De F*ckulteit - First episode

Anouk has just started working at a law firm in De F*ckulteit when she is accused of working there alone because of her past with Professor Hartman. Is this true, and is there an abuse of power? The #MeToo theme has now become indispensable. Unfortunately, many people have had to deal with situations that fall under this. In the new Videoland series De F*ckulteit, this subject is central to the world of the legal profession.

Anouk Boone (Julia Akkermans) is the youngest partner candidate ever at a large law firm on the Amsterdam Zuidas. This should be a moment of pride and celebration, were it not for the rumors that Anouk owes her job to an intimate relationship with her former teacher and mentor.

“You know how it works, right? If you are good at your profession… That is erotic.”

During Anouk's introduction to the law firm, a box is delivered for her. It contains a heart balloon with an image of a bunny and a good luck note. In retrospect we see that Anouk regularly wore a shirt with the same image during her studies. During a meeting with professor Patrick Hartman (Fedja van Huêt) she also wears this shirt, which is why he nicknames her 'bunny'. Anouk is anything but happy with the balloon and would like to get rid of it as quickly as possible. But her colleagues immediately realized that there was more going on, because why would a former teacher send his former student such a gift to congratulate her?

I had already heard and read many good stories about De F*ckulteit in advance. The trailer really appealed to me, so I was curious about the story. The fact that director Simone van Dusseldorp, partly responsible for Klem, and Dorien Goertzen, who previously co-wrote Nieuwe Buren, are involved in this project also created high expectations. With only six episodes it is not a long series, but it doesn't have to be if the story is good. Still, my hopeful enthusiasm faded somewhat while watching the first episode. It wasn't quite what I expected.



The titles of the episodes of De F*ckulteit are all in Latin, and the first is called 'Quod non apparet non est', which roughly translates to 'what is not visible does not exist'. This of course refers to the secrecy surrounding #MeToo cases and the way in which many people deal with them. It doesn't take long before the abuse of power becomes visible. Patrick Hartman appears to like to chase young women and has little respect for women anyway. For example, he sends porn videos around and soon becomes violent with his students. His comment to a colleague: “You know how it works, right? If you are good at your profession… That is erotic.” is therefore typical of his attitude towards women.

After 45 minutes I had the feeling that I had not become much wiser. The character development is fine, the story is clear and the acting looks okay. But much of this was already shown in the trailer. The entire first episode actually feels like one long trailer. The story only seems to get going when the end credits appear. I would have liked to see some more surprising elements, some drama that would persuade me to continue watching. But the start drags on a bit and does not lead to a really exciting or compelling climax.

I missed tension, some mystery surrounding what is to come and what consequences can be associated with it.

The story has potential, and who knows, maybe the other episodes will be a lot more compelling. However, my review is only about the first episode of the season, and I found it a bit disappointing. The series is described as a dramatic thriller, but so far I have only seen drama and no thriller aspect whatsoever. Of course, a first episode is only a small part of the story, but it must be an introduction that invites the viewer to look further. I missed the suspense and mystery about what is yet to come and what consequences may be associated with it.

Let me be clear: I don't think The F*ckulteit is a bad series! The switching between images from the present and the past is well done and a great way of telling the story. The fact that a journalist is investigating Hartman and uncovers his misconduct also gives an interesting twist to the whole thing. But it's all just not enough to create a really strong first episode. Nemesis, a series that reminded me of De F*ckulteit at certain moments, did have a strong start, but dropped off in terms of level later in the season. A good or less good start does not say everything about the entire series. But unfortunately for me the first impression is slightly less positive than hoped.