Hanna arrives in Barcelona, intent on saving Gelder and persuading Clara to leave Utrax.
In 2019, the television industry aired 532 scripted shows across numerous outlets. The way people consume content now is different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, it's less necessary to provide ample coverage of each episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site provides 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.
"Tacitus" was written by David Farr and directed by David Farr
Apparently, Utrax has a set list of targets they would like to take out across the globe. They have just been waiting for the trainees to become operational. It's a list that actually exists in physical form as well. A lawyer for the American government could get his hands on it. That works only because the show has been so vague and meandering when it comes to explaining the hierarchy of this organization. The people who rescue Marissa ask her what she knows. She knows next to nothing. She isn't all that helpful even though certain groups see her as being on their side. It's all incredibly complicated with no true value to it. It's all about the intensity and uncertainty that plays out in Barcelona. That mostly comes from whether or not Clara will eliminate the target. Doubt only creeps into the situation once Hanna appears again. She gets through to Clara once more by offering her information about her mother. That has been a thread teased throughout this entire season. So many stories were told that it was difficult to decipher which one was the truth. As such, it made it seem incredibly likely that Clara would need confirmation of her mother's continued existence and love for her in order to turn against the program that has been training her for this specific mission. She doesn't get that. Sure, she emails her mother in Egypt. She just doesn't get a response before she has to arrive at the restaurant and the hotel. She has to make this decision on her own. She can either side with Hanna who knows that Utrax has been deceiving them about them families all along. Or she can continue working with Sandy, who has no doubts about what has to be done. Sandy has always operated with that clarity too. Even when confronted with the lies and deceit, she embraced the known quality of what her life has always been. She may care too deeply about the fake backstory created for her. But that is actually a positive quality. It's her fulfilling the role exactly how the program wanted. John is happy with Sandy and Jules' performances. They do exactly what he wants. There is no questioning or ambiguity. And yet, the narrative is built entirely around ambiguity. That is the extent of the conflict. Will Clara pull the trigger or not? She allows her target to get away on several occasions. Sandy could write that off as Clara being nervous during their first mission. However, it becomes a pattern that should send signals to her that Clara isn't up for the job. Jules knew that Hanna couldn't be trusted in the field. As such, every piece of information had to run through her. She had the complete confidence of her superiors. That's why the mission was still a success. The time in Barcelona still achieves the ultimate goal of this man's death. Sandy pulls the trigger. Clara refuses to do so. But it's chaos meant to amp the drama up. Hanna makes contact with Clara and Kat. Her interactions may be confusing. She bluntly forces people to address that not everything is how they perceive it to be. All it takes is some slight pushing for Sandy's backstory to fall apart. Apparently, it didn't take much effort for people to keep tabs on Clara's mother. Utrax lost her but this other group did not. That means no organization is perfect. The people in charge always say that they can deliver such perfection. John is furious that things have developed complications. And yet, the show also wants the simplicity of him having a complicated history with the target who threatens this program. That is conveyed solely through a broad conversation about how power corrupts. There is just no specificity to the drama. It's all action. So, it's climatic when Sandy succeeds and makes a run for it. Hanna and Clara will close the season as a team. That is intriguing. But it's also hard to feel any particular way about what should be expected in the finale. The storytelling just hasn't done enough to make it seem rewarding or devastating. It will simply be twists meant to excite instead of maintain an internal sense of logic and consistency. Maybe Marissa will show up and offer assistance to Hanna. Maybe Clara will find some resolution with her mother. Maybe Utrax will be exposed thanks to this list of targets still being out there. These are developments that still linger. One may not be heavily invested though because the complexity of this conflict is still as loosely defined as it was at the start of the series. Plot points were simply introduced to build some sense of tension and momentum by the finale.
