Unorthodox is a story of liberation and freedom. Esty (Shira Haas) is a young Hasidic Jewish woman raised in a very conservative community in Brooklyn.
Unhappy with her fate, she decides to flee her community and her arranged marriage for a different life across the ocean.
Cultural Shock
The show represents a massive cultural shock for all of us who were born and raised in modern Western society. Even if you are incredibly open-minded, I assure you that some things may disturb you.
Through this show, we have access to a few practices and cultural beliefs that, unfortunately, are not always explained. I would love to know more.
The language they speak in the community is very curious and sounds a bit like German. Many practices are strange to us and sometimes difficult to follow. For example, in the first episode. Why can't they leave the building? I had to do a bit of research to understand what was going on.
The Husband
The men have the power, and a woman is a breeding tool. That was the message I got from the show.
Esty seems "lucky" nonetheless; Yanky (Amit Rahav) isn't a bad person; on the contrary, he is truly innocent. Yet, he kind of annoyed me. There were a few scenes that made me want to scream! He is dominated by the community and the people around him, often unable to think for himself. Why would he share EVERYTHING with his mother? Poor Esty.
Like in other small communities, privacy is a rarity. Everyone seems to have a word to say about Esty's life. They are extremely intrusive in a way that is objectionable for most of us.
Being a Woman
Being a woman clearly leaves Esty at a disadvantage. Moishe (Jeff Wilbusch) left the community and was later allowed to return. He breaks the rules in many ways, but there is always a way to justify it. He always finds some kind of exception that suits him.
Apparently, for a woman, there is none: no exceptions, no forgiveness, no second chances.
Berlin is Freedom
Esty flees to Berlin, where her mother, also expelled from the community, lives now. The city's modernity and the freedom of the music students she met stand in stark contrast to everything she knows. They come from different parts of the world. They have different cultures, genres, languages, and sexual orientations. A diversity that seems to scare and fascinate Esty from the first second.
The scene where she enters the lake and takes her wig off is a symbolic and beautiful metaphor. She is free now—her liberation made by the water, right in front of a spot of historical interest.
The discovery of the self
Who is Esty outside her community? She doesn't know, but she grabs this opportunity with all her strength to find out. She looks frail, small and thin, quite naive. Yet, she is one of the strongest women we could meet.
She grew up in a closed community, surrounded by a sense of protection and restricted rules. She was kept apart from the big wild world out there. Now, she has lost her community and the protective feeling of belonging. She is starting over as if she were a newborn.
What now?
As happens many times at the end of a show, I felt that something was missing. The story isn't over.
Will they come back for the baby, as Moishe said? Will the baby be raised like Esty, believing that her mother abandoned her? Is Yanky finally ready to impose his will on the community and his family? Will Esty be able to raise her child? Will she get a spot in the music school?
Too many questions, a remarkable story.
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