Mercules: A finely crafted thriller that leaves the audience with striking thoughts

Can there be a discussion on whether 'Mercules' is the best web series this Eid? Putting that debate aside, it can be more or less agreed that as a title, the name 'Mercules' is catchy -- reminds us of the name of the mythological hero 'Hercules'. 

The only irony is that there is no hero in this story who is bringing justice but a serial killer questioning how to achieve it. After watching eight episodes, it becomes prevalent that 'Mercules' did its job excellently in presenting that irony.

Starting with the first scene, where Joyeeta is having a serious quarrel with her boyfriend Robin about her mistrust of him that he will ever get rid of taking drugs, director Abu Shahed Emon hardly gave the audience any chance to distract from the story rather than glueing onto the screen. 

After that, Joyeeta resists contact with Robin for some days despite the desperate attempt of Robin to connect her. Then, when she tries to again connect with Robin, she can not find him over the phone. She tries to reach out to her friends Anamika, Joy, and Aritra to have a trace of Robin. 

Meanwhile, the craze in society revolving around the serial killer named 'Mercules,' who kills rapists, keeps rising, with different organisations condemning extra judicial killing in the name of justice. 

Eventually, Joyeeta knows about Robin when the police find his dead body. On top of that, Joyeeta tries to bear with the news through the media that Robin, with whom she got married four months ago, was a rapist. 

The subsequent events unfolded with nerve-wracking sequences like Joyeeta searching for the truth on whether her husband whose unborn child she is bearing with is a rapist or not, people being killed over other clashes, and the name is attributed to 'Mercules' and many others.

'Mercules' is based on a real-life event that happened in Bangladesh in 2019 in the Brahmanbaria district, where a serial killer named 'Hercules' was killing people accused of rape. 

With engaging storytelling, 'Mercules' has been able to throw this debate to the audience on whether the people should implement the law when there is a lack of justice in society. Will that be something that may lead to anarchy, as uttered by the character Synthia in Mercules? 

But director Abu Shehed Emon's 'Mercules' doesn't stop there. With excruciating details, the story reveals how people use that anarchy for different political purposes and how common people become the victim. Especially with the character of Joyeeta has been shown how painful it is for a person when people continuously accuse her husband without the necessary evidence. 

Despite being able to reflect so many uncomfortable aspects of society, the web series can't get away from its shortcomings. Unfortunately, the series' strength became its weakness, which is emphasising individual characters. 

By giving too much emphasis on individual perspectives, the broader political effect of this whole serial murder case across the state, which is keeping the law enforcement agency on its toes, is absent in the story. 

The same lacking is prevalent when the depth of the character of Rawnak Hasan, named Inspector Azim, is not explored enough. 

Although, in the beginning, there were engaging situational comedies, the unnecessary addition of comedy at the midpoint of the story did no service to the script. 

But these minor shortcomings will not overshadow the great acting performances of the whole series. Who can disagree that this is the best performance delivered by Sabila Nur? The way she threw herself into the psyche of Joyeeta is a testament to how successfully she came out of her comfort zone through this series. 

Sharif Shiraj is as believable as possible in portraying the character 'Robin'. Iresh Zaker, Zakia Bari Momo, and Giasudding Selim acted convincingly in their respective roles. 

Legendary actors like Fazlur Rahman Babu and Mamunur Rashid did proper justice in their respective roles as politicians. The performance by Saberi Alam as the mother of Snighdha is worth mentioning as it made the audience feel her situation as a mother who lost her daughter. 

Also, the characterisation of Snighdha by Aisha Khan made the audience sorrowful for the tragic fate Snighdha faced in the story. The character of Aritra, with limited space, was brilliantly performed by Safwan Mahmood using a local tone. 

The background music of the series was in line with the story's pulse, masterfully done by Imon Chowdhury. Barkat Hossain Palash's cinematography was perfectly in balance with the screenplay of 'Mercules'. 

The colour grading of Saleh Sobhan Anim was properly synchronised with the tone of the story? Also, Ripon Nath's sound design, which didn't let us get distracted from the story even for a second, can not be denied. 

'Mercules' ended with a twist in the final episode, keeping the audience waiting for the next season of 'Mercules' on their feet. Is there any way to predict what is waiting for us?    

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