TV shows we love: Who Were We Running From?

Picture this: you spend the majority of your childhood jumping from hotel to hotel, living in luxurious suites all around the world, with no homework to worry about. Sounds like every child’s dream, right? In Turkish Netflix series Who Were We Running From?, that is real life for teenager Bambi who travels around with her mum.

The two of them are inseparable and polar opposites. The Mother, a nameless character in the show, always dresses in all-black and hides behind her large sunglasses. Bambi, the daughter, sports colourful clothing decorated with daisies and ponytails that make her look younger than she is. Perhaps it is deliberate, perhaps not. What at first appears as an endless vacation quickly flips over as the mother-daughter duo live like fugitives, always on the run, looking over their shoulder.

Mother’s mysterious and turbulent past slowly unfolds as dangerous characters pop in and out of their lives. Who they are running from is the key question for viewers but even for Bambi who tries to understand why they always leave in a rush, leave no trace behind and why she can only trust her mother.

The thriller series makes references to fairytales, a subtle charming detail to notice. Bambi and her mother refer to strangers they meet as characters in their story, even Bambi’s name brings to mind the tale of the baby dear lost and helpless without its mother. And they read this story throughout the series but something remains unclear: is the mother’s watchful, eye-hawk protection helping Bambi or putting her in danger?

Flashbacks to the mother’s dark past crash with the beautiful, often remote, locations the pair travel to. Murders, high speed chases and twisted family relationships all come together. In just seven suspenseful episodes.