Had the primary episode of “Rabbit Hole” begun with a Kiefer Sutherland voiceover alongside the traces of: “I’m private espionage operative John Weir, and today is the worst day of my life,” it might’ve felt maybe too on-the-nose, however there would’ve actually been some reality to it.
The present as an alternative opens with Weir in a confession sales space, to not lay naked his sins in hope of forgiveness however merely for somebody to pay attention. “I literally can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not,” he tells the priest. What in a short time turns into clear after we minimize to 3 weeks earlier than is that Weir’s standing as an unreliable narrator goes to drive the collection – and maybe drive its viewers up a wall.
We study precisely what it’s Weir does: he units up a pretend information report on Esper-Ethika, the corporate who develop the world’s main erectile dysfunction drug which has now been linked to most cancers, all in order that one in every of his shoppers could make a fortune when the inventory worth dropped. He’s a fixer of types, a person who can discover a strategy to make his shoppers’ issues disappear or make them an entire heap of money. In finishing the Esper-Ethika job, he meets Hailey (Meta Golding), a horny lady on the bar with whom he sleeps, solely to unearth a digital camera in her resort room clock the next morning. Blackmail try? Sure, however by who? Not Special Agent Jo Madi (Enid Graham) of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Division, nor certainly – as we’ll come to study – by Hailey immediately.
There’s a confidence to John that Sutherland makes his personal, and it permits the following job sequence – which we’re aware about the small print of, courtesy of shopper Arda Analytics – to be very entertaining, as John and his crew body collusion between US Treasury Official Edward Homm and the CEO of an organization rivalling that of 1 accused of utilizing little one labor. It’s peak spy thriller and establishes early that “Rabbit Hole” is able to constructing a majority of these advanced setpieces. And it must, given what comes subsequent.
Weir is framed for the homicide of Homm at the very same time he thinks somebody is attempting to get to him: Hailey’s close by presence after the Arda job has him suspicious. And somebody is. Miles Valence (Jason Butler Harner), who runs Arda and employed Weir, has a digital camera in his workplace which he seems afraid of. The form of terrified that makes him soar off the thirtieth ground of his constructing when instructed by a textual content saying “DO IT. NOW.”
In the chilly open, Weir wonders if God can inform him “what the fuck is going on.” There actually appears to be an omnipresent hand controlling folks like puppets: Valence was one, Hailey is probably or maybe not one other. Kyle (Walt Klink), the erstwhile intern working for Weir, undoubtedly is. He’s the only survivor beside three useless when Weir’s workplace explodes, and spends the second hour following equally nameless directions: first on what to inform the FBI, then following Weir to the police station the place he makes an attempt to retrieve the authenticator to log into Valence’s communications.
Weir’s paranoia on this case is justified, or so we expect. Once once more we should bear in mind his standing as an unreliable narrator. Homm isn’t useless: a part of the Valence job was posing Homm to be useless, just for Weir to be arrange. Instead, the official is tied up in his hidden away childhood residence, the place, by the top of the second hour, he’s about to be tortured by Weir’s father Ben (Charles Dance). One downside: Ben took a shotgun to his personal head when Weir was a toddler.
This is the place “Rabbit Hole” goes to should tread a cautious line. Positioning the lead character as somebody we can not belief is an attention-grabbing place to begin, however pull the rug too many instances and also you threat viewers dropping observe and wanting to modify off. Agent Madi explains that he’s “super smart and half crazy” and that appears true sufficient thus far: the 2 operations we see him pull and his intelligent sneaking into the police station set up his intelligence; his fixed paranoia and, in Hailey’s eyes, tic set up his questionable thoughts.
Sutherland’s efficiency is usually glorious: it’s very a lot within the Jack Bauer vein, and it doesn’t really feel encumbered by a number of seasons of historical past, as “24’s” main man did. Golding’s spectacular, significantly throughout her panicked breakdown after Weir saves Hailey (*), and it’s clear that her character goes to be key to the plot which can comply with.
(*) Weir’s resourceful considering to movie the “cops” making an attempt to “arrest” Hailey is nice. Her suggestion that his actions have been rooted in race points much less so – it’s an correct judgement, we all know, however there may be not an opportunity “Rabbit Hole” has any curiosity in tackling socio-political points like this, so its inclusion feels a bit low-cost.
What shall be fascinating throughout the following six episodes is whether or not the present can steadiness its need to misdirect viewers with the necessity to maintain the story coherent and never overdo twists. The first two hours have been enjoyable; let’s see how the following six fare.
What did you consider the primary two episodes of “Rabbit Hole”?