Incredible television!

gabbit-104-772234

I've been binge watching SAS Who Dares Wins.

I started watching the newest (2020) celebrity version finding it interesting to see celebs out of their comfort zones, then I watched the first series of the celebrity one and found it incredible to see these celebs not only out of their comfort zone but pushing themselves to do things most would cry at the thought of. This quickly developed to a fascination with the DS and their experiences in the SAS and a huge respect for them. And then, watching series 1 and 2 with everyday people pushing their limits and doing incredible things.

After all the episodes I've now watched, (just started series three!) I've realised that there's one thing that makes this show truly special. The way they take these men who have this belief of what it means to be a man, what masculinity is, and they tear them down to their core and rebuild them (those who survive anyway!) this show isn't about being physically strong, it isn't about being manly, it isn't about being action man. It's about showing that men can and should FEEL! That they need to talk about their emotions and problems, that in order to be mentally strong you need to search deep and find your faults and work on them where you can but also accept them and use them to grow and be better. They've had men on the show who have survived cancer, men who have lost children, they've spoken about alcoholism and gambling addictions, one man did the show because his son was shot and killed when serving in Afghanistan, and in the series I'm watching now there's a 40 year old man who just two years earlier was working away from home when his wife was murdered and it happened when he was on the phone to her and he could hear their children crying. These men have experienced the most horrendous things that life can throw at you, they survived those things but society insists that being men means they're not allowed to cry, they're not allowed to crumble, they're not allowed to be weak and talk about how they feel and they aren't allowed to give up. This show deals with those issues in a way no other show I've ever seen manages. It is done with such integrity and honesty. A show that on the outside is about what 'manliness' means manages to flip everything on its head and show that it isn't about who can do the most press ups or lift the heaviest weight. Absolutely incredible TV show!

score 10/10

gabbit-104-772234 4 May 2020

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5705161/