The Night Agent Season 2 Review: Leveling Up To Create a Nail-Biting Season

The Night Agent returns for a second season that is above and beyond its first outing, presenting a very compelling moral dilemma for the protagonist, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), and an equally compelling new cast of characters and mystery.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of The Night Agent Season 2 is actually making Peter a much more interesting main character. As important as the mystery unraveling throughout the season is, Peter’s struggle to not cross the line between right and wrong drives just as much of the plot and the interest in the story. 

We see him struggle to justify his choices, just as he is trying to hold himself to the standard that Rose, his love interest, holds him to. Peter has to deal with others’ expectations and also with his father’s legacy, who was responsible for a major leak of intelligence from the Pentagon.

While I was happy to see Rose back this season in a bigger role than the trailer implied, I wish she had more to do than being a (admittedly very crafty) damsel in distress.

However, the angst between Rose and Peter definitely keeps us invested in their relationship. I do appreciate how clever Rose is shown to be, as she manages to get herself out of several very sticky situations. There just was more potential for her character.

The writing was particularly strong this season as compared to Season 1. The first season relied on some more trope-y storylines to hit its stride as a thriller series. Season 2 barely dragged in Episodes 7 and 8 but kept its pace quick and consistent, which had me on the edge of my seat all 10 episodes.

The entire supporting cast adds several necessary layers to the story, but the best additions are definitely Amanda Warren’s character Catherine Weaver, who is Peter’s superior, and Arienne Mandi’s Noor, whose story often ties with Peter’s and Rose’s. Marwan Kenzari’s Sami also deserves a special shoutout, if only for his dedication to reuniting Noor with her family.

Catherine is appropriately appalled at Peter’s rebellious nature, and has a very entertaining take-no-prisoners attitude that plays well off of Gabriel Basso’s Peter. You can see the gears constantly turning in her brain as she pieces together the different parts of the main conspiracy that resulted in one of her agents getting killed.

Noor and the whole storyline in the Iranian embassy is also compelling, but I have my problems with throwing off the hijab being used as a metaphor for freedom as it is applied to Noor’s character. It seems like the show is trying to comment on present-day problems in Iran – Noor expresses in one moment that she wanted “Azadi,” a clear reference to the women-led movement for freedom in Iran whose slogan was “Jin, Jayan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom). 

This happens with shows that seek to comment on or reference real-life events, where the reference might not quite play out as well as intended. Noor is a fearless woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her family safe.

However, in the context of how the hijab being discarded by Muslim women is mistakenly read as a kind of freedom in Hollywood especially, that particular fearlessness unique to Noor’s situation is undercut very quickly.

It would have been nice to see Noor’s situation handled slightly differently, but there were clearly attempts towards authenticity and specificity. It was good to see just how much Farsi was spoken by the characters in the Iranian embassy and see how there were so many actual Iranian actors playing them. 

The only weakness in this season that took away from the mystery unfolding was the presence of the Bala family. The Balas are the ruling family from an unnamed country, and the patriarch, Viktor, is being held in The Hague for his crimes.

While the actors do their very best to keep viewers invested, it just took too long for the story to coalesce around them in a way that fit them with the rest of the cast, even though the Balas are responsible for trying to attack the United Nations in the final episodes. 

Viktor rails against “the West” and his hypocrisy (a valid complaint), but we have no idea where his strangely vague accent came from. Considering how culturally specific the storyline surrounding Noor was, this felt like a letdown. The story stalls whenever it focuses on the Bala family, which is unfortunate in a show that relies so much on its rapid pace.

So far, showrunner Shawn Ryan has proven very good at getting viewers to trust the process and stay invested in the story; to wait long enough to see everything come together.

However, the show teeters a bit too close to the edge of too much confusion with the sheer amount of villains we see whose backstories need to be explained. 

The show is, however, very clearly geared towards a binge rather than having a strict episodic structure beyond major cliffhangers ending each episode. The direction makes the action feel visceral, with several shocking moments where I audibly gasped in surprise and quite a few good reveals.

One of the most intriguing new divisions, about whom we know very little, is Jacob Monroe, intriguingly played by Louis Herthum. Herthum deals in intelligence, and his actions tie the whole season together. The character himself is barely sketched out, though, but Season 3 could give us the opportunity to understand his motivations better.

The show could use some more character development across the board, but seeing the parallels of how far Peter Sutherland Jr. and Sr. were willing to go to protect the people they care about is definitely a good addition. Hopefully, there will be more such layers added to other characters in the upcoming Season 3.

Overall, The Night Agent Season 2 is a highly satisfying and thrilling binge, with compelling new cast additions and a riveting central mystery. 

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The Night Agent is streaming now on Netflix. 

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