Amazon's Hanna - Episode 1.05 "Town"
Still reeling from her revelations about Erik, Hanna hides out in suburban London with Sophie, who is keeping her new friend secret from her parents. Sophie persuades Hanna to attend a school party where Hanna experiences the thrill of a teenage crush for the first time. Meanwhile, Erik's friends desperately try to save him from the life-threatening injuries he sustained fleeing capture.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Amazon's Hanna.
"Town" was written by Ingeborg Topsoe and directed by Amy Neil
Hanna and Sophie share a connection. They offer each other a glimpse at a different life. Sophie is inspired by Hanna because she sees a woman who is more than capable of running away from her father and all of her problems. Sure, Sophie doesn't know the extent of damage in Hanna's past. She has only seen her in action once. The longer Hanna stays in London the more likely she'll be placing everyone she meets in harm's way. However, that moment has yet to come. No one outside of Marissa has been looking into Sophie's life. The show presents numerous ways in which people could have tracked down Hanna because of this connection. Hanna is intrigued because Sophie offers her an entry point to a completely different world. One in which she can just have fun and worry about boys. That's the life that Sophie has. It's one where everything has the potential of feeling melodramatic because Sophie has no context for just how complicated the world can be. Her largest problem is dealing with her parents who are arguing all the time but have yet to decide to get divorced. Sophie sees it as the inevitable conclusion. But she also feels like an outsider who can't relate to anything that is going on. Hanna may present as a radically different person. But she's also wholesome in offering a unique perspective. She becomes a friend to Sophie at a time when Sophie really needs that kind of blind and loyal support. Hanna understands that she could be risking Sophie's life by staying with her. She knows that she can't be in any one place for too long. She knows that people are hunting her down. And yet, she doesn't want to allow herself to be overcome with the trauma of seeing her father attacked shortly after confronting him about her lineage. Even though her entire history is in turmoil at the moment, she still feels that immense loss. She is still focused on the paper that outlines that Erik isn't her father. That's the only detail she can look at as well. When Sophie's friend Dan discovers it, he sees all the other information that is there. He is objective enough to know that something more is going on without getting too caught up in the precise details. Sophie, Dan and Anton don't know anything substantial about Hanna. It's just important to offer her this escape. They all need that as well. They see this as their final days of vacation and adventure. They can run away from their problems and escape to something better. Hanna wishes to return to the forest. And yet, it can never be as simple as that. She was photographed at the party she went to with Sophie. That tips off Marissa as to where she is. Marissa is more focused on this mission than actually trying to sort out her personal life. That drama is a little bland and drab. Her boyfriend wants to have a baby with her but she is haunted by the babies she killed all those years ago. That's what's fueling her decision to leave and focus so intensely on her work. She's not involving anyone else in this hunt either. That too can be potentially dangerous because she's going rogue. She has already shown the attitude of shooting first no matter what the consequences will be. Erik gets captured by the end of this hour as well. He isn't killed by the police. He is betrayed by yet another friend. Dieter is trying to protect his family after getting caught up in all of this. But it still mostly presents as a way for the show to shuffle up the pieces on the board once more as well.
