Contributor: Bronzethumb
Written by Frank Spotnitz & Amira El Nemr
Directed by Daniel Percival
The penultimate episode of series one (and possibly the whole show) continues the excellent trend that began in episode four, by making us care about the characters and grounding the complex spy action in what they’re doing and how they interact. “Hunted” continues to gather momentum, but in the run-up to the finale, the writers are also showing a willingness to pull the trigger on more and more of the lingering plot threads, resulting in an episode that’s exciting and tense and leaves viewers hanging out for a big conclusion.
As the bidding war for the Khyber Dam reaches its zenith, the Byzantium team discover the identity of their client — Polyhedrus — and in doing so learn they are being used to help supress a horrible secret. But while Byzantium attempts to foil Jack Turner’s last-ditch scheme to win the contract, Sam continues to investigate why Polyhedrus wants her dead, and manages to draw the ire of their most dangerous agents. Meanwhile, Stephen learns more and more about his father’s business and faces a choice between loyalty to Jack or doing the right thing.
The structure of the episode seems to mimic the structure of the whole first series. It opens chaotically, providing only the barest of information on what’s happening, where and why; the end result is confusion rather than intrigue, and it hurts the overall impression of “Khyber”. But as the episode continues, the audience learns more, things become clear, and more hooks are presented for us to care about and sympathise with the characters. Characters like Ian and Zoe get moments where we’re fearing for their safety or egging them on to do something (the showdown with Tyrone comes to mind), and even Keel as become an engaging (if enigmatic) presence.
As with the last few episodes, “Khyber” sees the audience and the Byzantium team actually leaning big things about the larger plot elements of the show. They’re handled well and never feel like a reveal for a reveal’s sake: instead, they expand our understanding of what’s going on. It makes one want to go back and re-watch the weaker first episodes to apply this larger understanding and see how the whole plot comes together, which is always a good reaction to a TV show. What’s more, this episode sets up a more complicated relationship between the team, their client and their target, so that going into the finale, it’s hard — in a good way — to figure out who’s the goodie.
This is easily the best episode of “Hunted” yet. It had a rocky opening, but once the plot found its feet, “Khyber” delivered more emotional engagement than any other instalment of the show, between big character beats, action sequences and a real feeling that all the disparate plot threads are coming together for a big finale. It’s a shame the show couldn’t come out of the gate this strong, otherwise its future might not be in such jeopardy, but at the same time, this is a culmination of the set-up in those early episodes and otherwise we likely wouldn’t be getting such a bang for our buck.
Score: 9/10
