
Mo Season 2 Review: A Heart-Rending Homecoming
Mo Season 2 is a hilarious rollercoaster, punctuated with heartfelt moments reflecting on Mo’s heritage and the importance of keeping his family’s history alive, making for a powerful journey for the protagonist and viewers alike.
The season begins with Mo on the wrong side of the border in Mexico, where he ends up entirely by accident, and he is hustling to figure out his way back. His asylum case is in limbo, and the weight of the uncertainty is hard on Mo and his family.
Mo Amer, who plays the titular Mohammed “Mo” Najjar, continues to bring his singular warmth to his character. Although this season finds him in a much more difficult place than the first, his quick wit and affable nature make it hard not to root for him, even as he makes some questionable choices.

Despite the tragic and dehumanizing circumstances, Mo (the character and the series) manages to make moments of humor and joy. This season follows a similar structure to the first, but there is a lot more emphasis this time around on Mo’s desire to visit Palestine, barring the many seemingly arbitrary obstacles in his way via the American immigration system.
Farah Bseiso, who plays Yusra, is the beating heart of the show. Yusra continues to be a pillar of strength in the Najjar family, and Bseiso’s phenomenal performance emphasizes her resilience, especially in the more tender moments when Mo and Yusra reflect on their family and their desire to go to Palestine.
One thing Mo does extremely well is that it has its own identity, and much of this has to be credited to Slovan “Slick” Naim, who is the director of most of Seasons 1 and 2. The show has its own brand of humor that straddles tragedy and hilarity at the same time.
It also remains relevant to present-day events — the U.S. immigration system, the genocide in Gaza, and the aftermath of October 7, 2023 — without coming off as didactic because they fit into the nature of the story that Mo Season 2 is telling.

This season allows each of the members of the family to take a turn in the spotlight, with Sameer, Mo’s elder brother, going on a journey of self-discovery as he finds out that he is on the autism spectrum. We witness a lovely journey with him understanding himself more and gaining more confidence too.
I am also very glad to see Cherien Dabis back in a more prominent role as Nadia, Mo’s sister — she has a combination of a flair for the dramatic and really great comedic timing that works particularly well for the show.
The increased presence of both Nadia and Sameer allows for the show to shift its focus to more closely look at Mo’s relationship with each of his family members. We also get to understand how the loss of Mo’s father affected the entire family, which was lacking in Mo Season 1.

What is perhaps the most emotionally resonant aspect of the show is Mo’s homecoming to Burin, in Palestine.
Any child of immigrants will feel the emotion of the long-awaited reunion of Yusra and her sisters, as well as the shock at seeing all the little cousins being not so little anymore. Mo Season 2 Episode 8, “A Call from God,” is practically engineered to have you tearing up along with the family.
The moments in Burin, where Mo’s uncle shows him where their home used to be, and where settlers are now, truly drive home the grief that Mo, his family, and Palestinians have for the land and the homes they lost. It makes for an extremely powerful finale for a show that has drawn so deeply on Mo’s heritage and identity as a Palestinian American.

There is a moment also where Mo gives the adhan, the call to prayer, and it is one of the only times where I have seen the call given in full on screen. Lots of on-screen discussions around representation turn into tokenizing very quickly, but this is an important inclusion in a show that is about a Palestinian-American Muslim.
There is something to be said for the value of seeing a story like Mo’s unfold on screen. This is perhaps the only show that focuses on a Palestinian-American family in Hollywood, and it is a shame that it suffers from the Netflix two-season curse because there could have been so much more to explore beyond the story so far.
For a show that is written with a rich tapestry of symbols and themes in mind, there will still occasionally be a stray thread that doesn’t seem to fit as well with the rest.
The whole storyline with Guy, the Israeli-American that Maria has moved on to after Mo, and the relationship with Austin don’t quite land when it comes to Guy, but thankfully, it is just a brief spot in an otherwise very solid season.

This season had some heavy lifting to do in terms of ending the show itself, but it does it quite deftly, despite its relatively short 8-episode season.
There is some kind of resolution for all the characters involved, especially for Mo, who learns not to let his pride get in the way so often. Mo reaches a conclusion that emphasizes the resilience of the Najjar family, and of all Palestinians — people who have been rendered stateless by events completely out of their control.
In its second season, Mo remains relevant to current events and cements its identity as a simultaneously uproarious and intensely emotional series.
What did you think of this season of Mo? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Mo is streaming now on Netflix.
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