The Veil

I don't like to leave bad reviews. But good grief this was disappointing. It started out OK, spy thriller, hardened female specialized agent trying to outwit a terrorist. Ok, I'm in. But then it got ridiculous and unbelievable. These two women driving around in a car magically evading all the spy agencies in the world, and the agencies acting in completely unbelievable ways. The whole "bad event we are trying to stop" made zero sense. And the final episode was stupid beyond belief. I can't even begin...

I have been an Elizabeth Moss fan since Mad Men.

But I think I'm done. I can't take the over-acting and loooong closeup shots staring at the camera with her mouth hanging open a la the Handmaid's Tale. Please Hod make it stop.

Elizabeth Moss... She always seems to pull it off.

I liked the series enough to hope it wasn't just a mini-series and that it would continue with more seasons. It certainly has the potential to be captivating enough if the writers don't phone it in. The last line in the last episode left the door wide open for more...fingers crossed.

There were some great rivalry digs and if there is any reality to the competition between Intl agencies, it's easy to see how 9/11 happened. There were elements of human foibles tossed around throughout that added nicely to it, though I could have lived without the flashback stuff. I've always found flashbacks to be a lazy way of developing a character.

Anyhoo... it was a nice change of pace and I hope the writers/producers develop some more seasons...

Moss's English accent is a little dubious. But I'm warming to her characters charm. The scenery, so far, is beautiful. The story is very well put together. The acting is flawless.

So far, by episode two, it is turning into a game of multilayer chess. Between 2 women on a road trip. Both trying to discover each others roles and motives on this journey. And between two different countries US and France, attempting to establish control over the "mission".

As spy thrillers go, this one is one of the most interesting that I have seen in a long time. No Hollywood BS. Well worth the time, energy and focus.

So much promise, so little delivered. It goes from difficult to follow to incomprehensible. If you are following it, then prepare to be disappointed because nothing much gets resolved. So you'll be left wishing for a slightly more conventional conclusion instead of one that makes you wish you hadn't spent 6 episodes getting to the messy end. It's ok not to resolve every thread and to not neatly wrap things up but we are after a story and entertainment so when you leave dissatisfied the work has failed. I don't want another season despite the fact that the main character was a good one. Complex and competent. That wasn't enough.

I'll start by saying I think the majority of actors did the best with what they had, especially the guy who played the American CIA agent. His delivery was pretty good.

Elizabeth Moss was miscast though. The accent. Stupid almost manic grins and cheesy one liners and quips just felt cringe and awkward.

The story is just unbelievable and pointless. The 'terrorist plot' is brain dead and I struggle to believe they needed to get the 'Djinn' to devise it. It's not clever, complicated or intelligent.

The twist is not a twist thanks to the worst foreshadowing ever. The story just plays out by numbers.

The CIA and French intelligence being fooled not once but twice with a switch was ridiculous. Absolutely unbelievable. It really ruined the story... Although I don't think omitting those parts would have saved it either.

Also it dragged out for its 6 episodes. Could have been done in 4. The last episode is basically done at the halfway mark.

Direction was actually good. Locations and filming good. Acting mostly good (except for Moss) but man... The story is just rubbish. It's like it was generated by an AI.