Julie Delpy and Suranne Jones take the lead
Empires crumble easier than many of us want to admit, and in the new limited series of “hostage” by Netflix – written and made by “Bridge of Spies” writer Matt Charman – two world leaders are confronted with an international crisis that threatens their personal lives, career and countries where they have the task of defending. Quickly with a side of melodrama, the political thriller is a complicated puzzle of power, ruthlessness and unimaginable choices.
“Hostage” opens in present -day London. Only eight months after her role, British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton (Suranne Jones) is confronted with two major crises. In an attempt to repair the faltering economy, she has lowered the UK’s military budget with large numbers, to the great annoyance of her cabinet. Moreover, the National Health Service is confronted with a supply crisis. Pharmacies throughout the country have bare shelves and most risky citizens cannot get life -saving medication. Yet Dalton is determined to continue with an Anglo-French top and her historical meeting with French President Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy). Unfortunately, in the midst of negotiations on refugees and medical help of France, Dalton teaches her husband, Dr. Alex Anderson (Ashley Thomas), and his team are hostage in French Guyana while he has to help the locals in need.
Shocked Dalton turns to President Toussaint for help, but the extreme right -wing leader would rather Quid Pro Quo than to do alliance. What is worse, the kidnappers of Alex demand the resignation of Dalton in exchange for his safe return. In five episodes, “hostage” moves at a rip-moving pace. Because additional information about the kidnappers and the political past of Dalton is revealed, it becomes quite clear that this is much further than a simple trick to expel the prime minister. In addition, while Toussaint initially wants to use Dalton’s accident for her profit, she realizes that her own shortcomings are about to be exposed.
Although the structures and tensions of the government are fascinating to look at, what makes fascinating “hostage” to see two women as heads of state who are described and undermined in every turn because of misogynia and every observed weakness. The series illustrates the inhumanity that is central to politics, and it is easy to see why so many politicians are cruel and pecking to keep themselves about the people they have promised to help.
Jones and Delpy are fantastic in their respective roles, but “hostage” has a soapy quality, which increases it to really high drama. Moreover, the plot points of the series bloom out of nowhere (such as when Alex goes ridiculously to Guyana without a security detail). Although nice to look at, they do not seem fully detailed ideas. Also, the big bad in the show was not fully realized as the public would expect. Yet, despite these small accidents, the story is fascinating, the tension between Dalton and Toussaint can be felt and the friction that Dalton has with her teenage daughter, Sylvie (Isobel Curuwudike), after the kidnapping of Alex is Gunting.
The penultimate episode, episode 4, is the showstopper here. In the midst of public protest and unrest, Dalton and President Toussaint think about their motivations for entering the politics and the length that they will go to guarantee their political future. It is also a memory of viewers that even when we think we know how a story will end, it often shifts in a new direction, so that we have to open our eyes and spirits for alternative results and perspectives.
Despite some really far -fetched storylines and a rather Salacious turn, “hostage” is definitely worth it. If the current US government was in a different state, the outlook on the show might have been slightly different. Due to a lens of 2025, however, the limited series reminds the public of the vulnerability of democracy, which perfect politicians do not exist and why greed and revenge that are rooted in the foundation are strong enough to level it all at any time.
“Hostage” now streams on Netflix.
