We return to the luckless Mo Najjar (played by comedian Mohammed Amer) in the second (and supposedly final) season of Netflix's Mo, the semi-autobiographical dramedy about a Palestinian asylum seeker living in Houston, managing insecurity, grief, and anger towards a world that too often refuses to acknowledge his humanity.
Picking back up where we left off in the Season 1 finale, Najjar remains stranded in Mexico after, accidentally, illegally crossing the border trying to stop an attempted olive tree heist. As a designated "stateless person," Mo is denied entry back into the US and battles with ICE in a detention centre after attempting to cross back into America.
Mo excels in its moving portrayal of Mo's simultaneous experiences of both pain and joy in the face of intersectional oppression. Amer's optimism and ability to find humour in every scenario prevents the series from plummeting into despair, despite the often miserable circumstances. Plenty of wacky hijinks ensue, with Mo's ankle monitor chiming in at every inopportune time, including the reveal that Maria (Teresa Ruiz), his ex-girlfriend, has rebounded with an Israeli chef (Simon Rex). Sameer Najjar, (played by Omar Elba) Mo's older brother, especially shines in Season 2, as he struggles to market the Najjars's new olive oil business and receives a life-changing diagnosis.
The season (and possibly series) concludes with the Najjar family reuniting in Burin (a Palestinian village located in the northern West Bank), a bittersweet tug-of-war between the Palestinian family connecting with their native land and distant relatives, and experiencing the colonial violence ever-present around them.
Amer's semi-autobiographical comedy is about hope. Mo's core group of characters remain loving, silly and spiritual, regardless of the cruelty that the world inflicts upon them. It's a show about refusing to harden from abuse and mimic the behaviour of your oppressors, and instead nourishing your natural softness. The Najjars are more than their tragedy: they're stubborn, brave, impulsive, empathetic, self-centred, sensitive, quick-witted and hilarious.
In the last episode, Mo sits tearfully in front of an old family video of his late father. His mother, Yusra (Farah Bsaiso), gives him a pep talk, reminding him of their shared resilient Palestinian spirit: "Hamoodi, the world will always try to tear us down, and when they do, we smile. Because we know who we are."
The short-lived but crucial Mo focuses on love and pride in the face of subjugation — it's an exploration of survival, resistance and the search for a place to call home.