Contributor: Bronzethumb
Written by Smita Bhide
Directed by James Strong
“Kismet” proves to be something of a turning point for this trouble, patchy series. It’s not significantly different in its presentation, but rather it manages to shift the frame slightly and create a more emotional, meaningful context for all that’s happening. Part of it can be attributed to the interesting choice of character focus, but the end result is that viewers have a hook into the world of “Hunted”; things worth caring about, and therefore a stake in how this complex drama plays out.
Byzantium’s mission takes a slight detour as they investigate why Jack Turner would murder the broker who developed the Kismet financial software algorithm and helped Jack assemble his fortune. Things become complicated when Jack and his associates start hunting for the sole witness to their crime and begin to suspect — correctly — that it’s Sam. Meanwhile, Rupert and Deacon lay a trap for Aiden, suspecting that he’s the MI6 mole inside Byzantium, while Aiden makes progress in figuring out why Sam returned to London.
The episode opens as many of the previous ones have: with the Byzantium team undertaking their covert operations, trying to get a foothold on exactly what’s going on with the Turner family, and it’s not much more interesting than it’s been in episodes past. Where the hook really gets in is during the graveyard scene, one which has little bearing on the plot but provides the strongest window yet into the character of Stephen Turner, who has been relatively neutral and pretty uninteresting up to this point. Simply put, the actor plays grief really well, so much so that viewers suddenly have this measure of sympathy for the character.
It sounds simple, and remote, but it’s one of the few aspects of the ongoing A-story — Byzantium’s mission with the Turner family — that’s been emotionally engaging. The scene is followed up later with Stephen, his old school friend and Sam sitting down for a drink and talking about old times, a conversation that eventually returns to Stephen’s grief, and again we’re sucked in to something genuinely emotional. We’re not the only ones, either: it’s clear Sam is having much the same reaction, which adds a further layer of emotional complexity to her personal and professional mission, her relationship with the family, etc.
This is the avenue through which the rest of the show becomes more interesting. From that little hook, it’s easier to care about the intrigue of what Jack Turner is planning, itself an interesting scheme that plays out over the course of “Kismet” and has a suitably explosive climax. It’s easier to sympathise with the plight of Aiden, who is trying to serve two masters while also helping someone he cares about. There’s a little more tension in the action scenes as well, because as with much of the rest of the show, that little hook has proved enough to actually care about the characters, and therefore the story. It’s not a total redemption for “Hunted”, but it’s a big comeback.
Score: 8/10
