Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Shoot-outs in the desert wilderness; night-time parachute drops amid sandstorms; outfoxing General Rommel. That? That was nothing compared with what awaits the Special Air Service, the British army’s secret weapon — and its largest collection of loose cannons. Steven Knight’s hit military drama SAS: Rogue Heroes returns with a second, six-part series about the real-life mavericks and madmen of this most unorthodox, unruly unit. Picking up after the Allied victory in north Africa, these episodes unfold during the gruelling 1943 invasion of Italy, where the squadron is tasked with making sure the coast is clear for a full-scale landing by sea. Perhaps pre-empting further grumbles about historical embellishment, the show now opens with a playful new title-card warning that “this is NOT a history lesson”. What it is, however, is another raucous, irreverent instalment of mythologised war stories.With the unit’s founder David Stirling (Connor Swindells) having been captured at the end of the last series — and now limited to cameo appearances from his POW cell — the unenviable task of overseeing this rabble falls to the reluctant Major Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell). An intense, mercurial man, he’s not only at war with fascists, but with his starchy superiors, God almighty and just about anyone else looking for a fight. Most of all, though, he’s conflicted within himself, struggling to reconcile his hot head, cold blood and William Blake-quoting poet’s heart.The show too seems caught between being an unapologetic testosterone-fuelled vehicle for macho angst and second world war nostalgia, and wanting to offer a more thoughtful, emotional exploration of combat. Midnight beach battles and daring stand-offs with tanks alternate with moments of unvarnished horror: comrades condemned to watery deaths, innocent civilians caught in carnage. Heroism is still prevalent but it comes burdened by guilt and trauma.The shifts in tone can jar. Psychological depth, meanwhile, is seemingly a privilege afforded to only a select few, with female and non-British characters left either thinly drawn or laden with dated clichés. Rogue Heroes is ultimately a show made in its subjects’ image: what it lacks in finesse and subtlety, it makes up for by getting the job done. It’s certainly primetime entertainment. So long as it reliably keeps hitting that mark, it’s hard to imagine Knight being told to stand down any time soon.★★★☆☆Episode 1 on BBC1 on January 1 at 9pm. Episode 2 on BBC1 on January 2 at 9pm. New episodes on Sundays and on iPlayer
