True Lies Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Public Secrets
Denis Kimathi
at
.
At least we remained consistent. The worst thing that a show can do is drop in quality.
We continued the same trajectory of jokes, action, and lies on True Lies Season 1 Episode 2. After being inducted into Omega, Helen was ripe for training, but the results were less than satisfactory.
Yoga might have made her flexible, but it didn't teach her how to deal with a life-or-death situation.
The latest case from Omega saw Harry and Helen head to Madrid in an undercover mission that had them interact directly with their exes. These interactions brought up feelings they never knew they had.
First, Helen was trained in survival skills, including hand-to-hand combat and maneuver tactics.
Despite failing a test using her undercover persona, she was assigned an undercover role.
Is it because of the training? Because that was a disaster.
Helen
True Lies is supposed to be a comedy, but some creative decisions are watering down the show. No boss in their right mind would assign a novice who joined the agency not because she wanted to but because she had no other choice.
It might appear quirky and funny that "she is an inexperienced agent, and look how awkward she is," but it makes the show look half-baked, with half the runtime relying on jokes, half of the remainder on the action, and the rest on character and narrative development.
They should have Helen train for a little while before pushing her into the middle of it.
After revealing his secret to his wife, most of the show's charm was lost and having the kids become the new "clueless wife" doesn't have the same impact.
Stakes are higher in a marriage because there are real consequences to lying and keeping secrets, which are never pretty.
What is the worst a kid can do when they learn their parent has been keeping a secret? Get upset and slam the door. Their daughter seemed interested in having them out of the house as soon as possible so that she could go out.
It's not as fun anymore if most parties involved in the lie want the same outcome.
The stakes felt higher when both of them ran into exes from their spouse's past, and they started feeling insecure.
Harry: Sure seemed like you guys had a lot in common. You both speak like thirty languages.
Harlod: Said she didn't want someone who spoke thirty languages. Just her language.
Harry felt off when it seemed like his wife and her ex-boyfriend had better chemistry than he did with her. They seemed perfect for each other with their inside jokes and horrible Swahili.
Helen met Harry's ex-girlfriend, who was smoking hot and also his asset.
For a mom who had spent most of her life raising children and going to yoga, it was a shock to see that her boring husband had options and could be exploring them.
I always thought Harry's new love would be some American suburbs lady. You know, that she just raised his kids, go to yoga class.
Ximena
It made them very insecure about their compatibility, which couldn't have been good considering their marriage was not at its strongest.
As they dealt with the issues in their marriage, there was a constant reminder that they had children who needed them.
It was understandable why Helen felt weird about lying to the kids.
She had spent much time being lied to in a marriage, which never feels good. She felt so guilty at the dinner table, lying to them with the same lie Harry had been feeding her for decades.
Harry has been doing this for a long time. I doubt it registers in his mind that he is lying. It is second nature to him.
That is second nature, and so is subtle gaslighting.
He manipulates Helen a lot. Instead of empathizing with her as most spouses do, he makes her feel as if she is stupid for how she's feeling. If he can't do that, he distracts her.
Honey, I think it's healthier if you don't think about it as a lie. It's just leaving out details.
Harry
It was noticeable at first when, on True Lies Season 1 Episode 1, he brought up getting a new dishwasher or fixing an old one because he knew that would shut her up.
And it did!
Toward the end, they both realize that their differences make them so compatible, but the lies, man. Some lies are too big to get over, no matter how much love there is.
Helen: So what was this, your love nest?
Ximena: He kissed me and left.
Helen: Okay, so when he came back, you both did what...
Ximena: ...he broke my heart. Said he'd met someone in Port De La Sol. Is that you?
Helen: Yeah. Yeah.
There wasn't a significant drop in quality in "Public Secrets" because there were some good jokes in there, the action is top-tier, but the narrative left a lot to be desired.
The pilot was stronger than most, but the show feels like it's falling into the deep bottomless pit of "weekly conflicts," where a conflict is introduced at the beginning of the episode and solved by the end.
It makes the show feel disenfranchised without strong connective material, like a particular storyline that makes the whole season worth watching.
It is still early for a curtain call, but if the show continues with this trend, it won't survive.
There needs to be less dry humor and a lot more drama.
What did you think? Being a spy is a dangerous game, but are Harry and Helen putting their kids in danger by continuing the lie? Is their working together good or bad for them and the family?
Did they look at the material in the flash drive?
We always love reading your feedback, so don't hesitate to comment below.
As always, you can watch True Lies online via TV Fanatic anytime.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
