After a strong pilot, Secret Service ends up mostly delivering a solid season of tense political espionage. However, it never fully becomes the great spy thriller it had the potential to be.

The first episode did a good job setting the hook, and thankfully, the show keeps enough intrigue going to make you want to stick around. I genuinely thought Lena was done for in episode one, so I spent a good chunk of the second episode just waiting for disaster to strike. That underlying tension is probably the show’s biggest strength; it always feels like something is about to go very wrong.

Gemma Arterton remains the anchor throughout the season. She’s steady, believable, and does a lot with the material she’s given. The problem is more with the writing than the performances. The characters never quite feel fully developed, which makes it harder to emotionally invest early on. You understand everyone’s role in the story, but not always who they are beyond the plot.

That said, the cast does elevate things quite a bit. Rafe Spall continues proving why he’s such a reliable character actor, but he may be getting a little typecast at this point. And then there’s Mark Stanley, who honestly steals the show as the smarmy politician at the center of everything. Every time he was on screen, he managed to get the strongest reaction out of me, which is exactly what that kind of character needs to do.

The biggest issue with the season is probably the reveal at the end. It’s the exact direction I was hoping the show wouldn’t take because it is a bit too obvious once everything clicks into place. It doesn’t ruin the season, but it does make the story more run-of-the-mill than it could have been.

Still, even with its flaws, Secret Service remains a watchable and reasonably engaging spy drama. The script is solid enough, the performances are convincing across the board, and the atmosphere works. I’m not entirely sure it’ll get a second season, but if it does, the situation the finale leaves everyone in could make for a much more interesting follow-up.

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