The Night Agent

My overall rating of Night Agent is a 6.5 rounded up to a 7, because I really did like the first season.

Basic premise, an unlucky government employee is given a 2nd chance with a secret organization that is supposed to keep him out of trouble, but... Surprise! He gets wrapped up into a complex international conspiracy with surprisingly ambitious aims.

I think the reason the first season was so much fun was the borderline preposterous story that somehow maintains a thread of believability throughout. Really, though, it's probably the characters that do most the heavy lifting - Night Agent is one of those rare shows that develops every major character, including the bad guys. So when bullets fly and people go down, the viewer feels the consequences, even if the good guys win.

First season did a good job of all of this stuff, so I was looking forward to season 2. While season 2 isn't a complete train wreck, it is worse than the 1st season in all important ways. It's probably ok the story is less ambitious and more personal, but! Season 2 is painfully slow to get going with little meaningful introduction, And! The characters for the first 4 episodes are way less developed and interesting than season one. That is unfortunate - many of the bad characters in season one had unique personalities, and made for quirky scenes. The characters in season 2 are simply not as entertaining to follow, and this is nothing personal regarding character and casting - I'm really blaming the writers and dialog that is serviceable at best.

I don't know, but I'd guess season 2 is just a rushed product compared to season 1, and maybe the budget got slashed. There does seem to be less action scenes and special effects. The further season 2 goes, the better it gets, but it really never reaches the level of the first season, that was only good in the first place.

I gather a third season is being made - I'd hope the writing is more considered, and the characters get back to being more entertaining. Probably could use a boost in budget with more action scenes too.

Edit: Second season fully earns 6/10 demotion for lack of inspiration, fewer action sets, and poor work in the details. Whether it's a poor fitting shirt, unkept hair, average makeup or props (like food) that don't fit context of scene, there's a consistent slipshod nature to 2nd season details. That being said, many good trademarks of the 1st season are maintained, but never feels as entertaining. I still recommend watching for fans of season one because it does continue Peter and Rose's journey.

It's a watchable series, but you'll have to forget everything you know about...

• Security and safety, video surveillance, etc
• Guns and handling them
• Any rational decision making
• How police and military works
• How agents and other highly trained people operate work, move, and secure areas
• Etc

And I'm not talking about you being an expert on these things, just that you understand even some basics or have seen any other series where actual, trained people have participated in advising how to write the scene or how the actor needs to move in a particular area (hint: not in the middle of the street if you want to hide).

Simply put, you'll have to think like an under-10-year-old kid.

I liked the actors, though, hence 4/10 instead of 2-3/10.

I binge watched the first season and really enjoyed it. Season two, however, is a huge letdown after watching season one. The first season was really believable and the story line was a real cliff hanger. Unfortunately season two is not credible. Rose is a total hindrance and pain in the butt. She does nothing but distracts Peter and is very needy. So the poor guy needs to look after her in season two as well as season one. It was credible in season one, a pain in series two. I sincerely hope she will not be in season three. Season one easily deserves an eight however season two is more like a five.

I can't remember the last time a show surprised me by how much I liked it like The Night Agent did. I didn't know much about it but saw it was the #1 show on Netflix for a while and thought the trailer looked pretty good too. Then after reading the mostly positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike I was sold. It not only met my expectations but surpassed them in every way. It may get slow in some parts but for the most part it's very entertaining. It has a cast of mostly unknowns but Gabriel Basso is definitely the break out star here. His performance in this will definitely lead to more starring roles. I'm so glad this has already been renewed for another season.

Season 1 was pretty good and the inexperience of Rose and Peter was believable. They got the problem solved but mostly got lucky. Season 2 is unbelievably stupid. Peter is a trained agent who allows Rose to meddle in a case. There's never any backup and whenever there's a decision to be made it's made based on emotion. It's Hollywood so I'm sure they are going to stumble around and get lucky but their performance in the first half of the season would indicate a serious lack of what it takes to be a "Night Agent". I hate not knowing how things end so I'll watch until the end but I won't start a season 3.