The Night Agent has revived and fleshed out the spy story genre, and now that it’s back with its third season, it confirms its strengths and weaknesses, overshadowed by titles such as The Recruit (although canceled) and The Diplomat. We left Peter Sutherland indebted to the mysterious mediator Jacob Moore, while the latter seemed to be linked to the new president of the United States. A new mission awaits him, and once again he will have to choose wisely who to trust.
The Night Agent and the repetition of a pattern that becomes repetitive
A new conspiracy to deal with, as we said, for the indomitable Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), which once again involves the highest echelons of the US government. A mission to Istanbul does not go as planned, as he tries to recover a possible asset: Treasury agent Jay Batra (Suraj Sharma), who has detected some suspicious bank transactions that may be linked to a potential terrorist attack. The protagonist discovers a possible connection with the mysterious and dangerous middleman (Louis Herthum), and his investigations lead him to work alongside a journalist from Mexico City, Isabel De Leon (Genesis Rodriguez), while a series of suspicious deaths seems less and less like a coincidence.
Once again, we are faced with a spy story that flexes its creative muscles in terms of well-choreographed (but somewhat redundant) action sequences, character interactions, and plot twists, reflecting the current geopolitical situation. The characterization, although simplistic, works especially well for the new entries, who are introduced through unexpected and surprising flashbacks: the viewer is thus intrigued by their background and their possible evolution in the story to come. From the locations around the world, typical of the genre, this time we remain mainly confined to North America.
The protagonists of the Netflix series
One of the strengths of The Night Agent Season 3 is the familiar faces from television who join the cast. The narrative structure of the series, which is somewhat redundant, ultimately has the flavor of old-school seriality. Among these, we mention: David Zayas (Dexter) as the intrepid editor of a newspaper; Jennifer Morrison (Dr. House, Once Upon a Time) as the First Lady and Ward Horton (Annabelle, The Gilded Age) as the newly elected president Richard Hagan; Stephen Moyer (True Blood) as a ruthless and unusual hitman with a dependent son (Callum Vinson); David Lyons (Revolution) as a new night agent who will give Peter a hard time: will they become friends or enemies?
Returning from previous seasons—denoting narrative continuity—are Chelsea (Fola Evans-Akingbola), now the First Lady’s bodyguard; Catherine (Amanda Warren), Peter’s supervisor at Night Action, who after initial disagreements has managed to build a relationship with him; and Mosley (Albert Jones), the deputy director of the FBI. However, the novelty effect of the first season is missing, which they have not managed to replicate effectively in subsequent seasons. Furthermore, ten episodes are once again too many, diluting the story, even if they are useful for introducing the past of the new characters.
The absence of Rose Larkin and Peter Sutherland’s consistency
Who is sorely missed in the new ten episodes is Luciane Buchanan’s Rose Larkin. The announcement had already been made and it comes as no surprise; however, her name continues to appear and guide Peter in keeping her safe from the mediator. Although we realize that her presence in the second season and her involvement in the new case could have been a little forced and unrealistic, we miss her as Peter’s sweetheart and sidekick. She added depth to the character and their relationship, one of the most genuine seen on TV.
What remains, however, and what we are satisfied with, is the consistency of the protagonist. He is almost a knight without fear or reproach, with a ‘hero complex’ inside him. This is why we believe him as viewers and why the new entries are inclined to believe him when he promises to protect them at all costs, as he did with Rose. He does so by always facing a moral dilemma that other spies would overlook in the name of the cause. However, we hope that if there is a new conspiracy to foil, the series will find greater balance and freshness.
Conclusions
The Night Agent 3 confirms the strengths and weaknesses of previous seasons but plays it a little safe. It relies heavily on familiar faces from the series to flesh out the cast, as well as on the characteristics that made the genre so successful. However, it follows a well-worn narrative pattern, which can be redundant and, above all, unnecessarily stretched over ten episodes. Rose Larkin is missing, but fortunately Peter remains true to himself. He is exactly the hero the world needs today.
