The Bath – As the opening episode of Stags begins, two tunnel guards, (Alexandre Cuny and Diego Santos), check the tunnel and confirm the minefield and power are back up. One guard gets injured leaving the other to defend himself. He begins screaming for help. Three months earlier, Stu (Nico Mirallegro) tells Ryan (Corin Silva) and Ant (Charlie Cooper) that he was going to spot the diamond and pull the ring out. Now, he can’t find the ring. Kai (Jojo Macari) calls Ryan while Stu continues beating himself up for losing the ring. Ryan tries to calm Stu who finds the ring seconds later. Before long, they’re on a plane traveling to South America for the stag party. Sam (Holli Dempsey) calls Stu to check on him. Stu has to hang up when he vomits again.

Ant joins Ryan and Stu in the bathroom because he’s sick of hearing Clem (Sophie Lenglinger) whine. Ryan says he wants their worst behaviors just like the old times. Ryan says what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico. He doesn’t care if it’s not Mexico. He still wants it to stay there. Ant finds Kai getting ready to snort drugs. Ant doesn’t want to because he has a wife and kids at home. As the others party, Ant talks to Clem and Hugo (Paul Forman) about whether they were a couple. They say no. Ant’s dad, John (Cavan Clerkin), urges everyone to stay quiet. Greg (Asim Chaudhry) arrives and they begin chanting his name. Then, they all head out to a local pub. Stu asks Greg if he can call him dad since he feels so lucky to marry into this family.

Stu tries to get Ant to use drugs in the bathroom. Ant refuses and Stu throws up. At the airport, they wait for the gates to open. Stu isn’t happy to learn that Ryan has drugs. Ryan argues they aren’t looking for small quantities. Everyone watches as Ryan goes through security. He makes it through without any hiccups. Hugo isn’t happy that they’re taking those chances though. He argues with Kai who he calls an enchanted donkey. They soon find that Greg is having stomach issues. He passes out and begins convulsing. Stu and the others are told he had a balloon of cocaine in his stomach and he’s lucky to be alive. Clem questions why Greg had a different layover flight than the rest of them. Police officers rush in and begin grabbing everyone.

Clem tells one that she’s a medic. The men are transported to a prison by boat. Hugo doesn’t understand because there are women there as well. He questions what they’ve done with Clem. Ant complains about not going in front of a judge. Ryan assaults Greg. Then, everyone is driven toward the prison. Greg’s surgical scar is bleeding because of the assault. One man tries to flee because he’s worried the other prisoners are going to recognize him. The other prisoners beat him up. Stu asks the man if he needs any help. Ryan clearly doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Soon, they realize that this probably isn’t an ordinary prison. One man runs away from the prison only to be killed by a landmine. John says he and Kai should go in and demand to see the British Consulate.

Once they go inside, Ryan tells Ryan he’s not going to help Greg. Ant reminds him he had drugs too. Ryan argues that is different. Stu and Ant go after him to try to change his mind. Stu promises Ryan that he has his back. Ryan agrees to go find a doctor. They’re shocked by what they see inside the prison. John tells Kai what story they’re going to spin. He argues he wouldn’t even be there if Stu wasn’t marrying Sam. They go inside to speak to the governor. They’re surprised that they’ll have to speak to Prison Governor De Leon (Sebastian Galvez) via video chat. Hugo stays with Greg and complains about his actions. They’re approached by kids who want to sell them money from Branco. A girl wants to sell them money from Selma (Paulina Galvez). Branco (Oscar Foronda) and Selma offer them 35% per week.

Greg uses the phone and a message is sent to Selma. Stu, Ryan, and Ant try to find the doctor. The Doctor (Tony Corvillo) pulls a gun on Stu who tries to explain what happened. The Doctor wants money. Stu and the others go inside with them. De Leon tells Kai and John that they’re being held on remand until their case goes before a state judge for a decision. They may have to wait five or six years to face trial. De Leon doesn’t mind alerting the British Embassy although he doubts it’ll do any good. John tries to throw the others under the bus. De Leon says the El Porco Negro operates best according to an ecosystem all of its own. The video call ends. The Doctor tries to give Stu and his friends drugs. Stu attempts to tell him about Greg’s injuries. The doctor shows them someone being punished in a bathroom before urging them to leave.

Ant hits him with a chair and knocks him out. The guy in the bathtub screams for help. He says the doctor was going to harvest his organs. Once the man is freed, he grabs the gun and runs out of the room. Medics arrive and take Greg away on a stretcher. Stu runs into John and Kai. He tells them they need to go. John admits he doesn’t have any answers for them. They follow Greg to a nicer part of the prison. Selma greets them. She questions how rich Greg actually is. Stu can’t say for sure since he’s a private guy. Ryan tells her that Greg tried to smuggle cocaine. Selma suspects he’s not rich after all. She warns them it’s an expensive thing to purchase surgery from inside prison. She says a bunch of Brits may owe her $200,000. John argues that’s crazy. Selma says otherwise.

If they don’t pay, she’s going to kill them. Hugo asks if she’d be happy for them to take a bridging loan from an individual called Branco. Selma reveals Branco is her brother. Once they leave, Kai receives a note from the embassy. They’re aware of the situation. Kai and the others learn they’re facing a hundred years. John believes they’re just making stuff up. The embassy has arranged a cell for them. John thinks it’s a good thing that the embassy is looking after them. The man from the bathtub seems to be watching them. Once they reach their cell, they find Clem waiting for them. Branco says they owe him a pair of working kidneys. The doctor tells him that Ant hit him. Branco shoots him in the head. He wants another kidney for his trouble. He asks who is getting in the bath.

 

Stags Review

The opening episode of Stags was interesting although nothing original at this point. There are many shows like this where idiotic tourists travel abroad, find themselves in trouble, and end up behind bars. One issue here is the overall lack of authenticity. For instance, the series is set in South America, yet that’s not really the case at all.

In some ways, it’s less egregious and almost passable because of the similarities. Nevertheless, the series is actually filmed in Tenerife or the Canary Islands of Spain. The majority of the supposed South American characters are portrayed by Europeans mostly from Spain. So, the series is reaping the benefits of Spain’s tax credits as well as that of the Canary Islands with the latter being very generous. All the while, South America is the butt of the joke.

At the very least, South America should receive something for that. There’s a general lack of authenticity in television and film anymore so Stags isn’t the only culprit but it should still be pointed out. As for the series, the lack of character development early on makes it impossible to genuinely care about any of them.

The only halfway decent character, Ant, has already been killed in a shock to try to keep viewers around. There are some good ideas here although they have been futile at this point. It is a bit long-winded and could’ve been cut down to 30 minutes without any issues. As a result, it’s truthfully just a little dull despite what the characters are going through.

The opening episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Stags can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.