“Us Syrians have the loudest farts. If you give us two chicken shawarmas and a Baba Ghanoush, we will give you Chernobyl.”
Upon moving into an apartment called Eagle Lodge, Sami Ibrahim must still wait an absurd 182 days to find out whether his right to remain in the UK application is approved or denied.
Sami now shares his apartment with a Nigerian dentist called Victor, who is gay. He tells Sami and Peter this is a crime that carries a sentence of fourteen years in prison, simultaneously referencing one of every Madonna’s fourteen albums for good measure.
Peter re-affirms Sami that whilst the apartment is temporary, it is still a luxury, solely due to the fact it has complimentary shortbread and Twinings tea..
As Peter and Katy get ready to leave Sami’s apartment, their son John quickly asks Victor some questions of his background and why his family are not with him. The scene leaves one with nothing less than the required emotional impact.
To put the cherry on top, Sami is not allowed to enter the Dorking Marmalade Festival as he has not been in the country long enough, which leads to a racialised rant from Raj.
The ups and downs of Sami’s personal life are further challenged, with a dwindling relationship with his young son George and an almost non-existent one with his wife Yasmine, Sami moves onto Naomi Johnson, a nurse he meets on a bus after a racist encounter and learns to find love again.
He must simultaneously manage his newfound-love with care due to the fact that life with the Guests is only getting more tense as Peter loses his job and instead works as an Uber driver to make ends meet. To make things worse, Katy is accused of sexual misconduct at school.
With a soft spot for underdogs and a keen technical eye that has improved, Home’s second series is a success ways and proves that Rufus Jones and David Saint’s collaborative skills bring out the best in each other and main star, Youssef Kerkour.
By Zach Omitowoju