Season 1 Premiere Air Date: November 26th 2020
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
The Flight Attendant (Pilot)
Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Michiel Huisman, Zosia Mamet, T.R. Knight, Michelle Gomez, Colin Woodell, Merle Dandridge, Griffin Matthews, Nolan Gerard Funk, Rosie Perez
Don’t you reckon that TV is becoming slightly predictable these days? Lawyer shows, police procedurals, medical dramas, family dramas, superhero shows, reality TV… the list goes on. Has there been anything new that we can all that we can marvel at and be amazed? As we are sitting at home during lockdown and quarantine and just basically being away from everyone whom we think has COVID-19; we flick through our Netflix account or our Disney + account or our Foxtel or Stan account… and we find the same things as last time. Frustrated we ask God ‘Send us something new and exciting’… and let me tell you. God has answered.
The Flight Attendant, based on the novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian, debuts today on HBO Max, but we can view the pilot episode for free here. And boy, what a ride we the viewers go on. With TVLine writing an impressive recap– one that covers almost everything that I want to say- let me echo and concur with their thoughts. The pilot for The Flight Attendant, Kaley Cucuo’s first starring role since The Big Bang Theory ended, is energetic and smartly-paced as we meet Cassie Bowden, a flight attendant living the high life and flying from city to city, living it up and partying (due to the perks of her job. When Alex, a passenger she has just met (Michiel Huisman) asks her out in Bangkok, Thailand, and the two of them go out on a date and then sleep together; the next day she wakes up to find Alex dead in her hotel bed, throat slit with oodles of blood.
After a discussion with her best friend (Zosia Mamet), where Cassie provides vague inferences as to what she is dealing with, she decides not to go to the police, but instead clean up her mess (in the hotel but leave the dead body there!), and then hop onto the next flight to Seoul, and then New York where she lives. Obviously, Cassie is shaken and jittery, and now for the rest of the episode acts very guiltily around her co-workers and the police when they question her in New York. Throughout the episode, Cassie also takes ‘trips’ in her mind, manifesting as the hotel room where she found Alex dead, with an ‘alive’ Alex (a manifestation of a figment of her imagination) guiding her through her grief and her trying to find clues as to who killed him; and Kaley plays the crazy quite well. There’s not enough to go off from just once episode, but from what I can tell, this show is pretty good, and I will be watching to the bitter end!
It’s a pity that The Flight Attendant is a mini-series instead of a new TV series- however the finite number of episodes (8) gives this series purpose and kick, as the pilot isn’t a filler episode, and judging from the trailer of the show, it’ll be full steam ahead until the end. Kaley is likeable in the role as the girl who doesn’t have her life together, and the rest of the cast (who is relatively unknown to me!) backs her up quite well. It’s been a while since a TV show has had me on the edge of my seat this much (maybe some early episodes of The Blacklist)- so it’s been a long time coming. The second and third episodes debut today on HBO Max (although I’m sure someone will put it online on the internet somewhere!) and let me tell you- I am definitely going to watch the show. No doubts about it. So are you? Well done Kaley, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you next- or if The Flight Attendant may possibly be renewed for season 2 in the unlikely event.
Did the first episode of The Flight Attendant leave a lasting impression on you? Did any themes in the episodes speak to you, and which was it? What elements of the show are you enjoying- Cassie’s frequent ‘trips’ to the scene of the crime, the advice her friend Annie unknowingly gives her, the banter between Cassie and her flight attendant workmates or the close but not-so-close relationship Cassie has with her brother? Will you be tuning in for the rest of the season knowing that it’s only meant to be one season? Let us know in the comments.
RIYL: 24, The Blacklist, White Collar, Prison Break, Little Fires Everywhere, Dead To Me, You, Sharp Objects, The Sinner
Rating: 4.5/5 (based on 1 episode)
The Flight Attendant debuts its first three episodes on November 26th 2020.