‘Shantaram’ Recap: ‘The Three Nos’, ‘Down and Out’, & ‘Strange Bedfellows’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Shantaram’.
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One particularly important life decision that is often portrayed as easy in popular media, is starting over. For when we see a person decide to hit the reset button in a story, they do it with minimal fuss. They have the cash to move wherever they wish to go, they quickly acclimate to their new home and whatever they need to overcome they do so with ease. Which is fascinating because in reality, the fresh start is anything but simple. For more often than not, it doesn’t happen for most folks quickly… because of finances and starting over in a new town or country is tough since there’s so much to learn and so much to settle into. Not to mention… overcoming obstacles is no easy task, since that takes more than a conscious decision to just let them go, and of course... past problems follow people to their new destination.
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Which is why it is always powerful and refreshing to run into a story that offers that realistic look at starting over. Since it not only informs the audience that a great deal of work will go into such matters, but it also provides us with an engaging story. One that we will learn from and of course… root for the hero of the story, provided they’re a good person trying to actually make a change and well, that type of story is top of mind today, simply because there is a brand-new show on Apple TV+ entitled, Shantaram, that offers that kind of realistic take on the second chance. A feat that it accomplishes by taking us back in time to 1982, wherein we meet an Australian convict named Dale who is in quite the difficult place in just about every single aspect of his life. 

For when we meet him in ‘The Three Nos’, ‘Down and Out’, and ‘Strange Bedfellows’, his life is in danger in prison since everyone that shares a cell block with him, believes him to be a snitch and if he doesn’t escape soon, harm will come to him. Which leads to a daring escape, one that allows for Dale to gather up some cash and a false identity to head off to Bombay, India as Lindsay ‘Lin’ Ford. And it is Dale’s hope, that becoming a new man in a new place… will allow for him to reclaim the good in his life and put him on a path toward redemption. But it doesn’t take long for Dale/Lin to find himself in trouble once more courtesy of some of the new connections he makes in Bombay, a reality that leaves Lin wondering… if redemption and freedom and a bonafide second chance is in the cards for him, or if sorrow is his fate.

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Which is, a beautiful and winding way to set up those central themes of change and reinvention. Since Lin/Dale’s journey makes it inherently clear, that just going for a new life isn’t something that will immediately bring joy and fix all of our problems. It takes honest awareness, and an actual desire to enact change, and a readiness to put in the work, and sadly, Lin isn’t ready to embrace all that at this point in his life. Sure, the awareness is indeed there since he outright admits to knowing that he’s on a dark path. But by the end of episode three, he clearly isn’t ready to commit to change. He’s simply stuck in this moment, and hopefully the difficult journey that lies of ahead of him… will finally open his eyes to how much control he has over himself, and what makes said journey difficult is fascinating to say the least.
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Simply because, Lin has surrounded himself with individuals that are in fact, enablers, and troublemakers. People who task him with difficult moments and equally as difficult decisions. Which leaves Lin in something of a limbo in this tale, or an emotional purgatory where he can only find temporary peace through kind actions. But this also of course enriches this story and plunges us into a world of intrigue. Where we come to learn so much about Bombay’s criminal underworld and what drives it and motivates it in an era and setting that is unfamiliar to so many, and the colorful characters that populate this world keep our attention and leave us wondering if Lin can escape their charms and their enticing offers to finally become the good man that he is desperate to become.

Which is the fundamental question of this series, one that might be answered in a negative light, since Lin easily fits into this world no problem and has no qualms operating in the moral grey that so many of us avoid. Which means, we are in for a supremely incredible, and realistic season of storytelling. One that will be relatable on a fundamental level not seen often in this type of story, something that is helped along by way of the stunning acting present here. Since everyone turns in earnest and vulnerable performances here that call to us and leave us curious as to what truly made them who they are in this moment and judging from the quality and care of these first three episodes, we will indeed learn those answers and watch people grow in a positive and a negative light as this fascinating and dynamic new series continues along. Until next time.   

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