TV Review: Hostages Season 1 Episode 13 "Fight or Flight"

Duncan's daughter after seeing Nina in Burton's house:

"I'm just glad you're out of the hospital. That means you're not sick anymore!"

What a dumb kid.

That's essentially the highlight of the episode "Fight or Flight" for me. What kid says that?

This has just become a game for me. How can Hostages write themselves into a corner and then reset themselves like it never happened?

The first opportunity occurred as this show ended on the cliffhanger that Nina knew everything. These exchanges went down during this episode:

Duncan: This was the only way. Kill a bad man to save a good woman.

Nina: Not that simple.

Duncan: Sure it is.

You see how they never get into the details of this? Characters aren't explaining WHY they are right and the other character is wrong. All they're doing is going back and forth saying "it's right", "no it's not", "yes it is". By glossing over everything the writers make sure that no matter the acting, the show never reaches a deep level.

Of course, Duncan resets this cliffhanger in hilarious fashion, by literally locking Nina in a room.

They even try to raise the tension by having her doctor come looking for her and almost finding her.

It fails miserably, because the premise of locking characters away when you don't know how to proceed with them is bad storytelling.

Sandrine plays a big part in this episode playing cat and mouse with Duncan and Archer trying to find out why she wants to take them out. This causes a differing of opinion apparently, where Archer and Sandrine will kill Ellen's family if she doesn't kill the president, but Duncan and Kramer won't (???).

To bring this show to a whole new low, they have a seemingly tense Duncan yell at Ellen and her family. When they protest, Duncan "shoots" Jake, who falls back out of frame seemingly dead.

But wait! Don't worry! Hostages doesn't take those kind of risks. Cut to the next scene where Kramer is hiding him out in some cabin because that makes sense, right? Ellen explains to Morgan that it had to be "100% real." The only thing that had to be 100% real there was how much audience manipulation and camera trickery was used.

Ellen telling 16 year old pregnant Morgan that Jake went first because she was "stronger" was hilarious to watch, though.

Kudos to that Hostages, I guess.

The dad and Morgan meet some "disappear guy" while Ellen convinces the first lady (with a surprisingly well made up lie) to help smuggle out a bone marrow sample from the President after the surgery.

Oh yeah, and the first lady's sister tricked the NSA guy and now she's running for the next Vice President? Who cares, right? God help us all if this show gets a second season and we have to witness that.

Duncan tracks down Nina and their daughter trying to flee, which is supposed to be a cliffhanger. I hope Hostages just commits at this point and locks both of them in a room this time.

Duncan, make sure you give your daughter some cartoons to watch or something. You're not a monster.

Photo Credit: TV Equals