Two great seasons. Skip season three.
Seasons 1 and 2 are nail biting spy thrillers that will cost you sleep as you binge-watch late into the night. The series is filled with unique, memorable characters, especially Hector De Jean many unexpected plot twists. Its a bit anti-American at times (starting with the David Bowie theme song, "I'm afraid of Americans"). Still, the supposed heroes and villains all do things that fall into gray areas and the ending of season two finds a balance between simple ideas of good and evil. The show should have ended then.
Season 3 seems determined to trash all the characters so well-developed in Seasons 1 and 2. The subtlety is lost, political correctness takes over. Lots of Trump bashing (though I don't think he is specifically mentioned by name, just the "administration"). There is some very unsubtle diversity hiring. There is a new Latin agent Torres, who we are told is some sort of genius with an IQ off the charts. He seems to have wandered in from a martial arts movie, doing choreographed fight scenes with skill, but reciting his lines like he is high. Maybe mispronouncing words on purpose and speaking lines woozily while tilting his head erratically is his way of proving that his is no ordinary intellect.
There is also an African-American, millennial female who seems more like a whiny, weepy college freshman. I'm surprised she isn't carded at the swanky bars where the agents go to discuss their spy craft. We are improbably told by another character that she has "an elegant mind." Her job is to get a genius Nigerian scientist not to turn over a secret weapon he has designed to the Chinese. It's hard to believe she could either be an agent or be the handler of other agents.
Instead of constantly telling us how smart these new characters are, maybe the show could have simply shown us these qualities. Different actors would have helped. Still, I'm sure the HR department is now happy.
Season 3 also replaces careful plotting with gimmicks, like hackers who can quickly break into any system and accomplish just about anything on a massive, city or nationwide scale.
If I have gone on too long about Season 3, it's because it wrecked the positive vibes I felt after Season 2 and irredeemably ruined the show.. Watch them all if you want, but you've been warned.
Seasons 1 and 2 are nail biting spy thrillers that will cost you sleep as you binge-watch late into the night. The series is filled with unique, memorable characters, especially Hector De Jean many unexpected plot twists. Its a bit anti-American at times (starting with the David Bowie theme song, "I'm afraid of Americans"). Still, the supposed heroes and villains all do things that fall into gray areas and the ending of season two finds a balance between simple ideas of good and evil. The show should have ended then.
Season 3 seems determined to trash all the characters so well-developed in Seasons 1 and 2. The subtlety is lost, political correctness takes over. Lots of Trump bashing (though I don't think he is specifically mentioned by name, just the "administration"). There is some very unsubtle diversity hiring. There is a new Latin agent Torres, who we are told is some sort of genius with an IQ off the charts. He seems to have wandered in from a martial arts movie, doing choreographed fight scenes with skill, but reciting his lines like he is high. Maybe mispronouncing words on purpose and speaking lines woozily while tilting his head erratically is his way of proving that his is no ordinary intellect.
There is also an African-American, millennial female who seems more like a whiny, weepy college freshman. I'm surprised she isn't carded at the swanky bars where the agents go to discuss their spy craft. We are improbably told by another character that she has "an elegant mind." Her job is to get a genius Nigerian scientist not to turn over a secret weapon he has designed to the Chinese. It's hard to believe she could either be an agent or be the handler of other agents.
Instead of constantly telling us how smart these new characters are, maybe the show could have simply shown us these qualities. Different actors would have helped. Still, I'm sure the HR department is now happy.
Season 3 also replaces careful plotting with gimmicks, like hackers who can quickly break into any system and accomplish just about anything on a massive, city or nationwide scale.
If I have gone on too long about Season 3, it's because it wrecked the positive vibes I felt after Season 2 and irredeemably ruined the show.. Watch them all if you want, but you've been warned.