In from the Cold

In From The Cold: US mom Jenny Franklin is acting as chaperone to her teen daughter Becca's figure skating team in Madrid where she is abducted by a CIA team and it's revealed that Jenny is a Russian assassin who adopted a new identity in the 1990s. She is blackmailed into working for the Company, the alternative being a berth in a Supermax. She hasn't lost her skills and we soon discover that she has additional talents. I won't give away all of her powers as some of them are crucial to the plot development. We enter a world of smoke and mirrors, plots, counter-plots, red herrings and conspiracies. Spy-Tech observation is ubiquitous, no one knows who really watching them not even the watchers. Some convincing well choreographed fights and flash backs to the young Jenny on her first mission. Family loyalty as well as betrayal and infighting is important to the spies and assassins across agencies and secret societies. An enjoyable twist on the female assassin trope with quite a few plot twists and surprises. Created and Written by Adam Glass, Directed by Ami Canaan Mann and Birgitte Stærmose. Eight episodes on Netflix. 8/10.

Don't mind the reviews and give this show a go. It is different from others and obviously not perfect, but it's a good watch.

I loved the flashbacks, getting to know the history of an ordinary spy-mom. The show is full of action, (kinda obvious) twists and the story is just fine.

Ending got me wanting to watch more.

I read some terrible reviews, but realised most had not actually watched more than 1 or 2 episodes at the most. I liked the premise so gave it a go. So glad I did. It was gripping, a roller coaster. Pretty violent but some great twists. Strong female characters. Give it a go, I'm glad I watched it!

This could have been a decent 2hr movie or 2 part story. No need to be 6 1/2 hours long. Too much back and forth between past and present. It is like they set out for a series but did not have a strong enough story. So they made a great opening and then 5 episodes worth of dialogue before the end.

People should finish the series before reviewing, let alone rating it 1 star.

This multinational effort is certainly worthwhile and keeps you hooked, once you find your way into the story. I had the time to binge it and it didn't disappoint.

The execution is very stylish and effective, there's a lot of campy comic book stuff though. Some suspension of disbelief is advised.

The only problem I see is the very ending. It leaves so many questions open after the story had just been wrapped up... I hope this will result in a second season which I would certainly watch.

If you're into spy/superhero stuff and/or a fan of the city of Madrid, this is for you.