The Flight Attendant Premiere Review: A Descent into Madness
Paul Dailly
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When people are trying to cover up a murder on TV and in movies, they usually do it well.
If it wasn't inherently clear that Cassie was not cut out for this on The Flight Attendant Season 1 Episode 1, then I shudder to think what you thought after The Flight Attendant Season 1 Episode 2 and The Flight Attendant Season 1 Episode 3.
Characters like Cassie are usually well-liked or well-hated, but there's something about the vulnerability Kaley Cuoco brings to the role that makes me feel sorry for her.
From covering up the crime scene to visiting Michiel's workplace, and, finally, attending his funeral, she was a hot mess, but I'm here for every single minute of it.
All of the above made Cassie look like the top suspect in the murder, but it seems there is way more to this than I first thought.
There was something about Megan from the get-go, especially the way she spoke soothingly to Cassie as though she was her best friend.
Her playing drunk in Rome was also obvious, leading me to believe she was up to no good, and reiterating that she was going back to her hotel room to get an alibi for something else that happened.
Cassie: Davey, hi, I really can't talk. I'm going to miss my flight.
Davey: Oh, yeah, I just wanted to check in about the New York trip real quick, cause, you know, Rick's getting nervous.
Cassie: Nervous? What are you talking about, and it's like weeks away. Isn't it?
Davey: Yeah, yes, it's four days away.
Cassie: Oh, shit, really?
Davey: Yeah, and the girls are excited to see their aunt Cassie, but they're beginning to realize she's a terrible planner.
Cassie: OK, put those knives away right now. That is not fair.
Megan is desperately trying to avoid being hauled in by the feds, and conveniently telling them things that would make them turn to Cassie is a good move.
It's possible she's scared at the prospect of her little drug ring being exposed, but she's obviously up to more than that if she's stealing files from her husband's computer for sketchy individuals.
Megan knows more than she's letting on, and given that the Solokov family are a bunch of crooks with a lot of money, there could have been value in killing him, and pinning it on her co-worker.
It's an outlandish theory, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment.
The Miranda Croft of it all is considerably tougher to crack. Do I think she was in a romantic relationship with Michiel? Yes, but he was keeping it from his loved ones.
Cassie: Oh, fuck. Who are you?
Ethan: I'm Ethan from last night.
Cassie: How did you get in here?
Ethan: We met at the bar.
Cassie: Yes, but you're in my apartment.
Ethan: You texted me right here, you told me to use the key above the door thing, the door frame. We were supposed to meet here at 2.
Cassie: Ethan, oh my god. OK, I'm starting to remember, I was very, very drunk. That's on me. OK, I'm sorry, I remember you now.
The way Miranda is pursuing Cassie would make you believe she was a merciless killer, but what if she's targeting Cassie because she thinks Cassie legitimately carried out the brutal slaying?
There's a lot we don't know about that night, but we do know that Miranda, Michiel, and Cassie got close over drinks, but we still can't place Miranda at the hotel room.
Miranda looks like a villain based on her actions, but then again, Cassie looks like a murderer because of her actions. Looks can be deceiving.
I gotta shower, no, no, no - not in a fun way. You gotta go cause I got to leave. Thank you for the effort. Good job.
Cassie
As much as Megan wants her co-workers to think she's an older woman who gets her kicks by ordering things on eBay, she's out there making dodgy deals and whatnot.
The funeral was particularly telling. This is a family that didn't even think anything was off about a woman who knew Michiel for all of 12 hours before his death attending his funeral.
It suggests Michiel could have been a casualty of one of the dodgy deals of the family, and that would be terribly unfortunate. It all harkens back to my theory about Megan being the killer.
From the perspective of the FBI, Cassie is guilty as sin. She can deny being a part of things all she wants, but we've already witnessed how quickly she breaks down when she's under pressure.
Annie wants to save her friend from the law, but how can she do that when Cassie continually breaks the rules? Surely, Cassie would have been well-coached in what she could and couldn't say to Kim and Van.
The intriguing part of this is that Annie has connections, and she will use them to find out which way the FBI is swaying, in terms of whether they are looking at Cassie, or someone else.
With Miranda on the loose, and where the scene of Annie and her boyfriend was placed during the third episode, I figured one or both of them were going to be attacked by the knife-wielding maniac.
Instead, we got Cassie bumping into her on a packed train.
Buckley may be easy on the eyes, but he's up to something. We know Cassie drinks herself into oblivion, but him calling her before she attended the funeral came out of the left field.
What if he's an undercover agent, desperately waiting for Cassie to snap. Let's face it, she's got a past, and she may or may not have been involved in the death of her father.
There has to be some meaning to these flashbacks.
The writing is really solid, and the series is bursting at the seams with witty one-liners, but I'm not entirely sold on Cassie meeting with Michiel in her mind.
Megan: Good morning.
Cassie: Good morning, Megan.
Megan: We were taking bets to see how late you were going to be.
Cassie: Oh, I want in, is perfectly on time still available? Oh, I win.
Megan: Yay.
On the one hand, it gives us a first-row seat into Cassie's mind, but on the other, it takes away from the realism of the plot. Yes, the actions are heightened, but something like this could happen in real life.
For now, the series is a success, and it's thanks to the riveting performances from the cast and the script.
What are your thoughts on all of the bombshells? Do you think Megan is up to something? Who do you think is the killer?
Hit the comments below.
Catch new episodes of The Flight Attendant Thursdays on HBO Max.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
