The Saudi Arabian disaster drama film From The Ashes is back with a sequel, The Pit. The bullies in the first installment, Heba, Mona, and Mashael, have now changed schools, and they’re no longer friends. After everything that they’d been through, from the school fire to the false murder allegations, the three girls had lost their innocent spark, and no matter what they did, they couldn’t move on from their past. Seham, the vice principal from the previous school, had been appointed as the principal of the new school, High School 887. The film opens with a radio announcement stating that there will be moderate to heavy showers in Jeddah that could likely result in flooding in low-lying areas. Seham wondered if they must send the students home, but Widad (who also used to be a teacher at the previous school) stated that sending the students home instead of taking their exams wouldn’t be the right move. The students had two exams that day, but the pouring rain soon became the reason behind a disaster. The film is based on real events, and it unfolds in Jeddah in 2013. For those who might not be aware—in 2013 there were flash floods in Saudi Arabia that resulted in deaths and catastrophe. It was said to be the heaviest rainfall in 25 years.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did the girls blame themselves for the disaster?
At the new school, Mona desperately tried to win over Maria, one of the popular girls. From doing her homework to helping her in exams, Mona did whatever Maria asked of her. Quite surprisingly, the girl who used to be one of the bullies in the previous school had now become a victim. Unlike Mona, who was desperately trying to fit in, Mashael preferred to stay away from Maria. It was only after she discovered that Mona’s mother was planning on fixing her daughter’s marriage that she decided to have a word with Mona. The once close friends had drifted apart after they were pitted against one another and accused of murdering Amira, a student who’d died in the fire.
Maria made racist remarks when Mashael tried to strike up a conversation with Mona. She tried to humiliate her by repeatedly stating that she was a janitor’s daughter. Mashael was furious, and she couldn’t stop herself from hitting Maria. The two got into a physical altercation, and although Mona tried to stop them, they refused to calm down. Maria and Mashael’s mothers were called by the principal, and the girls were told to behave. When Mashael noticed Mona go to a side alley within the school compound, she followed her. Mona was visibly disturbed to see Mashael there. She blamed Mashael for trying to ruin her friendship with Maria. Mashael tried to explain how Maria had been using Mona, but she figured it was a useless endeavor. She added that she had something important to share, but before she could mention what it was, Maria arrived at the spot. She detested Mashael, and once again the two got into a bitter fight. A construction was taking place near the school; somehow the digging of the soil had an impact on the school ground, and the spot where Maria and Mashael got into a fight suddenly cracked open, and the girl fell into a pit.
Mashael had injured her leg, and she could barely move; Maria suffered a few scratches, and Mona too wasn’t in the best condition. The girls couldn’t figure out what had happened. Maria, of course, started to blame Mashael, but she soon realized that the blame game wouldn’t accelerate the rescue mission. They screamed for help, but no one could hear them. The girls soon started to self-reflect, and they wondered if they were being punished by God for their past mistakes. Mona believed that her mother wanted to marry her off because she was a burden to her. She’d recently discovered that her father was having an affair with a woman who lived in the same building. She told her mother about it, and her parents ended up separating. They moved in with her mother’s extended family, and Mona found it impossible to concentrate on her studies there. She regretted telling her mother about her father’s secret because it had clearly made their lives worse. Moreover, Mona didn’t want to get married; her father had previously gotten her married and it only lasted for two months. She was convinced that once again she would end up getting divorced and her life would pretty much be a disaster. Soon Mashael stated that maybe she deserved to be punished because she’d recently angered her father. She had gotten herself into a shady side hustle, delivering cigarettes for cash, and her father caught her in the act. She felt ashamed of herself, and although she’d tried to explain to her father that she’d done nothing wrong, he refused to listen to her. She regretted letting him down, and she wondered if she was stuck in the pit because she deserved it. Maria thought that as youngsters they were allowed to make mistakes, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel guilty of something she’d done in the past. One day when she met her boyfriend, she carried her friend Lama’s bag because she feared her father would recognize her otherwise. When she and her boyfriend were inside a car right outside their school, a curious man showed up demanding Maria show her ID. She managed to run away, but she left the bag behind. The man complained to the principal, and the next day Lama was scolded in front of the entire class. Maria didn’t admit the truth even then, although the parents eventually found out her secret, and they stopped talking to her for some time. All three girls regretted their mistakes and begged God to forgive them.
Did Maria, Mashael, and Mona become friends?
Even after they’d fallen into the pit, Maria and Mashael continued arguing with each other. Surprisingly, even Mona got into a heated conversation with Maria! She genuinely considered Maria her friend and defended her when she made mean remarks, but she completely lost her cool when Maria spoke to her rudely. She had always been good to Maria; she did whatever Maria asked her to do, and she didn’t even pay heed to her hurtful remarks, but even then Maria didn’t spare her from criticism. Mona realized that Mashael was right; Maria only cared about herself. She figured that she never really considered Maria her friend, and she ultimately came to the conclusion that Maria was just an annoying girl who deserved to be called out. Mona got violent with Maria, but they were soon reminded that focusing on their personal differences wouldn’t really help them escape from the pit. If they really wanted to survive, they had to unite. When the water level started to rise, they helped one another, and it brought them close. Sharing their vulnerable stories made them realize that they were all flawed in more ways than one, and that contributed to making them feel a sense of camaraderie.
Did Maria survive?
As soon as Heba learned that Mona and Mashael were missing, she couldn’t concentrate on her exams. While the teachers came to the conclusion that the girls must have run away from school, Heba refused to believe it. Deep down she knew that even if they were no longer the best of friends, if Mona and Mashael planned to do something together, they would’ve informed her. She frantically searched for her friends and even briefly got stuck out in the pouring rain on the terrace. Heba tried to explain to Principal Seham that maybe the girls were somewhere within the school premises, but she didn’t believe her. She was confident that her staff had thoroughly searched for the girls, whereas in reality, the janitor didn’t check the alley. When Heba noticed that the school guard was making announcements on the loudspeaker, she decided to use the system to her advantage. She repeatedly called out her friends’ names, and they responded with helpless cries. Heba soon tracked down her friends, and she begged Seham and Widad to help her. The Civil Defense had arrived to rescue the girls. Instead of fighting about who would go first, Maria insisted Mona and Mashael go before her. This suggested that the life-threatening situation had significantly impacted Maria, and she was actively trying to be a better person. Although it appeared that Maria might not have survived because the water level had increased just when she was about to be rescued, the ending confirms that Maria survived. She continued to be friends with Mona and Mashael, and while at one point they had thought they might die in the pit, the girls finally got the chance to live their dream of graduating from school.
Did Seham blame herself for the disaster?
When Seham had to manage another disaster, she didn’t really know how to react. She wanted to believe that it wasn’t the school’s or her fault, but in an attempt to protect herself, she made the mistake of not listening to Heba, who knew her friends better than anyone else. Sahar (Maria’s mother) and Marzouka (Mashael’s mother) figured that there was something odd about the whole situation. Widad and Seham were not on the same page about finding the missing girls, and Widad mistakenly blurted out that Seham was responsible for the fire in the previous school.
The Pit’s ending had confirmed that Seham was partly responsible for the fire. She had dropped a lit cigarette near a haystack, and her curse was to live with this constant guilt of being responsible for the death of her colleague and a student. Widad soon corrected herself, stating that she wasn’t directly responsible and that it was a cigarette butt that had caused the fire, but her accusation was enough reason for Marzouka to charge at Seham. She had burned her face because of the fire, and she couldn’t forget how the disaster had destroyed the lives of so many students. She wondered how Seham managed to sleep at night even after knowing that she was responsible for what had happened. Well, living with the constant guilt wasn’t easy for Seham, and even after the girls were rescued and everything turned out fine, Seham struggled to forgive herself. She regretted not sending the girls home when she had a gut feeling that something would go wrong, but then again, she couldn’t have possibly predicted this! She realized that instead of ignoring her mistakes, she had to accept them and try to be a better version of herself. Although Seham’s secret was out, it looks like no one took any action against her. Likely because a significant amount of time had passed, and it was impossible to gather evidence to prove her guilty. Moreover, there wasn’t really any proof that could’ve been used against her, so Seham’s punishment was to just live with the knowledge that she was indirectly responsible for the fire.
What does the future have in store for the girls?
From The Ashes: The Pit’s ending revealed that Maria’s father, Hussam, was blamed for the accident. Well, the men from his construction business were responsible for digging the big pit where the girls were trapped. The girls finally graduated from school, and they looked forward to going to university and pursuing higher education. We also discover that after Maria was rescued, she admitted to Lama that she was responsible for framing her, and although Lama was disappointed in Maria, she ultimately forgave her. Maria was no longer the entitled mean girl anymore; she was empathetic and loving. Mashael, Maria, and Mona had started to appreciate their families all the more after the disaster. The thought of never getting the chance to be with them taught them to appreciate their loved ones. Their families too learned to look past their trivial mistakes and showered them with love. Also, Heba, Mona, and Mashael were friends again, and knowing that they had each other’s back helped them feel a sense of comfort. After her husband got a second wife, Mona’s mother divorced him and married another man, and it looks like Mona is supportive of her decision. The film comes to a happy ending, suggesting that there will not likely be another follow-up installment.
