The Night Agent Is a Binge-Worthy Thriller

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Charlene Giannetti in Playing Around

Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) has the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The young FBI agent is on a train when he watches someone exit, leaving behind a duffle. Not waiting for someone else to “see something, say something,” he checks the bag and finds a bomb. He produces his badge and tells everyone to get off the train. When the explosion does happen, one person dies, but the result could have been much worse.

While being tended to by an EMT, Sutherland sees the man who left the bomb fleeing the scene. He gives chase and briefly tussles with the bomber, getting a glimpse of a serpent-like tattoo that runs down his side. The suspect eventually escapes and Sutherland, still giving pursuit, is hit by a car. During follow up interviews, he tells what he knows, but with no one to back up his claims, some even believe he may have planted the bomb. Working against Sutherland is his family history. His father, also an FBI agent, was arrested and charged with sharing information with a foreign asset, but was killed before he could prove his innocence. Peter joined the FBI despite what happened to his father and has not given up finding out what really happened.

Sutherland’s next assignment is at the White House, but being a night agent, sitting in a locked room staring at a phone that doesn’t ring, seems like he’s being punished. Then, one night, the phone rings. At first he thinks it’s a prank, someone who has hacked into the line. But Rose (Luciane Buchanan) soon convinces him that she’s in real danger. A killer got into the house where she was visiting her aunt and uncle. While her uncle was shot dead, her aunt was able to give Rose the number and code for the night agent number before she died. Sutherland quickly realizes that the couple were agents and whatever they were working on got them killed. He talks Rose through what she needs to do to survive and promises he will send help.

When Rose arrives at the White House, Sutherland takes her to see the president’s chief of staff, Diane Farr (Hong Chau who turns in another terrific performance following her Oscar-nominated one in The Whale). While Sutherland trusts Farr, even regards her as a mentor, Rose does not. Before dying the aunt told Rose that there’s a conspirator in the White House. Rose is even more reluctant to share anything with FBI Director Hawkins (Robert Patrick). While both officials suspect Rose is withholding information, they know she needs protection since she’s seen the killer’s face. The Secret Service takes over, guarding Rose at a D.C. hotel, but when Rose’s detail is pulled, the assassin is on site and only Sutherland’s unexpected appearance saves her. Sutherland now believes Rose that no one in the White House can be trusted.

Two other Secret Service agents are guarding Maddie Redfield (Sarah Desjardins) the daughter of the vice president (Christopher Shyer). An art student at Georgetown, Maddie’s detail consists of Chelsea Arrington (Fola Evans-Akingbola), an ambitious, tough agent, and Erik Monks (D.B. Woodside), who once took a bullet to prevent an assassination, but then got hooked on painkillers and went to rehab. Arrington regards her assignment as a possible step up to a more visible post, while Monks hopes to prove he can still do the job. Arrington has a soft spot for Maddie, seeing herself as a big sister. But that backfires when Maddie ditches her protection to meet her art professor and ends up getting kidnapped.

The double storylines involving two women in peril soon come together. Unlike some thrillers where we need a scorecard to keep track of all the players and to constantly rewind to follow the plot, The Night Agent manages to ratchet up the tension and not lose us in the process. The series, with 10 episodes now streaming on Netflix, benefits from a talented cast. Besides the leads, supporting actors Eve Harlow (Ellen) and Phoenix Raei (Dale) as the two assassins, stand out. Despite leaving a blood trail, the duo also manage to exhibit a human side. When they steal a baby to appear as a loving couple to gain access to a house – they kill the owner – Ellen later talks about settling down and starting a family. Dale expresses doubts saying that their line of work might make spending time with a baby difficult. Really?

The Night Agent has the green light for a second season. Basso no doubt will return and possibly some of the actors whose characters survived. The only plot hint we have is that this time he won’t be waiting for a phone to ring.

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