The Night Agent is a 10-episode series streaming on Netflix about an American government conspiracy. The story follows an FBI agent who found himself at the right place at the right time, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) was on a train when he discovered a bomb. His ability to neutralize the threat and drastically reduce the number of casualties caused him to get a promotion. Because of his actions, he became the agent that picks up the phone of an emergency FBI line. A phone that normally never rings until Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan)  is on the other end. The both of them find themselves so deep in a conspiracy that it reaches up into the Oval Office. 

Peter is someone who religiously does everything by the book, with hopes of helping him escape the tainted past of his father. While Rose has no problem bending the rules in order for her to survive. They both have to find a way to compromise if they wish to stay alive. 

Interpretation 

The show had a great pace the whole way through as the audience slowly unravels the truth behind what is going on in the White House. The depth of the characters made it hard to assume what would happen next and who you could trust. The viewers had no choice but to become their own detectives throughout Night Agent. The series showed a multitude of thrilling scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. This is a series for those who love conspiracy theories. Also, a show made for the people who loved the Jason Bourne series.  I would definitely recommend The Night Agent as a great short show to watch, especially since it’s already been renewed for another season. 

The post The Night Agent (2023) first appeared on Burkeview.

Atlanta is a series following Earn, his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry), baby mother Vanessa (Zazie Beetz), and free-spirited friend Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) as they navigate through the unpredictable streets of Atlanta. Created, written, and starred in by Donald Glover. Atlanta is one of the top cities for up-and-coming rappers and now Alfred is the rapper on the scene known by his stage name paperboi. Earn sees this as an opportunity to manage his cousin and help him and his family out of his tight financial situation. 

Interpretation

Atlanta is the open door that leads us into the interesting mind of Donald glover. A place with haunted houses, invisible cars, and relentless white women in a wheelchair. Atlanta is like nothing else on television but something that needs to be on television. Not only do the weirdest and oddest things you could ever imagine come to light in this show, but everything that happens is also grounded similarly oddly. The show does display Afro-Surrealism, but in order to do that properly, it must be realistic in some way. 

For example, in the final season, there was a sushi restaurant owned by Black people and they invited Alfred and the whole gang to eat there. While there, they were served food, and the whole group just couldn’t get behind it. They kept looking over across the street to the Popeyes that will soon be packed with a bunch of kids when school ends. The owner notices their peering eyes and begins to give a whole monologue on how Black people don’t support other black-owned businesses, it even got to the point where the owner was forced to lock them all in the restaurant to finish the meal. This scene had some real truth and was still presented so out of the ordinary that the viewers were forced to pay attention. This is the beauty of Atlanta.

So many interesting concepts that are demonstrated in real life are further articulated in the show. Like the fluid identity of a mixed raced kid or a fake party created for influencers to stunt on social media. Each episode has a truth at the core of it and is then presented with intersection situations that pull the viewer in. For four seasons it continued to be entertaining and not afraid to switch it up, I’m certain I’ll miss this show on television. 

The post Atlanta (2016-2022) first appeared on Burkeview.

Two siblings living in a small town need to make enough money to take care of their mother, who has glioma. Bolton (Jack Reynor) gets a job offer from a Mexican company to try out their new gaming technology called a peripheral. Bolton got the offer because of his gaming achievements, which were really the work of Flynne (Chloë Grace Moretz). The peripheral is unlike anything Flynne had ever seen. It would seem that the peripheral isn’t a normal sim but actually Flynne operating another body that’s in the future.

When first participating in the sim Flynne was tasked with retrieving information, she believed this was part of her mission. It was later revealed that this is what Aelita (Charlotte Riley) wanted her to do to collect the data she needed. Now, knowing the real truth behind the mission, Flynne is hired to help find Aelita. She would be working for The Klept but more closely alongside someone who grew up with Aelita, Wilf (Gary Carr).

The future world that Flynne would come to inhabit is very different from the world she lives in now. This is because of the Jackpot. The Jackpot is a series of catastrophic events that killed a large amount of the human population leaving it unrecognizable. 

Interpretation 

Since the show is based on a book it would seem that it has to cram a lot of exposition into the runtime for things to make sense. I haven’t read the book personally but this is how watching it felt to me. Nevertheless, the exposition felt realistic in how it was told to the audience because Flynne is new to the future world she now inhabits. I think it being a book would explain the side characters’ actions because it would seem that they would do things without much build-up. This tends to happen with Movies/TV show adaptations. 

The creator and showrunner of The Peripheral, Scott B. Smith, spoke with io9 about the making process of the show. Based on what he said it’s clear that it was an intentional choice to make the show difficult to follow. 

“I think one thing I’ve always loved about Gibson’s work is that it’s not very accessible, and he draws on the reader’s intelligence to build the world. You have to watch how the characters use the terms and you gradually pick it up through that. We wanted that to be similar to the viewing experience—“

Regardless of the hard storyline to follow, the concept of the show is extremely interesting. I’m very excited to see where the series goes next season. 

The post The Peripheral (2022-Present) first appeared on Burkeview.

The first episode of the second season introduced a lot of things that can be expanded on as the season continues. It’s too much to even cover here. What I’m most excited about is Jaime’s story of being involved in Dushane’s (Ashley Walters) business. I think that they will bring the coolest moments to the show. Also, this introduction of the Spanish connection will bring some wild moments. Which they’ve already done in the first episode. They seem to be savages that you can’t entirely predict which makes them formidable. Hopefully, the second episode will introduce more goals for the characters. Right now I know a lot of what happening but not much of what the characters want to happen. This is important because that’s a way for the audience to connect with a character. We have to see them in pursuit of something. Dushane and Lizzie (Lisa Dwan) are really the only ones that have a clear goal. Those who don’t have goals are reduced to becoming one-dimensional side characters. I know that Jamie’s (Micheal Ward) plan and goal will eventually be revealed to us. It’s too early to make assumptions about if the season will do well. They’ve introduced a lot now and it’s time to see Ronan execute. I’ve seen him do this once before. 

The second episode seems to be more “set up” for the show. No clear antagonist has been set up.  The drama of the Moroccans could cause trouble for Dushane and his business down the line. I think that the fact that Dushane no longer needs Lizzie will cause her to run to Jamie for help. She might be able to spark that ambitious side of him that we saw in the first season and he could start planning a way to become Top Boy again. 

Exactly what I expected to happen happened in the third episode. Lizzie made a play to Jamie to get him to claim what was his and rebel against Dushane. 

There’s something about the Top Boy characters that I can’t put my finger on. The writers give them good character moments that make them feel multi-dimensional but there’s something missing. I don’t know what it could be. Maybe it’s because their goal isn’t clearly stated. One thing I noticed was that in all of the moments where the writers expand on the character they involve family. This seems to be one of the “themes” of the show. In terms of plot, it seems like the show is starting to heat up now and bring in the mayhem. I’m ready for it. 

My initial response after finishing the season is “Why.” I can’t understand why they killed Jamie to end the show. Maybe it’s become too personal for me to try to make an objective reaction to the show. They have to give a reason as to why they did that, or else it makes no sense. Since I can’t find the reason for it now I assume it may happen in the third season. That’s the only reason that I can see myself watching another season of this show. The show does this weird thing when it comes to settling their conflict. The protagonist, Dushane, has had no problems with any of his antagonists. They were all easily dealt with and most times not even by him. Every time I see a new antagonist I feel that they are a formidable opponent to Dushane, but I’m wrong. I’ve seen no real threat toward him. The police really haven’t been a problem for him the whole series and all road-men that he comes across are dealt with quickly. That would be my biggest problem with the show. The building of the plot is done well. At the beginning of the season, all the seeds were planted and grew in unexpected ways. Which kept me engaged in the whole process. But it felt almost as if right before it grew to its full potential it withers away and dies.  Leaving me disappointed. 

The characters were well-developed. All main characters felt multi-dimensional. Which seemed easy to do by connecting their snuggles with family. It seemed to ground them and show the character’s true nature. I guess the aspect of Jamie’s death that I’m most mad about is the fact that there were so much more places for the character to go. He could’ve had a beef with Jaq (Jasmine Jobson) on who’s taking the crown of Top Boy. He could’ve made a final play to take over Dushane’s empire and then perhaps died. That would’ve given his death reason. Cause his death was for no reason, and maybe that’s what the writers are trying to say “ Somethings happen for no reason.” I hope season five provides a reason. 

The post Top Boy (2011-Present) first appeared on Burkeview.