Netflix ‘Thicker Than Water’ Ending, Explained: Is Oumar Dead? What Happens To Fara?

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Directed by Lionel Smila, “Thicker Than Water” makes us privy to the challenges a single woman faces in a patriarchal society and how the situation worsens even more if she belongs to a minority group. Fara had big dreams and ambitions, and she wanted to become the first female news anchor of Arab heritage, but obviously, society wasn’t going to let her realize her dreams so easily. Fara’s father had left the family many years ago, and that incident made them realize that they couldn’t depend on anybody else for their survival. Life had never been easy for the Bentayab sisters, but they had learned to fight the odds and come out of every situation victorious. So, let’s find out where Fara’s journey takes her and if she is able to fend for her family or not.

Spoilers Ahead


‘Thicker Than Water’ Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?

Fara Bentayab had worked with the “24 Info” media house for the last eight years as a correspondent, and she hoped that one day she would become an anchor and lead the prime-time slot. The star of the channel, Margot, was leaving, and Fara knew that she was next in line. She was about to go on air when she realized that instead of her, the station head had chosen an amateur to take Margot’s place, even though it had been only six months since she had joined the channel. Fara knew that it was a clear-cut case of institutionalized racism and that she was not being selected because she was of Arab heritage. Fara’s editor-in-chief, Alban, told her to keep her cool and raise the matter later during a meeting, but Fara had other plans.

At that point in time, Fara didn’t care even if she lost her job because, anyway, she wasn’t getting a lucrative salary that would make her stay. Fara, in a fit of rage, told the world on live television that the media house had no qualms about showing fake news and deceiving the people of the country. Before the editor asked the technicians to disable her mic, the damage had already been done. Fara got fired immediately, and she was not even allowed to enter the building. Though Fara was not given a chance to give any sort of explanation by the board members of the media house, her termination created ripples on social media. The masses supported her and called the media house a fascist organization that oppressed minorities and didn’t give equal rights to its employees. The people put so much pressure on the authorities that the news channel had to reverse its decision, and Fara got a call from her friend and editor, Alban, to come to join them as a news presenter. Fara gladly accepted the offer, though she knew that she would have to work in a very hostile environment, considering the higher management wasn’t happy with her rebellious attitude.

Apart from the problems Fara was facing on the professional front, her private life had also become chaotic, and the entire Bentayab family found themselves in a mess. Fara’s younger brother Selim had gone missing, and the police had called her for interrogation. The police officers told her that Selim had apparently been involved in a hit-and-run case where he had gravely injured an on-duty police officer after breaking a traffic signal. Fara and her sisters, Souhila and Yasmina, had no clue where their brother was, and they were scared that something might have happened to him. When Fara and her sisters came back to her home, they found Selim’s car parked there, though he was still nowhere to be found. The sisters decided that they would take the vehicle to a riot-stricken area and burn it down so that the police wouldn’t harass them anymore and, additionally, couldn’t find any evidence to incriminate their brother.

The sisters had nothing but bona fide intentions, but accidentally, they had sealed the fate of their younger brother. The car was left there on purpose by Selim so that Ketchup and Mayo, two gangsters who worked for Oumar, the drug lord, could find it and take it to their boss. There was a huge consignment of drugs, worth one hundred and fifty million dollars, that was hidden in the car, and when the sisters burned the vehicle, it got destroyed, and some of it fell on the ground. Selim was terrified when he learned that his sisters had unknowingly destroyed the entire stock. He knew that Oumar wouldn’t leave him and that he would have to leave the city immediately if he wanted to stay alive. Selim came to Fara’s office and asked her to get all the necessary documents and meet him at the station. Selim bid adieu to his sister, not knowing when he would be able to see her next. Oumar had no option but to pay a not-so-friendly visit to Fara’s home, and he told her that either she would repay him the amount or be ready to face the consequences.


How Does Fara Tries To Repay The Debt?

Walid Belkacem was Fara’s ex-fiancee, and Oumur had a video of him indulging in some stuff that he wouldn’t have wanted to come to the public’s attention. In the video, it is seen that Samuel, the police captain of the drugs and narcotics bureau, was involved in a friendly swap with Walid, who worked as their informant. Oumar wanted to destroy Samuel, and he wanted Fara to play the video on her channel. Oumar knew that until Fara was under his debt, he could use her as a pawn and coerce her to work for his profits. Fara had no intention of going against the police force, but she didn’t realize that she was dealing with a hardened criminal who was capable of harming her and her family in ways that she couldn’t have imagined.

When Oumar realized that Fara was stalling him, he asked his men to set her mother’s house on fire. Fara’s mother was lucky enough to survive, and the incident scared the entire family. Fara realized that in order to keep her family secure, she would have to play the video and obey Oumar as long as the odds were not in her favor. Fara went and told Walid to leave the city and go into hiding, as she was going to play the video on national television. Walid was shot soon after the video was played on the channel, and the image of the police was tarnished in front of the entire country. They were blamed for corruption and all sorts of things, and Oumar got the revenge that he had craved from the law enforcement authorities.

Fara realized that she would have to figure out a way to pay the debt; otherwise, Oumar would keep using her and threatening her family. Fara got to know that the drugs that the police department generally seizes were taken to the recycling center and kept there before being burned down in the incineration chamber. She knew that if she could somehow steal from there, she could settle her debt and save her family. Yasmina worked in the government office that recruited people for the recycling center, and Fara asked her if she could get an individual a job there. Yasmina contacted her colleague, Ali, as she knew that he could help her with the recruitment. Fara had decided that her niece, Lina, would work there and inform them about whatever she saw in the facility so that they got a better idea about the exact spot where the seized goods were brought. But their plan backfired when Lina was caught by police, and Souhila got to know that Fara had put her daughter in a precarious situation without telling her. Souhila got angry at both her sisters, as she didn’t expect them to behave so recklessly.


What Do Samuel And Fara Plot Against Oumar?

During the time Fara was planning to steal from the recycling center, she was contacted by Samuel, who hadn’t talked to her since she had reported him. Samuel tried to make Fara understand that if she helped him, then he would conduct a crackdown and make sure that the entire syndicate was put behind bars. But Fara was scared to go against Oumar, as she had seen the implications of it. After a lot of convincing, Fara came on board. She called Ketchup and Mayo and told them that she had some intel that she wanted to share with Oumar. She told them that their hideout was going to be raided by the police, and they needed to shift their stash to some other secured location.

For the first time in “Thicker than Water,” Oumar believed Fara, and he decided to immediately move his entire stock to another location. He asked Fara to bring a van from the parking lot of her news channel and come with them to the new location. Samuel was constantly following Fara, and he had informed his colleagues in the police department to be prepared to conduct a raid. In the seventh episode of Thicker Than Water, we come to know that the mission was only partially successful, as even though Samuel and his colleagues were able to seize the entire consignment, they were not able to catch Oumar and his men. Fara had backstabbed Oumar, and she knew that the consequences of it weren’t going to be very nice. Oumar got Fara kidnapped, and it felt like this time, he was not going to forgive her for her indiscretion.


‘Thicker Than Water’ Ending Explained: What Was Fara’s Secret Plan? Is Oumar Dead?

Fara begged Oumar not to kill her, and she told him that she had every intention of paying him back, and she put the entire blame on the police force. Oumar did not believe her, but she made him talk to his partner, who was a lawyer and was handling Lina’s case. Oumar’s girlfriend told him that Lina was taken into custody for stealing some expensive bags from the recycling center. Fara told Oumar that she was asking her to steal all those things so that she could repay him, and in addition to that, she also told him that she had a plan to get his entire shipment back. Oumar, for the last time, decided to trust Fara, though he took Lina into his captivity so that he knew that Fara wouldn’t double-cross him yet again. Fara and her sisters realized that this time they would have to execute the plan perfectly. Souhila, who generally stayed away from all these things, also came on board and decided to take an active part in the plan. It was decided that Fara’s news channel would do a live telecast showing how the police disposed of the drugs that they seized in a raid. This live telecast was also the brainchild of Fara, who, under the pretext of improving the reputation of the police department, just wanted to play the situation to her advantage.

Eglantine Galtier, the news channel correspondent, was standing next to the incinerator when Oumar and his men attacked the newsroom and took it under their control. The police who had reached the recycling center were told to put the entire shipment in one of the vans if they didn’t want the blood of two innocent journalists on their hands. The police weren’t ready to do so, and that’s when Fara told Eglantine to tell them that if they didn’t follow orders, then the entire fiasco would be televised live, and they would have to explain why they chose to save the drug consignment instead of the lives of the innocent people. The police agreed, and they sent Eglantine with a van full of drugs.

Fara, Souhila, and Yasmina knew that to gain leverage over Oumar and the police, they needed to have a considerable amount of stock in their possession. They stopped Eglantine’s van midway and mixed the real drugs with the fake ones that they had brought from their home. Fara, her mother, and her sisters had made these fake packets, which looked like replicas of the cocaine bricks but instead had flour inside them.

Back at the hideout, Lina stabbed Mayo and escaped from his captivity. Oumar had no clue whether Lina was safe or not, but he told Fara that her niece would come to her eventually once she gave him the consignment. Fara revealed to him that the cocaine bricks were replicas and that the real stock was in their possession, which she would give her only when she saw her niece. Fara and Oumar pointed guns at each other, there were shots fired, and the police arrived at the scene. Oumar probably died on the spot, and Fara somehow managed to survive. Fara and her sisters still had the drugs in their possession, so nobody could do anything to them as they threatened to burn it all if anything happened to their family.

Towards the end of “Thicker Than Water”, Fara’s father had a sort of reconciliation with Selim, and they both came back home together finally. Souhila also realized that her daughter was growing up and she had to let her be, and it was fine if she didn’t feel in control at times. Souhila realized that Bryan Kiate was a good boy, and she even went and told him that if things went right in the future, she wouldn’t mind him dating Lina. Probably in the second season of “Thicker Than Water” (if there is one), we will get to know what the sisters did with the huge amount of drugs they had in their possession and if their lives became any better after the life-threatening and bizarre experiences that they had gone through.


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Sushrut Gopesh
Sushrut Gopesh
I came to Mumbai to bring characters to life. I like to dwell in the cinematic world and ponder over philosophical thoughts. I believe in the kind of cinema that not necessarily makes you laugh or cry but moves something inside you.

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