Charlie Cox is back, but not as the golden-horned Daredevil last seen in She-Hulk, rather as an MI6 deputy promoted to the Chief’s position in dire situations in Netflix’s thrilling limited series Treason. Premiering on December 26, 2022, with 5 episodes, the series has been created by Matt Charman, best known for the award-winning Cold War movie Bridge of Spies. The show stars Olga Kurylenko, Oona Chaplin, Ciaran Hinds, Beau Gadsdon, Samuel Leakey, Tracy Ifeachor, Alex Kingston and more alongside Cox.
Having been appointed as the new head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Adam Lawrence starts doubting his lack of experience to guide the ship. Soon, he realises his role in it all, being stuck as a mere pawn in a larger game of deception riddled with conspiracies which compel him to face his past while saving his present at any cost.
Netflix describes the series as follows:
Too young. Not enough experience. No killer instinct. Few believe Adam can handle MI6’s top job. But what if there’s a secret that’ll ensure his success?
-Treason Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
Adam Lawrence climbs up the ranks by default as the new Chief of the MI6 after the former head is poisoned and has to take an obvious sabbatical for the time being. While the present may seem glorious, his old days catch up to him once a past acquaintance, a Russian spy – Kara, who shares a piece of his history, joins the rush. As everyone starts turning on him, he’s left with no one to trust and the complicated triangle between him, his wife and Kara seeks to destroy everything that he’s built to this day with his family.
Hanging on for dear life, the only goal he cares for more than anything else is keeping his family safe while diplomatic schemes and plots surface, changing his definition of the good and the bad forever.
The initial feel starter of the series is similar to what we’ve all seen before – the leading spy’s family being endangered as one of the younger members is abducted. This familiar and affable aura is a reminder of long-running widely loved thriller series like 24 and Homeland, ones that premiered before the dawn of the Netflix binge tradition and would make us wait for a whole week, keeping us on the edge of our seats for another episode.
Treason hopes to achieve the same impact, but with a shorter runtime due to its compact packaging as a limited series run with only five episodes. The entire saga of the fusion of gun-toying, action, drama, suspense and the eventual resolution is cut short in this way. Nevertheless, during the moments of your binge-watch session, you’ll stay busy with the constant unfolding of twists and the whole political as well as personal mess involving various characters.
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Since the show concerns itself with MI6 and CIA, another cliche that rides along the entourage is the presence of Russian agents, and the same as always “You can’t trust anyone” rigmarole. However, these cliches aren’t necessarily executed to be the downfall of the Netflix show and work well when complemented by the cast’s performance.
Cox’s charm is there but Daredevil‘s Matt Murdock-turned-the-titular-mini-series’ Adam Lawrence doesn’t hold out on his own and isn’t loud enough to lead the pack. This instead opens up the room for the women of the show – Chaplin and Kurylenko – to take charge, and their team-up gladly lets the stereotypes burn away with them rising as the champions responsible for turning on the vengeful heat in the last few episodes.
More than espionage itself, the episodes highlight personal emotions of family, friendship, colleagues and the final betrayal caused by some being blindsided by a few diplomatic conspiracies camouflaged in plain sight. On top of that, if nothing else, Charman’s tale brings the previously much-loved English sophistication to our screens again.
It’s not something you’d want to drop midway. Moreover, it doesn’t require you to patiently jog your brain either for everything to make sense. Being simply straightforward with its plot’s approach that way, it doesn’t ask too much of you to keep tabs with everyone’s every single step on the way as opposed to other predominant spy stories. Even if you can’t keep up with characters other than the main lot, you can jolly well tag along for the ride and watch it as it is.
Treason : Final Thoughts
Living in a world of instant everything where the visage of it all appears attractive, we tend to forego our attention on the greater nuanced details of the content itself. Treason‘s release in this day and age doesn’t introduce anything we haven’t already been before, but still, its execution and presentation accompanied with the actors’ efforts makes it a watch worth one’s watch even if it may be forgotten soon after.
So, to answer the big question – Is Cox cut out for this Bond-adjacent spy character? The answer is both yes and no, because the ultimate drive of his character isn’t as much to lead the mission as much as it is to keep his family safe.
If anything at all, even the brief summary gives it away. His depiction of Adam Lawrence has “no killer instinct”, then to go ahead asking more of him to be like Bond isn’t quite fair. In the end, it comes down to the five episodes carrying the cold British air we’ve already witnessed on our screens earlier but welcome it back yet again since the plot settles down for an enthralling and fun watch for whatever limited time span it stays with us.
Treason is now streaming on Netflix.
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