by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ll admit it, I was late to the game on The Old Man Season One.
I had to catch up halfway through, but I was absolutely hooked by the thriller that unraveled, and have been waiting with bated breath for an update on the future seasons since being left on a cliffhanger more than two years previously. So when I was sitting in a random theater one day and the advertisement for the premiere popped up, I was ecstatic to be getting more.
When we last left our characters, Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) and Harold Harper (John Lithgow) had figured out that Emily (Alia Shawkat) had been taken by their old foe, Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), in Afghanistan and quickly launch a plan to get her back. I’ll be honest, I was not expecting the turn that gets taken in the first few episodes, but I didn’t dislike it.
However, though I liked how it defied expectations a little bit initially, I think it helped create the pacing problem that drags down the show’s middle episodes. I found myself feeling the show was in a midseason rut for a few reasons. First, I didn’t find the investigation nearly as interesting. The mystery of who Hamzad is, what he wants now, and the role Emily plays in all of it is a great game of cat-and-mouse for the first season, something Season Two’s continuation can’t quite recapture. Second, both Shawkat and Lithgow’s characters are underused. Lithgow we know is a brilliant agent (if not perhaps field material), but he doesn’t get to use that for the majority of the season. He’s largely relegated to whining and moping. The character of Angela/Emily, whose dual personality reveal is one of the best moments of Season One, is likely underbaked and largely relegated for the season. Third, there’s less action in this season. So, if the investigations feel a little slower, it makes the plot really drag.
The season does eventually address these issues in the final couple of episodes, and the investigation picks up. There’s a satisfying payoff for the characters that feels underserved. We get a hit of adrenaline. In addition to the flaws being pushed to the background, technically, the show is as strong as ever. The cinematography is still stunning. So it left me feeling that the season had been rescued from being a total disappointment.
As I think over the rollercoaster that is Season Two, my major speed bump is how show tries to be clever with its timeline too much for his own good. A lot of my complaints could have been addressed if the narrative was a bit more streamlined and straightforward. I don’t think the reveals are worth the issues that are caused in the middle season as I waited impatiently for the other shoe I didn’t know was coming to drop.
That said, there’s still enough of what I loved about Season One and an intriguing end to the season to come me coming back. Maybe my qualms with Season One were lost in the wait for Season Two, but sitting here fresh off Season Two, it does feel like a step back. While I still enjoyed it and look forward to a Season Three, the leash I’m willing to give the show has shortened significantly.
Rating: Liked It
The Old Man is currently streaming on Hulu
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