TV Show review
October 30, 2022 · 60 min · TV-MA · Returning Series · Action · Drama · Adventure
Based on 2 seasons, 12 episodes · through January 26, 2025
SAS Rogue Heroes is a fast-paced action drama about the creation of the British Special Air Service during World War Two. The series focuses on the wild, rule-breaking soldiers who carried out dangerous desert missions. While the show is highly masculine and action-heavy, it includes some noticeable modern diversity elements. A fictional Algerian female spy is added as a main character to give women a bigger role in the story. There are also visible queer themes, including strong romantic subtext between two male soldiers and a spy chief who wears women's clothing.
Why 57%? See the score breakdownBreakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for SAS Rogue Heroes.
Woke representation / casting
The show features a highly diverse fictional character, Eve Mansour, a French-Algerian female spy who plays a massive role in the Allied war effort. This character was invented to add female representation to a historically male story. Additionally, the show highlights queer representation by depicting spy chief Dudley Clarke wearing women's clothing and makeup. The relationship between soldiers Paddy Mayne and Eoin McGonigal is also cast and directed with heavy, visible homoerotic coding. These choices signal a strong effort to include modern diversity and LGBTQ+ elements in a classic World War II setting.
45%
Woke political dialogue
There is almost no modern activist or social justice dialogue in the series. The characters speak using standard historical military language and rough soldier banter, mixed with some stylized modern humor and a punk-rock soundtrack. No characters give modern lectures about race, gender, whiteness, or patriarchy. The dialogue remains focused on the war, tactics, and personal rivalries.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
While the main focus is on combat and brotherhood, the show includes clear identity-driven subplots. Fictional spy Eve Mansour's storyline highlights female empowerment and Algerian anti-colonial resistance. More prominently, the intense bond between Paddy Mayne and Eoin McGonigal is framed with strong romantic and physical tenderness. This creates a visible, queer-coded relationship that goes beyond standard military camaraderie. The show also highlights Dudley Clarke's cross-dressing as a key part of his personality.
45%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series features a standard critique of stuffy, bureaucratic British military leaders, who are shown as incompetent compared to the rugged rogue heroes. However, this is a very common trope in classic military films and does not cross over into a modern activist critique of Western civilization, capitalism, or systemic whiteness. Traditional patriotism and the fight against fascism remain the core values of the narrative.
0%
Woke character or canon changes
The show makes major, identity-driven changes to history. It invents the completely fictional female Algerian spy Eve Mansour to insert female agency and diversity into the historically all-male origins of the SAS. The series also leans heavily into speculative historical rumors about Paddy Mayne's sexuality, turning his friendship with Eoin McGonigal into an emotionally intense, queer-coded romance. While Dudley Clarke's cross-dressing has a real basis, the show amplifies it for dramatic effect.
50%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The show received noticeable backlash from history buffs and anti-woke viewers on forums like Reddit, Quora, and AR15.com. These viewers complained that the BBC was trying to modernize and woke-ify British history by shoehorning a fictional female spy into a male-dominated story. Others criticized the series for focusing on sexual identity, arguing that the homoerotic coding of Paddy Mayne and the emphasis on cross-dressing were unnecessary additions designed to meet modern DEI standards.
45%
Creator track record context
The main creative minds behind the show have very low woke scores. Creator Steven Knight and author Ben Macintyre are known for traditional historical dramas that avoid progressive activism. Directors Tom Shankland and Stephen Woolfenden also focus on universal human storytelling. The moderate score is driven solely by standard BBC production executives who operate under typical corporate diversity guidelines.
20%
Production
