Tyrant: Winds Of Change Sweep Through Abbudin

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Episode recaps
Photo Courtesy Of FX Network

Warning: Spoiler Alert

The times are tumultuous for the Middle-Eastern nation of Abbudin and the country’s ruling family the Al Fayeed’s in the FX Original Series ‘Tyrant.” The rebel movement’s licking their collective wounds and regrouping with a new strategy. Change is also effecting the Bedouin community, that Bassam’s residing in as a guest of Ahmos Al-Yazbek, as Ahmos’ second wife  Daliyah is leaving for Germany. She’ll be staying there six-months to study how to become a solar-engineer, which will vastly improve life for the residents in her village.

Back in California, it turns out that the lawyers for the Al Fayeed estate are contesting the will and unless Barry and Molly’s son Sammy returns to Abbudin and appears in court, he can kiss his $100 million inheritance goodbye. Jamal’s starting to think that his son Ahmed may lack the skills to be the Minister Of Energy Development, when his mother Amira reveals some mind-blowing news to Abbudin’s President.

Let’s start things off with that revelation, as Amira informs her son that he’s got a 25-year-old son that he never knew existed. Turns out that when Jamal was a very young man, he fell in love with a girl and the two had made arrangements to leave the country and live the life they wanted. However Jamal’s father caught wind of the scheme, beat the stuffing out of his son and told him if they left Abbudin, they’d both get punished far more severely. The elder Al Fayeed forbade his son to ever contact the girl again, so he was unaware she was carrying his son. However Amira stayed in touch with her and helped her and her son financially.

The woman passes away and Amira went to the funeral and talked with her grandson Rami Said, a Task Force Commander for the United Nations. Rami’s upset that he didn’t make it back to Abbudin before his mother passed, Amira tells him he was a wonderful son and his mother adored him. She then tells him it’s time that his father knows about him and that the two meet.

Jamal and Amira haven’t spoken since he ordered his brother’s execution and he’s surprised to see her. However she quickly lets him know what this visit’s about. She then tells him that she never told him, because his father would have forbidden Jamal to contact his son. But the time is right for them to meet. Jamal doesn’t like the idea and tells his mother as much, then quickly ends their meeting.

Ahmed comes into his father’s office and asks him why he still hasn’t signed the paperwork finalizing the deal with the Chinese on their oil refinery. Ahmed responds that it’s 300 pages and he wants to make sure there aren’t any loopholes, Jamal tells him to get up earlier and go to bed later. Before Ahmed leaves the office, he gives his father a picture of the ultrasound exam that Nusrat had that morning. Jamal’s grandchild will be a boy, he props the picture up on his desk, then calls Amira to arrange a meeting with Rami.

Ihab Rashid and Samira Nadal are in hiding at a safe-house and eating stale pita-bread. He gives photographs of himself and Samira to a young man and tells him to bring the pictures to a friend of Rashid’s. He says the man’s a forger and he’ll produce documents for Ihab and Samira to travel to Europe. He tells the young man to return as soon as the documents are finished. The young man says he can handle the assignment and leaves.

Abbudin soldiers and the liaison for the program in Germany arrive in the Bedouin village and Daliyah goes and meets with them. As they meet, the village doctor comes over  and talks with Ahmos’ sons about Daliyah heading to Germany. Munir says he believes his mother’s jealous of Daliyah’s beauty and is forcing her to move to Germany, but Kasim tells him that’s stupid and to shutup. The doctor asks Bassam about his opinion and he says he thinks it’s a great idea and will help the village immensely. The doctor laughs at him and says Daliyah will never return to Abbudin once she experiences life in Europe.

The doctor’s words anger and scare Daliyah and Ahmos son Hani, whose been milking the family’s goat while listening to their conversation. He dumps over the bucket of milk and socks Kasim in the jaw when the older brother yells at him, then he runs out of the pen.

James Timmons, the attorney that’s helping Sammy get his inheritance drop’s by the Al Fayeed house unexpectedly. He tells them that the lawyers are contesting the will and Sammy needs to appear in court in Abbudin. Molly says she forbids Sammy from going back there, but her son tells her he wants his inheritance. The two yell at each other and Sammy leaves the house.

Rami Said arrives at the palace and after Amira introduces the men to each other, she suggests that Jamal give Rami a tour of the palace. We rejoin them mid-tour, as Al Fayeed’s pointing out all the tile in a certain room, he says it took a year for the builders to complete the job. He then says, you’d think it would be wonderful to grow up here, but it really wasn’t.

We then find out why Khaled Al Fayeed was so dead set against Jamal getting involved with Rami’s mother, she was a Rashid. Jamal explains to Rami that the relationship was doomed even before it started, a tale of two star-crossed lovers, whose families despised each other. He then tells Rami that he looks just like his mother, he says that he has her eyes, she had very kind eyes.

The men go target shooting and Jamal’s amazed that Rami has perfect aim. The two walk out to the courtyard and Leila approaches them. Jamal introduces them, telling his wife that Rami’s originally from Abbudin, but he’s been stationed all over the world with the United Nations. Leila asks how they met and Jamal says that he makes it his business to seek out Abbudin’s best.

Back in their bedroom, Jamal can’t stop singing the praises of Rami and Leila asks if he knows that Said’s a Rashid. Jamal says he’s just a distant cousin and he has no contact with Ihab or the rest of the rebels. He then says that he thinks that Rami could be a big help for his administration and Leila realizes there’s something her husband’s not telling her.

Jamal tells Leila that Rami’s his son and that Amira just informed him about him earlier that day. He then explains about the relationship which took place long before they met. Leila says that Jamal’s not bringing his illegitimate son into her house and make him part of the family. She tells her husband that he has just one son Ahmed.

There’s a knock on the door of the safe-house, it’s the young man and Ihab lets him in the door. He grabs the envelope and sees that it’s empty and asks the guy where are the papers? The young man said they threatened his family and with that the door bursts open and some burly guys grab Ihab and Samira, put black bags over their heads and takes them away.

The pair are transported to Syria and when the bags are removed from their heads, a young man tells Ihab that it’s good to see him again. Samira asks Rashid if he knows him and he does, it’s Abu Omar and they studied together in Egypt. Omar says they’re friends and Rashid questions that statement, but Omar responds he always considered him a friend. He sends Samira with his wife to get fed, while he talks to Ihab.

Rashid tells Abu that he’s changed and Omar responds that spending two-years in the prisons of Mubarak in Egypt will do that to a man. He says he wants to help Ihab overthrow the Al Fayeed regime and help Rashid become the leader of his nation. Rashid says he’s done fighting, Omar responds from where he’s sitting, Ihab has yet to start to fight.

Jamal meets Rami the next morning in a café in the capital, Rami’s a little taken-aback that Al Fayeed cleared the café of all of their customers, so the two could drink their coffee privately. Jamal smiles and tells Rami that he wants him in the government and offers him as the second in command in the Abbudin army. Rami says he didn’t want to meet Jamal to get a job and Al Fayeed says he realizes that, but he wants him on his team.

Rami says he’s flattered but he’s an Al Fayeed and a Rashid, something he’s lived with all his life and why he left Abbudin to advance his career. He says that Jamal’s asking him to choose sides and the President responds that now there are no sides. Said says that’s because you gassed the opposition and Jamal responds it’s complicated. Rami once again says he’s flattered but he’s staying with the United Nations. The two men tell each other they’re very glad they met, Rami tells his father you’re not the man I was expecting.

Daliyah’s beside herself with worry as Hani has been missing since the incident in the goat pen, that afternoon. She says that it was a stupid idea to think about going to Germany, but Bassam says he thinks that the move will help the village. She rolls her eyes and says she’s not taking advice from someone whose wife thinks he’s dead.

Bassam realizes where Hani’s hiding as the two of them talked about hiding places. He convinces Hani that his mother’s doing a good thing and she will return to Abbudin. Then he tells the boy that he’ll stay with him for the six months, his mother’s in Germany.

The next day Daliyah says her goodbyes to her family. She hugs Hani and says the next time he sees her she’ll be a solar-engineer. She says they’ll build a house and Hani will have his own room. They hug and she gets into the jeep with the two soldiers and the woman from the program and off they go.

A while later they’re driving along, when several vehicles containing rebels force them from the road. The two soldiers are immediately shot in the head, then the rebels force the two women to lie on their bellies in the sand. As Daliyah turns around to look at her captors, we see that Ihab Rashid’s standing over her brandishing a pistol.

The Story Continues Next Tuesday on FX.

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