Okay, so, time for a review that isn't from someone who's just pissed that the series has female protagonists (or... duotagonists?).
Pretty much the first spy thriller I've encountered since 2016 that truly grapples with the current political environment instead of retreating to the halcyon days of the Cold War or (at least) the Nineties: Red Election is about political manipulation in our day and age, and is very cleverly put together.
The plot keeps you guessing, and it's hard to know who to root for from one episode to the next. That's not actually easy to do in a spy thriller, notwithstanding the opinions of certain people about "cliches," it's well-acted, and there's plenty of meat on the bone here in terms of both character heft and ever-shifting intrigue.
The female leads are excellent. The supporting cast is, too. Everyone's motives are believable, even if the twists and turns of political fate the narrative depends on don't always quite come up to snuff. The budget is betrayed by the fact that fewer people appear to work in MI-5's top office than you'd find in a McDonald's, and I docked it a couple of stars for that.
With that said, it's very solid as televised spy drama goes, involving, and addictive (as the fact that I binged the first ten episodes since finding them last night demonstrates). Some characters will drive you a bit nuts: I'm not really sure how Beatrice Ogilvy still has a security clearance by Ep. 10 given how consistently awful her judgment is. Docked it another star for that. But it's still pretty engrossing cloak-and-dagger and I'm looking forward to more, if there proves to be more.
Pretty much the first spy thriller I've encountered since 2016 that truly grapples with the current political environment instead of retreating to the halcyon days of the Cold War or (at least) the Nineties: Red Election is about political manipulation in our day and age, and is very cleverly put together.
The plot keeps you guessing, and it's hard to know who to root for from one episode to the next. That's not actually easy to do in a spy thriller, notwithstanding the opinions of certain people about "cliches," it's well-acted, and there's plenty of meat on the bone here in terms of both character heft and ever-shifting intrigue.
The female leads are excellent. The supporting cast is, too. Everyone's motives are believable, even if the twists and turns of political fate the narrative depends on don't always quite come up to snuff. The budget is betrayed by the fact that fewer people appear to work in MI-5's top office than you'd find in a McDonald's, and I docked it a couple of stars for that.
With that said, it's very solid as televised spy drama goes, involving, and addictive (as the fact that I binged the first ten episodes since finding them last night demonstrates). Some characters will drive you a bit nuts: I'm not really sure how Beatrice Ogilvy still has a security clearance by Ep. 10 given how consistently awful her judgment is. Docked it another star for that. But it's still pretty engrossing cloak-and-dagger and I'm looking forward to more, if there proves to be more.