Alone, and hunted by everyone, amidst conflicted characters and shifting loyalties.
Tehran S3
The first two seasons (16 episodes) are now streaming on Apple TV, alongside the first episode of Season 3. Subsequent episodes will debut every Friday through February 27. I've seen all 8 episodes of Season 3.
Created by Dana Eden, Moshe Zonder and Maor Kohn for Israeli television, the first season debuted in 2020 and followed Tamar (Niv Sultan), a Mossad agent. Tamar was born in Iran, moving as a child with her family to Israel. Her early career has revolved around her facile ability to hack computer systems, which makes her a valuable asset in modern espionage.
In Season 1, Tamar was assigned to the field so she could return to Iran under a different identity and help destroy a nuclear reactor. That did not work out, but in Season 2, before she could return to Israel, she became involved in a mission to kill the chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). That mission became tangled, prompting Mossad's stern-headed leader, Yulia (Sara von Schwarze), to call off the mission, which Tamar ignored, killing the IRGC chief anyway.
Now in Season 3, Tamar is alone in Iran, hunted by both Mossad and the IRGC, led by the sage Faraz Kamali (Shaun Toub, who is excellent). This is made apparent in Episode 1 -- minutes after nuclear inspector Eric Peterson (Hugh Laurie) is introduced, planting a camera inside a nuclear plant -- when we see Tamar in an informative life and death battle with a Mossad agent, and then communicating the results to Yulia, who immediately dispatches a local Mossad operative, code-named The Owl, to finish the job.
Whew! It's a lot to absorb, especially if you haven't seen Seasons 1 and 2. (Full disclosure: I haven't seen Seasons 1 and 2.) Written by Tony Saint and Simon Allen, and directed by Daniel Syrkin, Season 3 makes it easy to jump on, though, thanks to the dialogue, which weaves relevant past events into conversational exchanges, accompanied by an inviting visual scheme and a snappy pace. Thus, quiet moments do not lag, and episodes usually end with twist-y cliffhangers.
With tension and control waging war on her face, Niv Sultan easily commands attention as Tamar, who is determined to win the battle against nefarious foes in Iran and regain the trust she lost in Israel. (Also, Niv Sultan is a terrific action star, as she's forced to demonstrate time and time again, since, after all, she'd like to remain alive.)
Hugh Laurie, as South African nuclear inspector Eric Peterson, is also determined to make a mark, though for different reasons than Tamar. Frustrated by years spent futilely calling attention to ever-increasing danger while being ignored, he wants someone to listen and wants to help whoever can do something about it.
Together, they make an unlikely yet combustible pair. Each must face danger on their own terms, and come up with their own solutions, in order to effect the changes they want (and need) to see happen. Over the course of the eight episodes in Tehran, Season 3, they have the perfect opportunity, creating a gripping experience for viewers, new and returning.
Truthfully, it's a bit much to binge -- the twists come so fast and furious that it's head-spinning to process -- which leads me to believe that watching the episodes on a weekly basis, as they're currently scheduled, is a much more sensible way to watch. Each episode is quite potent on its own, and each finishes on a classic cliffhanging note.
Sometimes, the twists bend credulity, but the actors sell the sentiments in an authentic manner, and I was content to go with the flow. As you might imagine, coming from Israel, it leans far more toward the Israeli viewpoint, as far as the war on terror is concerned, though it occasionally concedes the point that killing people is still murder, no matter where those people originate or what their political loyalties might be or what your motives might be.
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