Safe Harbor - First episode

The tech world meets the Irish mafia in the new International Videoland series Safe Harbor, set in the Port of Rotterdam. The new Videoland series Safe Harbor is an international collaboration between Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland, among others. In this story, which is about the Irish mafia, we follow technician Marco (Martijn Lakemeier, Máxima) who tries to earn a lot of money with his software program. After yet another setback, his program does not seem to be as successful as hoped. Debts are piling up and there is no budget for updates of the program itself.

Besides the impressive trailer, the cast list raises high expectations.

The members of the Irish mafia family Walsh are busy filling their pockets in Rotterdam. While brother Farrell (Jack Gleeson, Game of Thrones) does the dirty work, sister Sloane (Charlie Murphy, Obsession) is the brains behind the operation. However, their business does not go completely smoothly. Contacts within the port appear to be unreliable and containers with their drugs disappear before they can bring them in. They are losing money and must quickly change this before they have to deal with their father.

Coincidentally, just before I started watching Safe Harbor, I had seen an episode of FBI: International that was also set in Rotterdam and the differences were immediately painfully clear. The FBI: International episode was a disgrace when it came to credibility. Safe Harbor, however, has thought of everything, from the locations where the filming takes place to the nationalities and accents of the actors who play a role. The first images of Safe Harbor looked spectacular anyway. In addition to the impressive trailer, the cast list raises high expectations. The latter is something that immediately stands out while watching the series. The acting is very strong and comes across very convincing.



Marco worked with his best friend Tobias (Alfie Allen, Game of Thrones) for a long time, who is a skilled hacker. Now that Tobias is in a stable relationship with Rika (Gaite Jansen, Leopard Skin), he wants to work on his future. He can no longer afford to work for nothing and that leaves Marco on his own. Marco looks for solutions in every possible way to get some extra money. When he turns to the dark web, he comes across an advertisement that arouses his interest. He responds to it and makes a deal with the devil.

We only see a small part of the various characters and their relationships during the first episode.

Farrell shows in one of the first scenes that he is not a sweetheart. Safe Harbor can rightly be called an action series because a little later in the episode he shows his worst side again. The naivety with which Marco enters into the collaboration with the Walsh family says a lot about his character. Despite all the dangers, he only has eyes for one thing: the money that it brings him. We only get to see a small part of the various characters and relationships during the first episode. But it is enough to whet the viewer's appetite for what else is in store.

The first 54 minutes of Safe Harbor flew by and before I knew it, episode two was ready. The first season has eight episodes that were all released at the same time and are each about the same length. Although I can't say yet whether this story really has depth, after watching this start I became curious about the rest of the season. It is a strong start with potential, now let's hope that they have further developed the story so that the level of the series only continues to rise as the season progresses.