Family is blood and biology on the surface, but found families—those who are there for us no matter what kinship exists— have taken a central position in our culture in recent years. Those notions, identity, who we are, and the limits of family and fatherhood all come into play in the compelling second season of FX’s “The Old Man” starring Jeff Bridges. Growing beyond just a thrilling spy thriller about an aging ex-CIA agent on the run, Dan Chase(Bridges), and the former ally set to chase him down FBI Assistant Director Harold Harper (John Lithgow), “The Old Man” deeply evolves in season two, arguably different enough that it could turn off viewers more inclined to the thriller action elements of its inaugural season. But it would be their loss, as the series is as captivating as ever.
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Where season two perhaps lacks action, chase sequences, and well-orchestrated set pieces, it adds layers of depth, suspense, and tension that are deeply emotional, with stakes that are the highest they’ve ever been.
At the end of season one, the entire narrative was flipped on its head. Chase’s daughter Emily (Alia Shawkat) was kidnapped by the powerful Afghan tribal leader Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), creating an intense three-way pull of different men claiming her as their own.
As season one illustrated, Chase raised her with her mother Belour Hamzad/Abbey Chase (Hiam Abbass), but they fell in love, and took her away from her true biological father, the despotic Hamzad. And of course, in all the twists of the series, Emily Chase was a mole, leading a double life as FBI agent Angela Adams, Harper’s protégé, but also surrogate daughter.
Hamzad has played a long game, waiting decades for retribution at Chase for kidnapping his daughter decades ago and when Chase, Harper and Emily are in the Middle East, he strikes and abducts her.
Of course, this changed everything for Harper, who loves Emily like his own. Desperate, he essentially betrayed his FBI oath and job of trying to kill and capture his old friend turned foe Dan Chase, and instead teamed up with him for their most important mission ever: rescue Emily and hopefully bring her back alive.
But it’s all easier said then done and beyond the logistics of two old, ex-FBI and ex-CIA agents traveling into Taliban territory on their own to track down the needle in a haystack of a missing daughter.
Along the way they encounter Taliban moles posing as guides to help them—as a way to reach Hamzad and find out the truth about a rumor of an American girl that has been captured— and many other perils on a long and unforgiving journey through the rocky hills and mountains of Afghanistan.
While Chase and Harper bicker along the way, it’s far less of “Grumpy Old Men” amusement and more about two old rivals picking at old wounds and reminding each other about why their friendship was so fraught and difficult in the past. They’re both on the same page in one way: retrieve and rescue Emily at all costs. But their methods, Chase more visceral, Harper more strategic and less hot-headed are always at odds.
But the true story, heart and depth of “The Old Man,” is identity. When Emily learns that Hamzad is her real father—they have a brutal fight that almost ends with both their deaths—it awakens something in her; especially as she begins to learn more about her culture and empathize with the struggles of the people in Hamzad’s camp, always in danger from the Taliban.
Hamzad is rare figure. Not associated with the terrorist organization, he has carved out his own fiefdom that possesses its own rich mineral deposits which makes him rich, pays them off and keeps them at bay. But tensions always run high between them regardless, and when they learn a mysterious American woman is deep in the heart of Taliban territory, all bets are off.
Meanwhile, Chase and Harper get closer to finding the base she’s been taken to, but the subtext of their struggle is the jockeying of control for Emily. Chase may have raised her, but coldly and strategically sent her off to infiltrate the FBI so he could keep tabs on Harper and receive any head’s up intel if they ever got back on to his and Emily’s mother’s trail (the American government has considered them fugitives from the law for decades). And so for more than a decade, Harper became Emily’s substitute father, albeit to a woman he didn’t fully know known as Angela Adams, a revelation that also blows up his world when he discovered it late in season one.
But as Emily begins to discover the story of who she really is, how she was taken from the land and people she was born in, each man being to learn perhaps both of them don’t know her as well as they thought they did, which leads to a bruising, soul-searching drama about their respective roles, especially with so much at stake, death all around them and only so much time on the planet left.
Identity essentially shatters for all the principal characters as they reckon with a newfound reality alongside the vicious encroaching menace of the Taliban who are starting to piece together the entire story and adding an additional layer of pressure and anxiety to the already-tense proceedings.
Also key in season two are Amy Brenneman as Zoe McDonald, Joel Grey as Morgan Bote, the CIA man who trained Chase and Harper as young men, Bill Heck as the young Dan Chase, Leem Lubany as the young Abbey Chase, Jessica Harper as Harold’s wife Cheryl Harper and Artur Zai Barrera as the Taliban lieutenant Omar.
Created and developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, Jon Watts, one of the exec producers and superstar directors of the first season doesn’t turn up this time, but that’s understandable and doesn’t hurt the series. The less action-heavy series is bolstered by solid strong dramatic blocking and filmmaking orchestration by Jet Wilkinson, Steve Boyum, Uta Briesewitz, and more.
Steinberg takes over as lead writer in season two, Levine is seemingly only involved as an exec producer, and as much as the show changes in season two, it’s a natural evolution for the better. What inspires is something arguably slower and more dramatic but soulful, wrenching, emotionally searing, and frequently just gut-punching.
To that end, it’s also a joy to watch Bridges and Lithgow go toe-to-toe, face off, and constantly challenge each other. Both men are at the top of their game, and their vivid performances seem only to elevate the other. Shawkat, mostly known for comedy, also delivers her best and most convincing dramatic work, perhaps reminding audiences she has way more tricks in her toolkit beyond “Arrested Development” and similar shows. Furthermore, while they’re on the story’s edges, Bill Heck and Leem Lubany remain excellent discoveries we’d love to see more of in the future.
It’s unclear how much longer “The Old Man” can go on; it already feels like it’s in its endgame stage, with mortality starting to close around the frame of these two men’s lives. Continuing further might strain suspension of disbelief, but otherwise, what’s offered in the preview to critics of season two is excellent, engaging, and full of tense magnetism. Frankly, we’re hoping this is the end for the series, so it goes out on top with a big, wounding, powerful bang. It’s been a show somewhat overlooked so far, but season two hopefully rectifies this error and promptly ascends it to the ranks of some of the best TV of the last few years. [A-]