Since its first season, Leeh La’ (Why Not) Series has repeatedly addressed issues that may seem somewhat controversial to Egyptian society. From young women living alone in the first season to kafala (guardianship) in the second season, the series sparked plenty of conversations and debates since its debut in 2020.
In the third season, Leeh La’ explores the story of a divorced woman, played by Nelly Karim, who falls in love with Kareem, played by Ahmed Tarek, and faces society’s judgment and her son’s jealousy.
The 15-episode season addresses several issues in Egyptian society affecting teenagers, adults, and senior citizens, according to the “Egyptian Streets” website.
Sherry, the character played by Nelly Karim, is a divorced Egyptian mother of two teenagers. When she decides to remarry, her son is furious. Feelings of jealousy, overprotectiveness, or fearing how his friends would look at him stemmed from society’s judgment of single mothers and divorced women.
In Egypt, many perceive single mothers as women supposed to dedicate their lives solely to their children. As the overarching theme, the subject is addressed throughout the series through conversations between Sherry and her female friends, who advise her to live her life the way she prefers.
The series also shows a toxic relationship between Sherbiny (Youssef Omar) and Salma (Lara Taki), university students. A deeply toxic partner, Sherbiny ignores Lara, yells at her, turns tables against her in arguments, is a bad influence on her, and treats her disrespectfully. Yet, Lara continuously goes back to him and sometimes even apologizes to get him to accept her and remain in the relationship.
In several incidents, the series shows how easy it is for young women to settle for much less than they deserve and portrays how harmful it is to be in an unhealthy relationship.
Throughout the series, it is clear that Sherry treats her son, Yaseen (Moataz Hisham), and daughter, Yasmeen (Farida Ragab), differently. While she considers Yasmeen, a responsible young woman, she sees Yaseen as too young to shoulder responsibility and constantly feels the need to do everything for him so he can feel comfortable.
In multiple incidents, Sherry prioritizes her son’s well-being over hers and sometimes the whole family’s comfort. From the very first episode, we see that, despite both being university students, Sherry’s daughter works a part-time job while her son gets daily pocket money.
Only towards the end of the series, when her daughter confronts her, does Sherry rethink her parenting strategy and the different upbringings her children experienced.
