Character Relationship Map: Arzé

Characters

• Arzé (played by Diamand Abou Abboud) — protagonist

  Arzé is a single mother in Beirut who earns a living baking and delivering sfiha. Determined to help her son Kinan, she steals her sister Layla’s bracelet to pawn it and buy him a scooter, then search...

• Layla (played by Betty Taoutel) — supporting

  Layla is Arzé’s sister and Kinan’s aunt. She refuses to sell her bracelet, a gift from her absent lover Zain, but Arzé steals and pawns it. Layla comforts Kinan about his wish to leave Lebanon, later...

• Kinan (played by Bilal Al Hamwi) — supporting

  Kinan is Arzé’s eighteen-year-old son. He hopes to emigrate to Europe and find his father, and receives the scooter Arzé buys for him as a birthday present. After it is stolen, he searches with Arzé,...

• Dina (played by Shaden Fakih) — supporting

  Dina is Arzé’s shopkeeper friend. During Arzé and Kinan’s search for the stolen scooter, she helps Arzé change her clothing so she can blend into different neighborhoods. Dina becomes increasingly exa...

• Yasmine (played by Katy Younes) — supporting

  Yasmine is Kinan’s girlfriend. She encourages him to stay in Lebanon and take part in the protests, but later reveals that she is emigrating, prompting an angry reaction from him. They eventually reaf...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Kinan → Yasmine (Romantic Girlfriend) — Their relationship is loving but challenged by conflicting decisions about emigration.

  Kinan tells his girlfriend Yasmine that he wants to emigrate, and later they reaffirm their love before he properly says goodbye.

• Layla → Kinan (Family Aunt And Nephew) — Layla acts as a protective and emotionally supportive relative.

  Layla comforts Kinan after his argument with Yasmine and accepts his wish to emigrate, while worrying about his dangerous sea journey.

• Arzé → Layla (Family Sisters) — The sisters share a strained but ultimately loving relationship.

  Arzé asks her sister Layla to sell her bracelet, and later returns home to reconcile with her after admitting she stole it.

• Arzé → Kinan (Family Mother And Son) — Their close family bond is tested by arguments about the scooter, Kinan's future, and the truth about his father.

  Arzé is a single mother raising Kinan and bakes pies as their only source of income. She buys him a scooter for his eighteenth birthday.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Arzé → Dina (Social Friend) — Dina is a practical friend who assists Arzé during the scooter search.

  Arzé receives help from her increasingly exasperated shopkeeper friend Dina while changing clothes to blend into different neighborhoods.

Story Analysis

A mother and son navigate poverty, loss, migration, and family secrets while trying to recover a stolen scooter in Beirut.

Plot Progression

1. A Scooter for Survival — Arzé struggles to support Kinan through pie deliveries and decides he needs a scooter. When Layla refuses to sell her bracelet, Arzé secretly pawns it and obtains the vehicle.
2. The Stolen Birthday Gift — Kinan receives the scooter on his eighteenth birthday but reveals his desire to emigrate. The celebration ends when the scooter disappears, while the police provide no useful help.
3. Across Divided Neighborhoods — Arzé and Kinan chase uncertain clues through Beirut's different neighborhoods. Dina helps Arzé disguise herself, while Kinan's relationship with Yasmine becomes strained by emigration.
4. Truths Beneath the Loss — Kinan learns that his father vanished before his birth, and Arzé confesses stealing Layla's bracelet. Layla disappears, leading them to a destroyed apartment building and an emotional reconciliation.
5. The Scrapyard Escape — Kinan and Yasmine say goodbye, and friends provide a new scooter lead. Arzé reveals the truth about Zain, then joins Kinan in reclaiming the scooter from the scrapyard.