirms she is indeed dead, but calls her an “angel” and seems weirdly happy to see her unnatural existence. Terry Moore throws in a wicked twist with this new character, and again, the follow-up is saved for later issues.

Well, so far, ‘Rachel Rising’ is fast-paced, mysterious, with the right amount of creepy thrown in for a horror book, along with some mild comedic moments too. The black-and-white artwork by Terry Moore is detailed, and terrifically complements the tale, never making the readers miss color. If anything, the stark black-and-white strokes lend more authenticity to the tale.

Rating: 4 on 5 stars. ‘Rachel Rising’ is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 5 Review: Dong-ju’s Falling (Literally and Figuratively)

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There’s the metaphorical ‘breaking your back’ at work, and there’s ‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju (Park Bo-Gum) who literally breaks his bones on duty to stop primary antagonist Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se) from leaving the country!

Quick recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 4: Dong-ju and team work on tracking the smuggled car used in the hit-and-run that killed a customs officer, hoping to nail Min Joo-Yeong. In a comic twist, their boss Joo-Yeong (Heo Sung-tae) “borrows” the Police Commissioner’s fancy car as bait, successfully luring the car thieves. An action-packed, bloodied brawl with goons follows, and while several arrests are made, the key suspect is murdered before Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi) can catch him. Still, the squad, Ji Han-na (Kim So-hyun) and Jae-Hong (Tae Won-Seok) included, trace the black car, inching closer to the truth. A high-speed chase and rooftop pursuit ends with Dong-ju leaping in front of Min Joo-Yeong’s car, injuring himself but cleverly arresting the smug villain for hitting a cop and speeding in a school zone.

Titled “Punch Drunk Love”, Episode 5 of ‘Good Boy’ starts with a comedic flashback to Dong-ju’s training days as an Olympic athlete, and how it was ‘love at first sight’ for him, when he saw Olympic shooter Ji Han-na, jogging on the same track as him. Although the primary focus in the present timeline remains on finding dirt on Min Joo-Yeong, the romance between Dong-ju and Han-na sees significant progression in this edition.

Oh Jung-se is impressively despicable as Min Joo-Yeong, playing the antagonist with chilling deadpan and smug certainty that he’s untouchable. His quiet arrogance makes him all the more infuriating, leaving viewers rooting for justice to catch up with him. The suspense builds around how high up his connection goes, and which powerful figure lets him treat even senior cops like lapdogs.

But oh well, since ‘Good Boy’ is supposed to 16 episodes long, this chapter also introduces a bunch of new villains, all of whom don’t seem as intimidatingly evil as Min Joo-Yeong, not even a new sinister character called ‘Drug Demon’, whose street cred as a vicious drug-lord is almost mythical. Remember Joo-Yeong’s wild meltdown during a stealth op in ‘Good Boy’ Episode 2 after accidentally ingesting a psychedelic candy? Turns out, the ‘Drug Demon’ is behind this new spiked candy flooding South Korean streets and is also connected to Min Joo-Yeong.

Episode 5 is thus a mish-mash of new criminal angles, fresh villains, and continued investigative efforts by Dong-ju and colleagues to solve the hit-and-run case. It’s not as fast-paced as the last edition and while Park Bo-Gum continues to be the show-stopper of this series with his onscreen charm, the chemistry between his character and Kim So-hyun’s Han-na isn’t very convincing. On paper their love story sounds super cute, but onscreen, the spark is quite thin. Also, at this point, one wonders what happened between Han-na and ex-boyfriend Jong-hyeon, because their chemistry is more intriguing.

Also, for a high-budget series like “Good Boy”, it’s disappointing to see the tired old trope of the lead pair “accidentally” falling onto each other for a romantic moment. Really? Must people literally fall to fall in love? And there was no need for the contrived moment, especially when Dong-ju is the kind of character who wears his heart on his sleeve and could just flirt openly to win Han-na over. Thankfully, it’s not all just accidental falling, and viewers do get some cutesy flirting in the latter half.

Overall, this was arguably the weakest episode of “Good Boy” so far, ending with an alarming scene that hints at a possible chronic illness for Dong-ju. Given his mounting injuries, a serious neurological issue wouldn’t be far-fetched. Still, the show remains entertaining, and it’ll be interesting to see where it goes next.

“Good Boy” is streaming on Prime Video.

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‘Romcon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?’ Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Romcoms (romantic comedies) have made some of us expect fluffy, perfect, dreamy dates with potential soulmates. But real life often feels more like a RomCon, where you’re left feeling cheated by the end of an awful date, robbed of your time and effort. Sometimes, though, the con is far more sinister. A “too good to be true” stranger traps innocent victims in a web of deceit, trauma, and theft.

The two-part documentary “RomCon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?” tells the story of perfect dates gone terribly wrong, exposing a romance scammer named Jason Porter. He would sweep women off their feet with constant compliments on dating apps and follow through with the charm in person. Eventually, he would begin stealing from them or living off them, maintaining relationships before the women could realize they were being scammed. With some, he went even further.

This documentary is about a villain, a con artist exploiting vulnerable women, but it is also about a hero: Toronto real estate broker Heather Rovet. Heather shares her story with candid honesty, hoping others can learn from her experience. “RomCon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?” is steered by her interview, as she recalls how she met “Jace,” one of Jason Porter’s aliases, who instantly won her over with charm, sexual appeal and dated her for three years before she discovered he was a convicted felon with a shady past. Not just that, she discovered he was dating multiple other women behind her back and stealing from her. Several other women, targeted by the same man under names like Jace or Don, also come forward with their stories in the documentary.

Since emotional abuse and romantic exploitation are not always punishable in court, Heather Rovet worked tirelessly to gather evidence and sue Jason Porter for fraud and theft. The first episode of “RomCon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?” focuses on the victims’ accounts, along with testimonies from their friends and families, all highlighting Jason’s exceedingly charming yet deceptive persona.

“I had some suspicions about him, but I couldn’t tell Heather. She was starry-eyed,” Heather’s father says in his interview. In fact, despite the devastating betrayal and manipulation Heather was subjected to, she remembers her courtship with Jace with genuine warmth and a glint in her eyes.

Since Heather was in a long-term relationship with him, she also shares numerous photos and videos of their time together. The second episode follows her pursuit of justice, collecting evidence and collaborating with other women to ensure that Jason Porter ends up behind bars. And like a lot of documentaries these days, “RomCon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?” also features some dramatic recreation of scenes with actors to lend some visual theatrics to the story.

It takes immense courage and conviction for women who’ve been conned to come forward and share their personal stories, especially when facing the shame and disbelief that often follows. Yet Heather and the other women featured in the RomCon documentary do just that. By speaking up on camera, they not only reclaim their narratives but also help warn others to watch for red flags in potential partners. One journalist interviewed in the documentary notes that in Canada alone, romance scams account for an estimated 59 million dollars in losses each year, and that’s just from reported cases. The true cost of such deception remains unknown.

This is the kind of documentary worth sharing with anyone stepping into the dating world, as a cautionary tale and a reminder to stay alert.

Watch “RomCon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?” on Prime Video.

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‘ToGetHer’ Review: This Dating Show Has K-Drama Soul

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“ToGetHer” (너의 연애) is South Korea’s first lesbian dating reality show, meant for women to find their next girlfriend, and comes from the same production house that brought viewers “His Man”. And hold your breath, because despite being reality TV, this series has peak K-drama vibes, with slow-burn romances, confusion, heartburn, and miscommunication always rife among the girls.

If the poster for “His Man” Season 3 looked like a K-pop band, the contestants of “ToGetHer” also seem like they’d be members of an all-girls K-pop band, all of them are pretty and have their own charms. Spanning 14 episodes, the show takes place on Jeju Island, a famous tourist spot with beautiful beaches and coastal trails.

The format is quite like “His Man”, where eight women live in a pretty vacation home for a week, go on dates, play games, get to know each other, and possibly find love in each other’s arms. But unlike the now-famous anonymous phone calls in the gay dating series, “ToGetHer” makes its contestants write anonymous ‘heartfelt notes’ to those they’re interested in.

Unfortunately, within the first few weeks of “ToGetHer” airing on Wavve, the show courted controversy over one of its contestants, Kim Ri Won, who faced allegations of faking her sexual identity to get on the show and was also accused of not disclosing the fact that she was an adult entertainer. In the subsequent episodes, she is heavily edited out of the series – just so you know why her screen time is so glaringly reduced. Which, of course, makes one wonder: what else was cut out? In fact, a lot more drama spilled online regarding other contestants too, but well, let’s focus on what goes on in the show.

After the first impressions, simply based on looks and personalities, HeeYoung and Park Da-gyo emerge as the most popular among the girls. While HeeYoung has a cool, aloof vibe, with tattoos on her, DaGyo is very girly, cute, and adorable. Kim Mi-rang is the only contestant sporting a boyish cut, which complements her face shape and makes her look gorgeously confident, although she turns out to be very shy. HanGyul is one of the youngest contestants in “ToGetHer“, the most introverted among everyone, and reserved. The other members are Kim JinAh, a famous YouTuber; Kim Seo-yeon, who surprises everybody on the show by revealing she has never had a girlfriend; and Son Min-woo, a TikToker, who joins the “ToGetHer” house last.

Sparks obviously fly between the contestants, although a lot of them turn out to be overthinkers, complicating their romances and serving plenty of drama in this dating reality show. MiRang is the only contestant who makes her crush on DaGyo apparent and keeps hitting on her wholeheartedly, quite like how Lee Jun Seong pursued SungHo in His Man Season 2. For those who don’t know, as of June 2025, the His Man contestants Jun Seong and SungHo are still dating and will complete two years together. So, people do find love on reality television.

The creators have tweaked the show’s format in many ways that foster misunderstandings between the contestants instead of helping them with their romance. For instance, halfway through “ToGetHer”, the women are asked to text who they want to go on a date with, but instead of actually going on dates, everyone is gathered for a group activity. This leads to some of them thinking that nobody made a successful match, which isn’t the case. Or at least, the final editing of the series gives the sense that this dating reality show was very tense for many participants, with an unexpected amount of tears throughout the episodes. Until the very last episode of ‘ToGetHer’, there’s suspense and tension over who is going to end up with who, with a few unexpected dates and chemistry among unlikely pairs.

Despite the format flaws and controversies surrounding some contestants, “ToGetHer” remains a groundbreaking series for South Korea. As the country’s first lesbian dating reality show, it offers rare representation and reminds viewers that same-sex relationships are just as layered, messy, and relatable as any heteronormative romance. That said, with 14 hour-long episodes, the show could’ve benefited from a larger pool of contestants, maybe 10 instead of 8, rather than dragging out slow conversations that often go nowhere. If Love Is Blind edited interactions the way this show does, each season would stretch to 50 episodes!

Anyway, “ToGetHer” embraces all the overthinking, jealousy, heartbreak, and confusion that come with modern dating – and shows exactly why so many adults today end up stuck in “situationships.” For viewers who enjoy messy emotions, slow-burn flirtations, and a dash of chaos, “ToGetHer” serves it all.

For viewers who love some drama and heartbreak, “ToGetHer” might be an entertaining dating reality show. I will definitely be tuning into a season 2, and hopefully there will be more contestants!

Watch the show on Wavve.

Also Read: Sirens Netflix Series Review (Short Audio Version below)

Stolen Recapped: Babies, Blood, and a Brutal Mob Chase

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What’s Stolen About?

Let’s recap the story and then we’ll discuss the ending.

Stolen kicks off with what seems like a simple act of kindness turning into a dark, unsettling nightmare. We meet two well-off brothers, Gautam (Abhishek Banerjee) and Raman (Shubham Vardhan), who get embroiled in the chaotic case of a stolen baby when Raman is first accused of kidnapping an infant at a railway station. But as police investigate the case, turns out Raman is merely a witness to the crime, which unfolds while the baby’s helpless mother, Jhumpa (Mia Maelzer), a young and impoverished construction worker, falls asleep at the station.

Also Read: Stolen Review: Tense and Violent, Yes, But Not Quite There

Raman, the more self-righteous, though equally arrogant, of the two brothers, immediately wants to help. Gautam, the more cynical one, isn’t so sure. But soon, both find themselves tangled in a case that grows increasingly complicated, violent, and bloody.

So… What Actually Happens?

After the kidnapping, the brothers try to push the investigation forward since the police don’t seem particularly invested. Raman becomes obsessed with helping Jhumpa, while Gautam remains cautious. Slowly, cracks appear in Raman’s “hero” persona. Are his actions really altruistic, or are they driven by guilt, a savior complex, or something else entirely?

Believing the police will do nothing, Raman insists they help Jhumpa themselves. The brothers take her along with two cops to a remote hideout where the kidnapper is suspected to be holding the baby, Champa, before selling her.

The deeper they get, the worse things become. At the hideout, they find a suspect, but Gautam’s attempt to assist the police leads to the accidental death of their only lead. The cops mock him, telling him he has now become collateral damage in his brother’s misguided quest to play savior. Meanwhile, Jhumpa remains desperate to find her baby.

Then things get even murkier. A video of the initial scuffle, where Raman was accused of being the baby thief, goes viral. To complicate matters, reports surface that Jhumpa might not even be Champa’s real mother and that she allegedly kidnapped the baby from a wealthy Mumbai couple. This shakes the brothers’ faith in her and sows seeds of distrust and frustration.

The trio, Raman, Gautam, and Jhumpa, now find themselves fugitives, suspected of child trafficking. Stolen turns into a violent road-rage survival story, with a mob chasing them down, beating them, and demanding justice. Despite everything, the three stand together, and Jhumpa insists the stolen baby is truly hers.

Stolen Climax Explained

All the of them are injured during a mob attack, and manage to hide from the crowd for a while. Jhumpa continues her search for a man she believes is the mastermind behind the baby’s kidnapping and has ties to the local hospital. In a twist of fate, the ambulance transporting the injured Raman and Gautam is being driven by the very man involved in the trafficking network.

Gautam manages to find the stolen baby and alerts the police, who intervene and return Champa to Jhumpa. She then finally tells the truth. She had agreed to be a surrogate for a wealthy couple, illegally, and planned to give up her baby in exchange for money. But when she gave birth to fraternal twins, she handed over the baby boy as agreed and chose to keep the girl, Champa, claiming the deal was for one child. She insists it was divine intervention. God gave her a second child to keep as her own.

Stolen and the Grey Lines of Surrogacy

What starts as a tense thriller about a kidnapping gradually evolves into a layered social commentary. Stolen sheds light on how the desperation of poverty intersects with the murky world of illegal surrogacy. Jhumpa’s story reflects the grey, unregulated spaces where wealth and privilege exploit the vulnerable, particularly young women who are coerced or lured into selling their bodies and their babies, often without protection or recourse.

The film challenges viewers to rethink the idea of “crime” in a context where survival, exploitation, and power imbalance collide. In the end, Stolen is less about who took the child and more about who had the power to decide her fate.

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Alienated #3 Review: High on Potential, Light on Progress

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Plot overview of ‘Alienated’: Earth is deluged with the bodies of dead aliens, but one family finds a survivor and attempts to understand what happened to his species. What happens when their secret guest is discovered, especially at a time when alien cults and shrines are rising in popularity?

Issue #3 of Alienated by Taki Soma and John Broglia opens with a creepy vigil for deceased aliens in uptown Minneapolis, highlighting humanity’s growing obsession with the unidentified species. Meanwhile, at the nursing home, protagonist TJ introduces his live alien friend to his girlfriend, joined by his grandkids Lily and Winter. Unbeknownst to them, Frank, another resident, is spreading panic, claiming he saw the alien at TJ’s. The suspense builds as the secret risks being exposed.

Also Read: Alienated #2 Review: Shrines, Siblings, and a talking Alien

The bulk of the issue, however, focuses on the personal lives of TJ’s family, including Winter’s crush on his sister Lily’s friend. Of course, this dash of cutesy teen romance in the sci-fi story is a welcome break for me, but I still don’t understand where the plot is going, because the issues are just too short and aren’t maximizing the space by keeping a razor-sharp focus on the alien story. That’s not to say nothing happens with the alien, who by now really should’ve been given a nickname. Seriously, TJ and kids, why haven’t you come up with a fun name for your new strange friend?!

There’s minimal interaction between the alien and its tight-knit human circle, mainly only TJ and the kids. It’s still learning to communicate and can only manage a few phrases in English, though TJ does uncover something interesting about its species, which may or may not hold the key to learning more about them. The issue moves fast and wraps up in the blink of an eye, ending with a fairly alarming twist. That said, I’m not exactly at the edge of my seat thinking, “I need the next issue right now.”

Honestly, this comic-book series is both weird, and also kinda interesting, but I still cannot give a definitive verdict about whether its worth trying until at least the first volume comes to an end. So, if you haven’t started reading “Alienated” yet, I’d once again suggest you wait till all of it comes out.

Alienated is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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Also Read: Shubeik Lubeik Review: Fantastic Blend of Magical Realism (audio version below)

Trapped in Osaka: Mini-Series Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Only four episodes long, each packing less than 10 minutes, ‘Trapped in Osaka’ a Chinese web series set in Japan, which follows a thug called Haoyu (Wang Zihang) trying to extract money from debtor Chenxi (Qin Jialin) for his scary loan-shark boss. The twist? Haoyu is a total softie and Chenxi is completely broke, and if Haoyu goes back empty handed, his boss might sell his kidney. So the two young men are trapped together in a flat, with no real solution in sight.

Episode one of ‘Trapped in Osaka’ swiftly establishes the personality differences between its lead protagonists. Chenxi is a broody, confident, handsome man with a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude, suggesting he was abandoned by his boyfriend and left with loans over his head, while Haoyu is a rookie thug putting on a tough act, even though he can’t even stand the sight of blood, a weakness comically exposed in the first chapter.

Chenxi immediately takes a liking to Haoyu, and in a hilarious turn of events, it’s Chenxi who comes off as the more intimidating of the two. Since Haoyu can’t return without collecting money from Chenxi, he simply sets up camp at Chenxi’s flat until he can figure out what to do. While the setting in the show is limited and the modest budget is evident, the lead actors have great chemistry, which the short runtime doesn’t quite do justice to.

Wang Zihang’s screen presence as Chenxi is powerful, his performance exuding just the right amount of nonchalance and conviction. Chenxi is unabashed about his sexuality, desires, and weariness with the world around him; his confidence stems from no longer giving a dime about anything. Qin Jialin is slightly lost as Haoyu, but also charmingly cute as a newbie gangster with a kind heart. Their emotional interactions in the second half of the show, however, feel trite and formulaic, hurtling forward at an unconvincing pace.

Despite its claustrophobic-sounding title, “Trapped in Osaka” is far more light-hearted than one might expect, almost veering into fluffy, comedic territory with its ‘gangster falls for his target’ premise. However, both the romantic and comedic elements are dialed down, limited in scope by the series’ short runtime. In fact, “Lost in Osaka” might have been a more fitting title for the series, as the story is essentially about two lonely men bonding over their bleak circumstances. Their shared identity as Chinese nationals in Japan also acts as a cultural thread that ties them together.

‘Trapped in Osaka‘ rushes to its climax in episode four, leaving the viewer feeling like they just watched a preview pitch for a longer show. But if you’re in the mood for a mini-series with good-looking leads, the show is available on YouTube.

Also Read: Sirens Netflix Series Review (Short Audio Version below)