Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of The Night Agent.There was nothing new that The Night Agent set out to do in its first season on Netflix. Created by Shawn Ryan and based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, what this spy thriller aimed to do was deliver an action-packed narrative that depicted some intricate government conspiracy with twists and turns at each corner. The show succeeded in striking a chord with its audience as the program has found itself atop the streaming service’s Top 10 since releasing on March 23. While the gun fights, explosions, and political manipulation found within this 10-episode series are engaging as any prior spy show, what separates this from the pack is the ease at which it delivers its blossoming love story. Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is phenomenal as the underdog who wants to rewrite the script but pair him with Rose (Luciane Buchanan) and you get the electric chemistry between The Night Agent’s two co-leads that shape it into the Netflix success story we’ve come to find it. There was nothing unnatural or forced about what we see play out on our screens between Peter and Rose, and for that, The Night Agent can captivate us way more than a run-of-the-mill spy thriller.
Peter and Rose have a Slow Burn in a Fast Show
It doesn't take long for us to get a sense of who Peter is. He's just a good-natured guy who wants to do right by his country. Right away we see him interact with a mother and her child on the train before we see him go into hero mode and save all but one of those in the tunnel from an explosive that was planned to do far more damage than it did. Despite what the audience sees in Peter’s heroics, we follow him one year later working a thankless job as a glorified telephone operator. It's not until Rose calls the “in case of emergency” number given to her by her aunt and uncle that we see both Peter and Rose reach their full potential, not just individually but as a cohesive unit.
Let's be honest, watching the scene where Peter calmly talks her through the procedure on how to handle an armed assailant following her into a house had us on the edge of our seats. It was brilliantly written and acted as we could tell then and there that Peter has much more to offer than waiting around for phone calls. The level of care in ensuring Rose makes it out alive is evident as are the ensuing moments where the two meet face to face and his only objective is protecting her through the night until she's in a safe house. At this point, there's a clear connection budding but nothing that suggests this is going to be anything more than a job for Peter. Rose is scarred from having seen her family members murdered in cold blood, so she's in a state of disarray through that first night. Peter could have remained stone-cold in completing his mission of getting her from Point A to Point B, but he shows a level of concern and comforts Rose, which eventually gets her to a place where she sees him as the only one she can trust.
The early seedlings of this eventual couple are laid out on that first traumatic night and the next day when Rose begins to comprehend all that is going on and just how complicated everything around her has become. Speaking to how organically their romance is, it’s in Episode 2 when Peter leaves her in the Secret Service-protected hotel room where Rose, whose hesitant to see him go, thanks him for keeping her safe, and the two share a hug. We see Peter walk out of the door and tell the guards, “You take care of her, okay?” It’s a fleeting moment but one that shows us how invested he is in making sure she’s safe.
We see more of these types of interactions scattered throughout the season amid the chaotic fast-paced tempo in which this show operates at. It’s amazing how the thriller can still slow down and make us feel for these two. What aids in this is how The Night Agent doesn’t keep Rose as the “damsel in distress” but rather inserts her into a pivotal role. For all the hand-to-hand combat and brute strength exhibited by Peter in completing this mission, there are dozens of moments where Rose showcases her cybersecurity prowess.
This goes back to the natural build-up of these two. Individually, they are each more than capable at their jobs, though both of them find themselves being underutilized. Together, though, they begin to reach their potential, bringing the best out of one another in a perfect blend of skills. There can be times when Peter is off sneaking around a building and Rose is on her laptop hacking into a storage file, but they’re doing so in unison which allows for them this slow burn. It’s very easy for a spy thriller that incorporates a romantic connection to feel as though they are randomly inserting conversations to show the two leads talking to one another. This halts the action. Instead, The Night Agent allows itself to organically intertwine its leads and their strengths so that they’re never really apart from one another. We can see with each successful hack and each day that goes by with both of them alive that they’re building an inseparable bond. There’s no need for The Night Agent to halt the action to show us this because it’s clear from their interactions that there’s a flame growing larger between Peter and Rose.
The Payoff Lands in The Night Agent
When it’s time for the moment all of us were waiting for, there’s a huge sense of accomplishment not only in seeing them finally embrace the boat but in the show’s ability to successfully pull off this slow burn. As always, it’s a well-constructed conversation in which Peter begins to question why any of this matters, “Or we could just sail somewhere else and forget about all this shit.” It’s the first time we see Peter stray away from his usual goal-driven self. Rose reminds him about when she called the Night Action line and how terrified she was in the closet, “You told me to fight like hell and that’s what I need you to do right now… for me.” There are many small intimate moments these two shared before this scene, but there’s no interaction that encapsulates the bond these two have better than this one. It’s only fitting that Peter and Rose would finally come together at a time when the mission begins to seem improbable. Just as Peter was able to save Rose and get her back on the right track, the first time we see our hero question his objective, it’s Rose who talks him through his inner dilemma and gets him back on track.
There’s Still Room to Show This Peter-Rose Romance
So much happens on The Night Agent over the final few episodes that it’s crazy this gripping romantic tale can coexist. It doesn’t take a backseat over the final few episodes, either, as we see them working together to bring this government conspiracy that runs up to the vice president to a halt. In a thrilling twist-and-turn climax, the vice president is found to be in on the plan, the president survives thanks to Peter’s brazen tactic and as a result, he gets the promotion to become a Night Agent.
In the final conversation between Peter and Rose on the tarmac, we see just how far these two have come over the 10-episode arc. We get a powerful kiss before his sendoff as Rose responds to Peter’s quip about not forgetting about him while he’s gone, “I couldn’t if I tried.” We get yet another crafty bow put on this love story as it’s Peter who tells her to pick up his call when he’s finally about to reach out to her, calling back to the first moment these two speak over the Night Action line. With The Night Agent picked up for a second season, we will be getting much more on this romance over the next chapter. There will certainly be some questions to be answered as to how these two handle the long-distance relationship but if there’s anything we learned, it’s that these two who were bonded over a hotline should have no trouble continuing to strengthen their chemistry over some phone calls.
The Night Agent is now available to stream on Netflix.