When a massive explosion at a top-secret prison known as the Pit allows notorious serial killer Richard Harris to escape, disgraced FBI agent Bex Henderson is called back into action to hunt him down before he kills again.
Every year, NBC seems to produce a drama just like this one. Some have breakout success. Others are quickly cancelled and easy to forget. The formula remains a product the broadcast network pursues every development cycle. The premise may shift slightly here and there. However, it almost always revolves around some covert government operation tasked with carrying out important missions that add up to an even greater conspiracy. Personality is definitely needed in order for any example in this genre to stand out. Melissa Roxburgh certainly has experience commanding an ensemble built around a complicated mythology. She led Manifest for four seasons - starting on NBC before eventually moving to Netflix. She has the trust to command the screen. But again, everything just feels so familiar. The only thing that stands out initially is the production design of the Pit. That showcases the scope and scale of the endeavor that has been compromised. It quickly pivots to the central concept of these dangerous prisoners being freed for a reason. That's the big reveal at the close of the episode. However, it was always implied that more was going on that what it initially seemed. That expected quality doesn't really allow anything exceptional to occur. It's the same process with a new collection of characters.
Bex Henderson is a brilliant analyst. She made a career for herself at the FBI. She is the best in the field. People come to her when the most dangerous situations arise. And yet, she opens the series working for a casino. She simply aides security figure out who is cheating. She makes observations that others completely overlook. She looks for the details. She sees them in others. It's difficult for her to be deceived. She was also forced out of the bureau for something beyond her control. She is eager to get back in. That makes her just desperate enough to accept this assignment. Again, it's horribly contrived. Moreover, the actual answers about what was happening in the Pit are even more elusive. Bex has to prove herself and call out the deception in front of her before being trusted with the mission. Even then, it's just meant to be a one-time thing. She must hunt down serial killer Richard Harris before he strikes again. That was the very first case she worked for the bureau. It holds significance in her career. She also believed the case was resolved when Harris was executed by lethal injunction years ago. The government covered that up in order to conduct experiments. That's shady but also only vaguely teased.
Shane presents as an immediate ally to Bex. He was a prison guard at the Pit. He had personal interactions with Harris in the present. Bex receives more insight from seeing the recorded therapy sessions. The focus remains squarely on Harris. Everything is built around his obsession with a specific flower. It links back to his final victim who was saved before she was killed. It's perceived that he aims to finish the job. In reality, she loved him. He made him even more skilled as a killer. Everything he did was an effort to impress her. The show makes the obvious point that it's difficult to identify a psychopath. They are skilled at mimicking emotions to the point where everyone is fooled about their true intentions. Harris is always portrayed as a creep. Nicole offers more complexities. Bex uncovers the truth eventually. She remains in a dangerous situation alone with her. She carries herself well. She is attacked by both of these depraved individuals. Yet she prevails. All of this is meant to showcase how skilled she is. She excels in the field and in making assessments with the rest of the team. She has questions about the Pit. Even the guards were kept on a need to know basis. It doesn't add up.
That's the hook of the drama. Nothing is ever truly as it seems. It plays into the conspiracy mindset of the government keeping secrets and running mysterious experiments on its citizens. Hassani proclaims that every advancement in Bex's profession was made by discoveries in the Pit. It still serves as a violation of human rights. It was dangerous to make a prison within a nuclear silo. It makes the attack much more explosive. A fair number of people survived. It certainly has to be enough to keep the story engine of the season fulfilled. Moreover, the warden recovers from surgery. Bex has a history with him. Odell was her partner. He frequently crossed lines. The ends always justified the means for him. Bex's life was improved by adopting Samantha. Odell made that possible. However, Bex knows Odell willingly let a killer die when he had the potential to save his life. That's a line Bex could never cross. She can't admire Odell for doing so. He trusts her though. He's the only person who can offer the scope of what was happening in the Pit. It's all ridiculous. It's a familiar storytelling structure hoping to captivate the same audience that always responds to this material. It's nothing new. And so, it's difficult to offer much investment because the network will probably develop a show just like it a year from now too.
