WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are really glad 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:05.219 you're here. Absolutely. Welcome. Because we 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.259 know you love to learn. You like absorbing huge 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:10.800 amounts of information efficiently, right? Yeah, 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:12.720 getting right to the good stuff. Exactly. Yeah. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:15.560 So today, we are basically saving you about, 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:18.780 oh, I'd say 130 hours of binge watching. Which 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:21.969 is a... Pretty massive undertaking. It is. We're 00:00:21.969 --> 00:00:26.370 distilling a massive 260 -episode Nigerian period 00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:30.109 drama down to its absolute most crucial elements. 00:00:30.329 --> 00:00:32.729 And this is not just any show. No, it's Riona. 00:00:33.409 --> 00:00:37.350 Pronounced Riona. It's a 2020 Africa Magic original 00:00:37.350 --> 00:00:40.009 series. And the goal today is to really look 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:44.350 at how this show masterfully blends 12th century 00:00:44.350 --> 00:00:47.479 history. with intense class warfare. And dark 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:49.119 prophecies. Don't forget the prophecies. Right. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.259 The prophecies are huge. And for anyone wondering 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:53.719 why this specific show matters to you, I mean, 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:55.920 why we are doing a deep dive on it, it's because 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.320 it's so much more than just a daytime soap opera. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.380 It is this brilliant structural exploration of 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:04.680 dictatorship versus democracy. It really forces 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.140 you to look at the terrifying lengths people 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.280 will go to when they want to preserve their own 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.980 power. OK, let's unpack this, because to really 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:14.319 get the stakes here, you have to understand the 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:16.750 world they're living in. The setting is everything. 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:20.269 Right. So based on our sources, the show is set 00:01:20.269 --> 00:01:22.969 in the pre -colonial Itzikiri kingdom. In the 00:01:22.969 --> 00:01:25.370 12th century. Exactly. Yeah. Just to put that 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:27.790 on a map for you, we are talking about the westernmost 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:30.069 part of the Niger Delta. Which is bounded by 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:32.430 the Bight of Benin. Yeah. It's this incredibly 00:01:32.430 --> 00:01:35.829 rich, geographically complex region. Very lush, 00:01:35.909 --> 00:01:38.310 lots of waterways. Controlling this area means 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:40.310 you have serious wealth and strategic power. 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:42.650 But the kingdom of Wyoming, which is where our 00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:45.290 story takes place. is dealing with a massive 00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:47.469 crisis. A crisis that has nothing to do with 00:01:47.469 --> 00:01:50.370 borders or trade? No, they are quite literally 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:53.370 under siege by fate itself. Yeah, the inciting 00:01:53.370 --> 00:01:56.129 incident is wild. It really is. So we meet this 00:01:56.129 --> 00:02:00.549 character, Aranyeka, and she is the Oparun male. 00:02:00.769 --> 00:02:03.849 Which means the mouthpiece of the gods. Right, 00:02:03.909 --> 00:02:06.590 and she is actually the first female Oparun male 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:09.569 in the history of the kingdom. So already tradition 00:02:09.569 --> 00:02:11.569 is shifting. The old rules are breaking down. 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.030 And she delivers this absolutely chilling prophecy 00:02:14.030 --> 00:02:16.590 to the throne. She says a child born under a 00:02:16.590 --> 00:02:19.430 rising dark moon is going to destroy the reigning 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:22.469 king. King Ofotunku. Yes, and completely end 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:24.689 his rule. What's fascinating here is how the 00:02:24.689 --> 00:02:27.530 writers take this classic, almost mythological 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:31.169 trope of, you know, the ruler trying to outsmart 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:35.229 destiny. And they ground it in this brutal political 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:38.509 reality. Because the king's reaction isn't to 00:02:38.509 --> 00:02:41.110 step down or repent. No, he doesn't self -reflect 00:02:41.110 --> 00:02:43.789 at all. Not even a little. He immediately orders 00:02:43.789 --> 00:02:46.229 the mass killing of all children born under the 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:48.650 dark moon. Which immediately establishes just 00:02:48.650 --> 00:02:51.349 how impossibly high the stakes are. And how brutal 00:02:51.349 --> 00:02:53.629 his regime actually is. It tells you exactly 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:56.189 who King Ofotanku is. And he's played by Frank 00:02:56.189 --> 00:02:58.550 Conwaya, by the way. Our sources describe him 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:01.150 as a genuinely wicked king. Wicked is almost 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:03.610 an understatement. Yeah, he crushes anyone in 00:03:03.610 --> 00:03:08.229 his way. goes beyond just being a dictator. He 00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:10.990 literally dares to fight the gods when they pass 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:13.409 judgment on him. Which is the ultimate sign of 00:03:13.409 --> 00:03:15.629 an autocrat completely losing touch with reality. 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:18.650 He thinks he is bigger than fate. Right. But 00:03:18.650 --> 00:03:21.409 trying to cheat fate comes with a tragic cost? 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:25.169 It does. And there is this one specific, shocking 00:03:25.169 --> 00:03:27.889 detail from the text that really drives this 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:30.370 home. It's devastating. To save his own life 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:32.610 from this prophecy, the king is in this state 00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:35.789 of total panic. He loses his temper. As he often 00:03:35.789 --> 00:03:38.270 does. Right, he has this explosive temper. And 00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:41.930 he unwittingly kills his fourth wife. Anya Mofay. 00:03:42.050 --> 00:03:44.370 Yes, she goes by Mofay, played by Mimi Chaka. 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:47.210 And the tragedy here is that Mofay wasn't just 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:49.250 a political alliance. No, she was his favorite. 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:51.150 She was the one he actually married for love. 00:03:51.389 --> 00:03:53.569 And she's the mother of his heir. Exactly. So 00:03:53.569 --> 00:03:57.050 in his blind panic to hold onto power, he destroys 00:03:57.050 --> 00:03:59.849 the only real genuine human connection he has. 00:04:00.110 --> 00:04:02.389 He totally isolates himself. Which means he has 00:04:02.389 --> 00:04:05.439 to rely entirely on his inner circle. The enablers. 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:08.000 Yeah, let's talk about that inner circle. You 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.139 have Omereon, played by Sobifai Dokubo. Who is 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:13.939 a fascinating character. He is. He's the king's 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:15.879 intensely loyal friend. They've been close since 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:18.920 childhood. But his real job is basically handling 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.199 the king. He's the diplomat. Right. He knows 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.680 how to navigate this tyrannical guy without getting 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:27.250 himself killed. You need someone like that to 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:29.629 keep a failing regime running. And you contrast 00:04:29.629 --> 00:04:32.269 him with Queen Eidolor. His first wife. Yeah, 00:04:32.290 --> 00:04:34.209 she is a high council member. So you have this 00:04:34.209 --> 00:04:39.449 very complex web of advisors insulating the king. 00:04:39.670 --> 00:04:41.730 But they can't insulate him from the prophecy. 00:04:42.029 --> 00:04:45.290 No, they can't. Because despite this horrific 00:04:45.290 --> 00:04:48.660 mass killing, fate finds a way. As it always 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:50.579 does. Four of the targeted children actually 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:53.060 survive the call. Four managed to slip through. 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.540 And one of them is Prince Atsigen. Who goes by 00:04:55.540 --> 00:04:58.199 Agon. Right. Played by Emer Chukwu Ono. And this 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.819 is the structural core of the whole series. Here's 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:04.160 where it gets really interesting. Agon is the 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:08.519 king's own heir. His own son. Yes. He is destined 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:11.220 to bring down his father's dictatorship because 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:13.740 he was one of those kids. born under the dark 00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:16.560 moon. And his motivation is so unique for a period 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:18.579 drama. Yeah, he doesn't just want the throne 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:21.279 for himself. He despises his father's oppression. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.600 He actually wants to replace the monarchy with 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:27.480 democracy. Which is a wild concept for a prince 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.199 in the 12th century. Totally. He is willing to 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:32.379 sacrifice his relationship with his father, his 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:35.089 own inheritance, to tear the system down. But 00:05:35.089 --> 00:05:37.470 a prince can't start a revolution all by himself 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:39.649 from inside the palace. No, the pressure has 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:42.290 to come from the outside, too. Exactly. Which 00:05:42.290 --> 00:05:46.350 brings us to the lowborn leader, Oriasame, or 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:49.009 Seema. Played by Jasmine Al -Ratami and Maggie 00:05:49.009 --> 00:05:51.350 Isabor. Right. Her background is so complex. 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:53.889 Technically, she is highborn. But she doesn't 00:05:53.889 --> 00:05:57.129 grow up that way. No, she is raised by a virtuous 00:05:57.129 --> 00:06:00.810 lowborn man named Aso. And Aso raises her specifically 00:06:00.810 --> 00:06:03.850 to lead the rebellion. He teaches her her value. 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:06.699 She voices her opinions without any fear. Which 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:09.800 is very dangerous in this society. It is. And 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:12.259 it gets her into major trouble when Prince Agan 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.839 actually visits her community. They clash immediately. 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:17.480 Because she just speaks her mind. But you see, 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:19.800 connecting the dots between Egon and Seema is 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:22.220 the whole point. They come from entirely different 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:25.639 worlds. But they are both dark moon children. 00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:28.329 Their chance crossing of paths is the ultimate 00:06:28.329 --> 00:06:30.490 threat to the king. They are the two halves of 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:32.490 the kingdom coming together. Which brings us 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:35.129 to the actual society they are living in. The 00:06:35.129 --> 00:06:38.889 class warfare in Oyomer is intense. It's the 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:41.449 engine of the show. The society is divided into 00:06:41.449 --> 00:06:44.769 two main classes. At the top, you have the highborn 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:47.149 class, the Omajaja. They hold all the cards. 00:06:47.310 --> 00:06:50.149 The wealth, the military, the land. And at the 00:06:50.149 --> 00:06:53.009 bottom, you have the lowborn class, the Aral. 00:06:53.339 --> 00:06:55.240 who are essentially living in bondage. Yeah, 00:06:55.339 --> 00:06:57.240 they do all the work and suffer under the king's 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:59.839 violence, and Sima is the one destined to free 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:03.000 the Aral from this bondage. Making her King Ofotanku's 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.399 absolute worst enemy. But it's not just politics 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:08.500 and class warfare. The show also has this incredible 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:11.300 mystical side. The supernatural elements are 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:15.420 deeply woven into the politics. Yeah, like Atigbi 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.970 -Aloy, played by Elvina Ibru. She is a shape 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:21.529 -shifting witch living in the Oyomir forest. 00:07:21.850 --> 00:07:24.329 She is amazing. And she plays a critical role 00:07:24.329 --> 00:07:27.170 in making sure the dark moon prophecy is actually 00:07:27.170 --> 00:07:29.829 fulfilled. If we connect this to the bigger picture. 00:07:30.329 --> 00:07:32.889 The show uses all these elements, both the magical 00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:35.329 gods and shapeshifters, and the social clash 00:07:35.329 --> 00:07:37.730 between the Omijaja and Uriah. To build this 00:07:37.730 --> 00:07:40.310 world on the brink. Exactly. It creates this 00:07:40.310 --> 00:07:43.129 rich tapestry of a society ready for revolution. 00:07:43.509 --> 00:07:46.250 The magic shows the limits of the king's earthly 00:07:46.250 --> 00:07:48.790 power. He can't execute a shapeshifter. Right. 00:07:49.310 --> 00:07:51.529 Now, just stepping back for a second, we have 00:07:51.529 --> 00:07:53.430 to talk about the sheer scale of this production. 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:56.170 It is staggering. 260 episodes. We'll let that 00:07:56.170 --> 00:07:58.970 sink in. Produced by Fimo. Directed and executive 00:07:58.970 --> 00:08:01.730 produced by James Amakwe. And written by Effiani 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:04.949 Barbaciti. Edit air daily. 30 -minute episodes 00:08:04.949 --> 00:08:07.750 every weekday from September 2020 to September 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:10.949 2021. The stamina required to pull that off while 00:08:10.949 --> 00:08:14.160 keeping the narrative quality high. is just incredible 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.779 and people noticed the real world reception was 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:20.139 huge it was listed as one of the top five nigerian 00:08:20.139 --> 00:08:23.879 tv series of 2020 and it earned james omakwe 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:27.259 a nomination for best africa magic original drama 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:30.620 series at the 2022 africa magic viewers choice 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:32.879 award very well deserved so what does this all 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.759 mean why does a massive 12th century period drama 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:38.759 matter so much to you today because the themes 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:42.100 are universal Exactly. It shows how epic storytelling 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.519 is used all over the world to process historical 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:46.919 and societal themes. We use these grand historical 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:49.759 settings to safely explore modern realities. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.200 Power, corruption, freedom. Exactly. So just 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.139 to quickly wrap up this massive deep dive, we've 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:59.659 looked at the epic clash sparked by King Ofotunku's 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.559 paranoia. His brutal attempt to stop fate. We 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.019 followed his rebellious heir, Ogun, who wants 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:08.200 democracy. The fearless Sima. Leading from the 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.340 outside. And the inevitable explosion between 00:09:10.340 --> 00:09:13.019 the Omijaja and the Aral. It is a brilliant piece 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:14.860 of media. And it leaves you with such a clear 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:17.639 insight into the core themes. It really exposes 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:20.320 the destructive nature of absolute power. It 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:23.500 rots from the inside. Right. But it also highlights 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.539 the unstoppable force of people demanding their 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:28.960 freedom. Once that spark is lit, you can't put 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:30.940 it out. You really can't. And before we go, I 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:33.039 want to leave you with one final provocative 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.360 thought based on the premise we just discussed. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.169 Oh, I love this. Lay it out. Think about the 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:41.750 ultimate paradox of the king's actions. He ordered 00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:44.509 the slaughter of innocent children purely to 00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:47.409 prevent the prophecy. Right. But by doing that, 00:09:47.549 --> 00:09:50.750 King of Otanku is the one who alienated his own 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:53.529 son, Agon. He pushed him away. He pushed him 00:09:53.529 --> 00:09:57.549 right toward rebellion and democracy. So here's 00:09:57.549 --> 00:10:00.570 the question for you to ponder. Okay. Did the 00:10:00.570 --> 00:10:03.730 dark moon actually curse the king? Or did his 00:10:03.730 --> 00:10:06.690 own brutal attempts to cheat fate guarantee his 00:10:06.690 --> 00:10:09.190 destruction? Wow. That is a heavy question to 00:10:09.190 --> 00:10:10.929 walk away with. It really makes you think about 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.250 free will versus destiny. It absolutely does. 00:10:13.370 --> 00:10:14.970 Well, thank you so much for joining us on this 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:17.269 deep dive. We hope we gave you a great shortcut 00:10:17.269 --> 00:10:19.590 through an incredible story. Keep exploring. 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:22.309 Definitely. Keep learning. Keep asking questions. 00:10:22.649 --> 00:10:24.350 And we will catch you next time.