What's Not To Love About Hostage?

What are you hoping for when you sit down to watch a Netflix political thriller? You want it to be, well, thrilling, yes, but also filled with twists and turns and just enough pace for you to keep up with. Add some wonderful performances and a screenplay that keeps you guessing, and you have for yourself a great binge watch.

In that case, here's something that should certainly be on your watch list, if you haven't already checked it out. Hostage written by Matt Charman, starring Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy in the lead roles.

In the world of power and politics, everything is murky terrain, especially if it's a woman holding said power, as men around her and waiting to bring her down. This show has two such women, and both of them are fighting for survival, when we first meet them.

Jones plays Abigail Dalton, British Prime Minister who has facing major heat with the looming healthcare crisis in the UK. Delpy stars as Vivienne Toussaint, the President of France who is up for re-election. The latter is paying a visit to the former to discuss a mutually-beneficial deal that'll help both countries, and the future of both the leaders. But as it always happens, crisis strikes, and all hell breaks loose.

A nameless terrorist group kidnaps Dalton's husband, Alex (Ashley Thomas) who is part of Doctors Without Borders, and in the jungles of Guyana treating patients. The terrorists blackmail Dalton, asking her to step down. Their motives feel definitely personal, and everything is revealed as the episodes progress. As do the many other secrets everyone seems to be holding. Including the two political leaders, in particular the French one.

When the stakes are this high, you know it's all fair game. And with every episode, newer players and their plans keep unfolding. It's a lot of fun, to be fair, and without giving any spoilers, we can tell you that a lot of the twists and turns do hit the right spot!

What makes Hostage hugely watchable, aside from those plot points, is the direction.

Isabelle Sieb and Amy Neil, the director due who have helmed things, keep things pulpy at all times, never letting things go dull. The emotions and tension are always palpable, and even as multiple characters go about their deceiving, they never lose focus on the central plot, and never let you, the viewer, do that either.

Also, women directing women lead protagonists is anyway such a joy to watch. The show's lens is consistently feministic, yes, but it's not performative at all. At the hands of a male director, would things have been made differently, you'd wonder after the series ends. Which it does rather quickly. Both in part due to the show's pacing which is quick at all times as well as the series' overall duration which is just 5 episodes.

Easy to binge, easy to watch. Thoroughly enjoyable at all times. Won't be a bad idea to be held 'hostage' by Hostage, isn't it?