Rubicon Series Review

Rubicon (2010)

Season 1 - 13 episodes (2010)
Rent Rubicon on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Jason Horwitch
Starring: James Badge Dale, Jessica Ann Collins, Lauren Hodges
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
Will Travers is an analyst at a New York City-based federal intelligence agency who is thrown into a story where nothing is as it appears to be.

Verdict
Even half way into the season, this was good but not engrossing. The show wasn't something I would miss. It's a slow burn mystery that focuses on information, with each piece providing another aspect of the puzzle. It's not a spy thriller focusing on action. By the last few episodes this becomes compelling as the broader image becomes clearer and all the plot lines intersect. It's a really good season that takes its time, but unfortunately this ends a chapter and another one was certainly planned. That makes the lack of conclusion frustrating, enough so that I can't fully recommend this precisely because I liked it so much by the final episode.
It depends.

Review
Will (James Badge Dale) is part of a team of intelligence analysts that look for patterns to prevent terrorist attacks. While he's sharp, the death of his mentor and team leader David Hadas (Peter Gerety) in the first episode distresses him. When he begins finding inconsistencies in the death he wonders if it was orchestrated. Will becomes the new team leader, but he's secretly investigating Hadas's death. He's feeling the pressure of his new job, but he's also being watched. Is it because of the crossword puzzle code he found? Hadas told him it was nothing, but we were shown it is something.

E5: James Badge Dale plays Will Travers

The other plot is the death of Tom Rhumor and how it connects. It's an easy assumption that it connects to Will's investigations. This is definitely a slow burn as Will and his team put the pieces together.  Hadas left him a code, and Will has to figure out what it is.

For a company that tracks everything, someone is bound to figure out Will is operating his own investigation. Eventually his boss Kale (Arliss Howard) sees Will where he shouldn't be as he's following Bloom (Michael Gaston). Will's concern turns to confusion when the secretive Kale invites him to dinner. Kale's apartment is nothing like the Kale we've seen at work. Kale provides Will with help, a name and a direction. I wondered why Kale got involved. He states he's protecting his country against threats but is there more to it?

E12: Arliss Howard, James Badge Dale play Kale Ingram, Will Travers

This isn't the typical spy thriller with a lot of action. This is about finding the clues and connecting the dots. We finally get a connection between Hadas and Rhumor, the Atlas McDowell security company. Everything seems to tie back to Atlas. Bloom reappears, threatening Rhumor's widow and ordering her to stop meeting with Will.

The series really becomes engrossing when we begin to suspect that Will's team's investigation is linked to Atlas. The team began investigating one suspect at the beginning of the season before realizing the other person in the photo was the one to follow. Soon they discover they aren't seeing operatives talking about a past mission, they're planning a mission that's already in progress.

The farther Will gets, the more danger he's in. Episode eleven has the most action as Will's murder is ordered. Even half way in I thought this show was good but it lacked an edge. This was an AMC series on the heels of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. This just didn't have the flourish, but each episode builds on the last and by episode eleven I really liked the show. Will's investigation crosses with his team's who finally have the subject they've been seeking since the first episode.

E3: James Badge Dale, Dallas Roberts, Christopher Evan Welch, Lauren Hodges play 
Will Travers, Miles Fiedler, Grant Test, Tanya MacGaffin

In episode twelve, they have to stop their suspect, but first they need to determine the what and where. At the same time the group Rhumor was involved in has a plan that's too far along to stop despite the objections of some members.

The final episode is unsatisfying. Will connects the dots, but we don't get to see the fallout. Would bad actors be able to manipulate the market without facing repercussions? Would they face public humiliation, a silent assassination, or a coverup to protect government agencies? We'll never know. The show was obviously planned for more seasons. This was the first chapter and the fallout would have been, I expect, a big part of the next season. As much as I liked this show by the final episode, that makes the lack of resolution all the more disappointing.