In from the Cold

Obviously people come expecting Jason Bourne, but they get some strange mix of Nikita, Fringe Black Widow and Ghost in The shell ... The show is deliberately trying to be weird or different and there are a lot of genre mixes from drama to sci fi and even comedy, if the show was plain spy action it would win big time, unfortunately it is trying multiple genres at the same time...

The actors try, but this is just weird. The writers just strung tropes and cliches together hoping something would emerge. Nothing did. What we got is a terrible mashup of The Americans, Homeland, Killing Eve, Mission Impossible, and Manimal.

Ok, it's definitely one that could BE better, but if you can make it to ep 4 I think you'll enjoy it. It's a quirky premise, so not for everyone, but like an onion, layers reveal new and intriguing bits. A couple of the actors are pretty bad, which is unfortunate, but I got past that. All in all, it has potential and definitely entertaining if you have a lil patience.

In From The Cold: US mom Jenny Franklin is acting as chaperone to her teen daughter Becca's figure skating team in Madrid where she is abducted by a CIA team and it's revealed that Jenny is a Russian assassin who adopted a new identity in the 1990s. She is blackmailed into working for the Company, the alternative being a berth in a Supermax. She hasn't lost her skills and we soon discover that she has additional talents. I won't give away all of her powers as some of them are crucial to the plot development. We enter a world of smoke and mirrors, plots, counter-plots, red herrings and conspiracies. Spy-Tech observation is ubiquitous, no one knows who really watching them not even the watchers. Some convincing well choreographed fights and flash backs to the young Jenny on her first mission. Family loyalty as well as betrayal and infighting is important to the spies and assassins across agencies and secret societies. An enjoyable twist on the female assassin trope with quite a few plot twists and surprises. Created and Written by Adam Glass, Directed by Ami Canaan Mann and Birgitte Stærmose. Eight episodes on Netflix. 8/10.

I watched all 8 episodes between last evening and this morning as it's a nice contained story (or is it?!). There were some very decent plot twists. The body morphing technology seems pretty nuts but this is a fictional story so I just went with it.

I read some reviews criticizing the flashbacks but I think they were important to shape the characters although it's not until they all wrapped up that the significance is clear. Hence, my advice to stick it out if you have got the time and the interest after the first couple episodes.

I could have done without the teenage drama which was kinda messy insofar as the storyline behind it but it was minor so I'll let it go too. I literally feel that way about every show/movie with whiny teenagers.

Main characters were very entertaining. Supporting were a little cheesy at times but served their purpose.

Overall, a fun little distraction for a cold January weekend!