Radom – As the first episode of We Were The Lucky Ones begins, Halina Kurc (Joey King) and others are seen at the Red Cross Office in Lodz, Poland in 1945. The receptionist yells for Halina to come forward so she can give her a letter. Halina gets emotional and remembers moments from the past while reading the letter. In Radom, Poland in 1938, Halina tells Selim Kajler (Michael Aloni) that the test tubes have arrived. Mila Kurc (Hadas Yaron) complains about Halina being so loud since Selim might’ve been with someone. Halina has to meet Addy. Addy (Logan Lerman) is happy to see Halina when she arrives. Madam Jagoda (Anja Karmanski) is there as well. When they’re alone, Halina tells Addy that Jagoda used to fawn over their mother’s dresses. Now, she won’t even come into the shop.

Halina thinks she is only nice to Addy because he is on the radio. She claims minor celebrity softens any anti-Semite. Sol (Lior Ashkenazi) and Nechuma (Robin Weigert) prepare for Addy’s arrival. Once Jakob arrives, he confirms Bella Tatar (Eva Feiler) is coming. Genek (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) comes in and talks to Jakob (Amit Rahav) about his classes. Halina finally makes it and pretends Addy missed his train. Addy surprises them by entering the room. Later, Genek speaks to Sol about the Tajchman’s store being vandalized last week on Sabbath. Halina and Mila talk about a man. Addy tells Nechuma that one song on the radio doesn’t make enough income. The family eventually convinces Addy to play something else for them.

Later, Selim tells Mila to sit down and he’ll help her mother. Halina complains about Mila playing Chopin constantly and only worrying about marriage and procreation. Addy and Genek talk about things getting worse. Genek insists it’ll pass because Radom is not Germany. In private, Halina tells Addy that Genek may have a girl. She believes it’s serious this time. Halina argues Addy takes it for granted to be so sure. Addy tells a woman outside that his mother has disinvited him to Passover. She doesn’t think it’s safe for him to travel across German borders. She tells him to always listen to his mother. One day, Addy writes a letter to his mother saying he is coming home for Passover. Halina notices a man lighting a cigarette outside. Adam Eichenwald (Sam Woolf) comes in and apologizes for being late.

He shows her the design and explains he tries to design “free of untruths”. Genek speaks to another man about the Fuhrer’s actions. Genek believes he will be stopped. Mr. Nowak (Bo Poraj) interrupts to ask Genek for a word in private. Later, Genek goes home to Herta Seifert (Moran Rosenblatt). Genek reveals that Mr. Nowak offered him a demotion today so he quit. Herta suggests they’ll have deprived themselves for nothing if there is no war. Addy goes to the Polish Consulate in Paris to ask about joining the army. He explains he just wants to go home. Addy is warned traveling for him would be a death sentence. Felicia cries during the family gathering. Mila worries that the baby hates her. Nechuma says they talked to Dorota and she wants to help. Halina talks to Adam about riding out the war somewhere else.

She tells him how their parents kept them alive on scraps during the Great War. Halina says war is not a good reason to get married, but Adam argues he didn’t say anything about marriage. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada declared on Germany. Jakob tells Bella he is leaving because they’re being sent east to Lvov to fight. He asks her to come find him in Lvov if anything happens. Halina tells Adam they’re asking him to perform a senseless act of patriotism. She asks him not to go. Adam doesn’t think he has a choice. Genek says goodbye to Herta. Selim meets Genek at the station. In the morning, Halina learns Nechuma and Sol are going to stay at home just in case. Their conversation is interrupted when they hear soldiers marching outside.

Mila makes it home and yells for Dorota. She finds a note from Dorota saying she is sorry. Halina knocks on the door. She invites Mila to come home with her because they have room and can help with Felicia. At the Polish Consulate in Paris, Addy’s name is called. He ends up going back home. Addy listens to the BBC on the radio and learns that Poland has fallen. Halina learns that the Germans are going to take their business. Herta spots Mila in the street and offers to walk her home. She reveals she is going to Lvov. Halina tries to help her parents hide stuff in their home. Mila asks if she should bring something for the foreman tomorrow. Sol says it’s illegal for her to bring her to the factory. He offers to stay home with Felicia instead so they can get settled into their new jobs. That night, Mila finds out how to hide Felicia in her jacket.

Halina struggles at work. She gets upset when the soldiers beat a woman nearby. Once she makes it home, she tells Mila about her new job. Mila tells her how Felicia did. Halina gets upset when she learns that Sol took potatoes from the cafeteria. She warns them that the Germans will kill them for much less. When the baby starts crying, they hear a knock at the door. Bella enters with news from Lvov. Jakob says he’s been missing since the night Lvov fell to the Soviets. Life is relatively calm there. Nechuma suspects Selim was just needed somewhere else. Sol convinces Bella to spend the night since it isn’t safe outside at night. In the middle of the night, Bella tells Halina she is going to go with Jakob. She just isn’t sure how she’ll do it yet.

Halina talks about Mila who is just remarkable. Bella reminds her there will be only so many choices to leave. Halina says okay.

 

We Were The Lucky Ones Review

The opening episode of We Were The Lucky Ones started strong but faltered in a few areas preventing it from being gripping. For starters, it seems like three similar shows were released in the last few months. All The Light We Cannot See was released in November and it was fairly original for this genre. It probably would’ve helped if the series had been delayed to space out the releases a little.

The first few minutes were pretty good. Then, the series didn’t really make the characters all that sympathetic and that’s necessary for a series like this to work. It shouldn’t feel this way because the story is based on something true, but the central characters were in much better situations than others. They were thriving and just didn’t have the urgency to flee when they had the opportunity. The opening episode didn’t do a great job of portraying the harsh realities of the time since the worst thing that happened was Halina having to get her hands dirty.

That will obviously change in future episodes, but this would’ve hit harder if it had happened sooner. The casting is mostly good although a bit humorous considering it was able to bypass the modern filters and actually be what it should be. It’s funny how that happened for this project in particular, but most of the performances were strong. The biggest issue is the lack of connection to any of the characters after the first episode.

The episode made their situations seem insignificant with Halina having to work in the field being the most nightmarish scenario. Some of the scenes are much too dark making it difficult to tell the characters apart and it doesn’t help that many of them look so similar. The first few minutes were fairly effective, but everything after that was just flat. Still, this was an easy watch that has the potential to become deeper and grittier as it progresses.

The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of We Were The Lucky Ones will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.