Political thrillers are almost always a sturdy form of entertainment; you have international implications, personal stories, and people walking and talking while wearing suits. But when you get a political thriller with two leads as compelling as Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy, it becomes easy to forgive whatever plot hiccups you encounter during a season.
Opening Shot: A couple walk through the woods, giving the pros and cons of a momentous decision. Should one member of the couple put their name in for their party’s nomination for Prime Minister?
The Gist: Abigail Dalton (Suranne Jones) is the one considering throwing her hat in the ring, but she’s rightly concerned it’ll negatively affect the lives of her husband, Dr. Alex Anderson (Ashley Thomas), and their college-age daughter Sylvie (Isobel Akuwudike). “Pro: You can change the world,” says Alex. We cut to see the Dalton-Andersons in front of 10 Downing Street on Abigail Dalton’s first day as PM.
Eight months later, the NHS is having pharmaceutical supply chain issues, and the opposing party is putting the blame squarely on Dalton’s shoulders. With French President Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy) coming to London for a summit, Dalton knows she needs to appeal to her counterpart for help, despite some nasty hot-mic comments Dalton made about Toussaint’s turn to the hard right. In fact, Toussaint is seeking the ability of French border patrol officers to be stationed on UK soil to help stem illegal immigration across the English Channel.
The negotiations are tense but cordial, until Kofi Adomako (Lucian Msamati), Dalton’s chief of staff, gets word that Alex and his Doctors Without Borders colleagues have been kidnapped in French Guyana. Dalton, fighting her understandable fear for her husband’s life, goes against protocol and restricts who knows about this. One thing she’s concerned about is going to Toussaint for help, since the country is French territory, as it now puts her in a disadvantaged position.
But when the captors send a video of Alex and his colleagues as hostages, with Alex reading a statement demanding Dalton’s resignation, Dalton is forced to turn to Toussaint. For her part, Toussaint uses the crisis to get a French ship full of sick refugees medical care from the UK, which angers Dalton. When Alex and his colleagues are located, though, Dalton is relieved that she’s getting her counterpart’s help. However, a text to Toussaint that involves her stepson, Matheo Lewis (Corey Mylchreest), she calls off the rescue at the last second.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Hostage has the feel of other British political thrillers like Bodyguard.
Our Take: Created by Matt Charman, Hostage is a relatively straightforward political thriller burnished by international politics and two fine lead performances by Jones and Delpy. Much of what goes on during the first episode is somewhat farfetched and also predictable, given the fact that the two countries have already located the Doctors Without Borders hostages by the end of the first episode. You knew that something had to happen with Toussaint that would cause her to call things off without explanation to Dalton.
Part of what’s farfetched about the scenario is the fact that Alex was working in French Guyana without any kind of security detail. Kofi tells Dalton that because there have been no attacks there, a detail wasn’t needed, but we thought that line was thrown in there just to explain his vulnerability away to doubting viewers like us, but we didn’t buy it.
The twists in the first episode set up a season where Dalton and Toussaint are at odds, with British-Franco relations, as well as the lives of Alex and his colleagues on the line. They both have to make decisions that will affect them personally, and will probably mean the difference between life and death for the hostages and others.
What will make this season one to watch is if Jones and Delpy continue their crackling chemistry when their characters are sharing scenes. Delpy plays Toussaint like the cold political player she is, but not one without lots of secrets that she wants to be kept secret. Jones is less flinty as Dalton, who is still feeling her way around the job as PM, wants to do the right thing in her job despite all of the forces that demand compromise, and also wants to be a responsible parent to Sylvie. Despite all that, though, Dalton shows her steel demeanor when her back’s against the wall.
So these are two formidable world figures who are dealing with issues both personal and global and trying to make sure they each get what they want. That’s a formula for an entertaining thriller, albeit one that will likely not linger on your memory too much after it’s over.
Sex and Skin: Nothing in the first episode.
Parting Shot: After calling off her troops, Toussaint tells Dalton that the only way to get her husband back is to resign.
Sleeper Star: James Cosmo plays Dalton’s father Max, who seems to know a lot about the ins and outs of diplomacy and how his daughter’s job works. He’ll likely be giving lots of sage advice from his hospital bed.
Most Pilot-y Line: During a reception, Dalton awkwardly asks Toussaint “what do you do for pleasure? For joy, if you don’t mind me asking”, and Toussaint answers “Compulsive masturbation” before saying the real answer, “Online poker.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. Hostage is a solid political thriller made better by the performances of Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy, especially when they’re on screen together.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.