Treason review: Starts slow but ends with a bang

‘Treason’ is a limited series that revolves around Adam’s promotion to the chief of MI6. Adam must do everything in his power to protect his children when his past starts wreaking havoc in his present. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Summary

When Martin Angelis, the chief of MI6, is poisoned, his deputy, Adam Lawrence, takes charge. However, Adam discovers that his ex-lover, Kara, has been pulling the strings to influence his career for years now.

Kara used to be an SVR agent who sacrificed her career for Adam’s sake, then spent years to get Adam in a position where he would be able to repay her.

On the other hand, Maddy, Adam’s wife, is visited by an old friend, Dede, who is a CIA agent. She manipulates Maddy to work with them and spy on Adam.

Adam is forced to choose between his family and his country when his daughter gets kidnapped. He must prove his loyalty to his country while keeping his family safe. 

With the CIA targeting him and his daughter gone, Adam cannot trust anyone, not even his wife. 

Performances

Charlie Cox convinces the audience that he is indeed a man too young to be made the MI6 chief, trying his best to put on a brave face. The audience can see his growing anxiety as new secrets are unveiled.

Olga Kurylenko as Kara manages to change the perception of the audience easily as required by her role — she goes from being an antagonist to the person the audience would want to see succeed.

Oona Chaplin as Maddy fails to play the part of a desperate mother. There is no sadness to be found, even when she loses a loved one. Chaplin shows her potential in the scene where she threatens Dede. Unfortunately, it does not go beyond that. 

While Ciarán Hinds performance was satisfactory as Martin, Tracy Ifeachor as Dede does not even come close to being the manipulative CIA agent that she was supposed to be. 

Positives

Once the show picks up the pace, it would keep the audience on the edge of their seat with its unpredictable twists.

This is one of the very rare shows that manage to not depend too much on their protagonists; the protagonist serves the plot and not the other way around.  

The show briefly touches on topics like patriotism being used to justify wrongs and make agents do what their conscience would not otherwise allow them to do.

Negatives

The show starts at a snail’s pace. It only picks up the pace toward the last two episodes, which might be a little too late for some viewers.

The actions of Maddy’s character do not make sense initially. It is as if the only thing motivating her character’s actions is furthering the plot without any rationale.

It is understandable that in a limited series there is not much space for additional components. However, not giving a major character’s death any attention makes it lose its significance in the eyes of the audience.

Verdict

It is a short series that the viewers can enjoy over the weekend. If you can get past the initial plodding episodes, the series will definitely surprise you with what it has in store for you.

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