Season 2 - 10 episodes (January 23, 2025)
Watch The Night Agent on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by: Shawn Ryan (Based on The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk)
Starring: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Hong Chau
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Low-level
FBI agent Peter Sutherland works in the basement of the White House
manning a phone that never rings, until the night it does, propelling
him into a conspiracy that leads all the way to the Oval Office.
In season two Peter has been promoted to a secret agent but goes on the run when a mission fails.
Verdict
Overall, this season feels more generic compared to the first. The story is broader and this develops more side characters, but with their limited roles does it matter? The first season had a neat concept, and while you
can't do that again this season suffers because of it. This adds more in all aspects just for the sake of it. I'd rather this tighten the story and focus on making great moments. The show relies on near non-stop action to hide the flaws which are numerous.
Skip it.
Review
In the first season Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) was a low level FBI agent serving the mundane role of manning the night phone which never rings. Of course it rings and that starts the plot with Peter springing to action to help Rose (Luciane Buchanan). It's government corruption with Rose and Peter's plights intersecting. The pacing of the first season was excellent, perfectly building the conspiracy. While the broad story beats were predictable, the questions of how everything fits together drove the first season as the conspiracy manifested into an attempted attack against the president which Peter thwarted.
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| Gabriel Basso plays Peter Sutherland |
With how disinterested I was during this season, it made me question my favorable review of the first season. A big factor in the first season is that the conspiracy reveals itself one episode at a time. With this season, we know early on what's at stake and it's just a question of whether Peter can stop the bad guys in time. It's just not as intriguing. Without a mystery propping up the season, it's a generic action story.
The first episode is an action packed opener as Peter is now a secret agent on task tracking a suspect when his cover gets blown. This mission is related to the overall plot where an information broker sells to the highest bidder. This season revolves around a government bio-weapon that's now being sold to terrorists.
Rose now works as an engineer on a tracking program she's pitching to retailers, but surprise it allows her to track and find Peter. That's quite convenient for Rose and the plot.
After the blown mission, Peter goes rogue, unsure of whom he can trust. Peter finds information on a government operation, but of course this plot is much bigger than Peter or his suspect. This involves a jailed dictator and a terrorist plot.
Episode four is a lot of spy games with not only Peter, but Rose under cover as well. They've got to infiltrate a party, scan documents, and leave the scene without getting caught while also relying on their asset. It's the most fun episode of the season.
I found it interesting that we get a scene of a henchman asking for a raise. It's not something you typically see in a show like this and it does humanize the 'bad guy.' I thought he might have a larger role in the plot, but he doesn't. Other than this one scene he's the typical henchman.
The core of the plot is a data broker that sells to the highest bidder. He sells chemical weapons to a dictator with a vendetta. If we get a better reason other than we need a big villain for a big action adventure show, I must have forgotten it. There's plenty of testing loyalties and stretching morals to complete the mission. While Rose doesn't like the lying to Peter's information asset, Peter knows they're potentially saving millions.
This season was a power play and the terrorists were just a side effect not the main villain. While the terrorist threat is mitigated, Peter and Rose have bigger problems coming next season as an unscrupulous character from this season now has access to the presidency. The third season has already been confirmed.
I liked the first season, but the story this season lacks depth. It's all typical fare and the big action set pieces don't do enough to mask that. The first season had this unique premise and an ever expanding conspiracy. This season abandons that for the typical secret agent adventure. I just never found it very interesting as it's not original. The only questions are whether Peter can stop it in time, and with a show like this I had a strong hunch he would.
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