In the opening scene of this new BBC drama we see a man murdered in front of his children in a restaurant. He is Israeli arms supplier Eli Stein and twenty nine years later his daughter, Neesa, controls his company. She however is trying to use it to build bridges between Israel and Palestine and for that she has just been ennobled. The next part of her scheme involves providing high speed broadband to the Palestinians and she announces that the contract will go to a Palestinian firm; much to the chagrin of the Israeli she had given previous contracts to. The plot soon begins to thicken though when the head of the Palestinian company is found hanged. Initially it looks like suicide but those investigating aren't so sure. The Israelis deny doing it but who can be sure in the murky world of Middle Eastern politics? As the story progresses it emerges that most of the protagonists have secrets and Neesa and those close to her are in a dangerous position.
This episode opened in a way that grabs the viewer's attention then slows down to introduce the characters and explain the situation. We are not told too much though so it is hard to know who can really be trusted. Maggie Gyllenhaal does a fine job as Neesa; recently we've got used to seeing British actors playing Americans in American productions but she proves an American can play an English person believably as well. The rest of the cast do a fine job too; I particularly liked the understated performance from Steven Rea who plays MI6 officer Hugh Hayden-Hoyle. While the episode wasn't action packed there were some fairly tense scenes; most notably the ending which left me keen to see what comes next. On the strength of this episode I'd certainly recommend giving this series a go.
This episode opened in a way that grabs the viewer's attention then slows down to introduce the characters and explain the situation. We are not told too much though so it is hard to know who can really be trusted. Maggie Gyllenhaal does a fine job as Neesa; recently we've got used to seeing British actors playing Americans in American productions but she proves an American can play an English person believably as well. The rest of the cast do a fine job too; I particularly liked the understated performance from Steven Rea who plays MI6 officer Hugh Hayden-Hoyle. While the episode wasn't action packed there were some fairly tense scenes; most notably the ending which left me keen to see what comes next. On the strength of this episode I'd certainly recommend giving this series a go.
