Prime Target
By Sioph W. Leal
A thriller about maths was not the first thing to come to mind when looking for an action driven, conspiracy led series, but Prime Target holds it all together with many twists and revelations. Following a brilliant maths postgraduate, Ed Brooks (Leo Woodall) who is on the verge of a breakthrough that has the power to remake the world. He doesn’t know how powerful his thesis is or how long people have been working on it and how Western governments are trying to neutralize anyone working on it. Protecting him after her own work puts lives in danger is Taylah Sanders (Quintessa Swindell), an NSA agent tasked with watching mathematicians and reporting their behaviour. They work together to unravel a decades-old conspiracy influenced by the birth of maths.
Ed is highly intelligent and solely focused on his work to the point where he is dismissive (but not rude) of everything else. His work is his passion, his drive and his entire world. For the majority of the series he believes that his work is pure, it's only about the maths and even though he knows it's valuable, can’t see that creating his theorem would be wrong even if people used it for nefarious needs. He practically lives by “It’s not what I create, it's what the world does with it,” despite bodies piling up around him. As a character he can come across as quite rude in some instances, but his flaws and intellect are shown right away and gives something oddly reassuring to know that he has flaws- something many titles forget and often place an incredible number of skills on one character. It’s a great move from the series and opens the world to vital characters to show different areas of the suspenseful mystery and Ed’s dynamic with them. Woodall can show the complexities of his character while giving some more vulnerable human moments. Often in thrillers like this, the main character is often some all-knowing and multi-skilled individual and an action star, but Ed is forced to rely on others for survival and to help put the pieces together. It opens the world so that we can see corruption from all areas. There is Taylah who wants to make up for her mistake and save Ed’s life, Andrea (Sidse Babett Knudsen) a history professor who is a third of this thriller conspiracy who unintentionally played a vital part.
The three stories weave together well and show how deep the conspiracy goes and it does a great job in showing how Ed and his work will have a global impact. We see beautiful locations in England, Iraq and France with each location providing pivotal moments that the series uses to further its plot. Sometimes the travel is so quick that it can be a little jarring as sometimes an episode will open in Iraq but soon after the characters are in another country with no time passed. The fast-paced nature of the show makes this easy enough to be excused.
Western interference is an underlying propelling force in this series. Interesting enough, it is refreshing to see a series depict Western governments as the cause of bloodshed and how they interfere with the rest of the world while condemning them for the very acts they participate in. The Middle East and Arabs are shown as the preservers of intellect, as the creators of algebra while the UK and, mostly, the US are portrayed as corrupt establishments using the Middle East for their own gain. It’s a bold choice that isn’t overly done or too dramatic. There’s enough in the subtext but it uses characters such as deputy Director of NSA, Andrew Carter (Harry Lloyd) to reiterate that its not one being corrupting the Western establishments nor is it a foreign entity but their own actions being the driving villain of the series. Notably, one of the main Arab characters is shown to protect Ed and at the same time is being exploited by notable members of the UK and US. Dr. Akram Nizar (played by Palestinian actor Ali Suliman) conveys all of this with brilliant, subdued emotion as his character does what is best for his family to survive and thrive while still protecting the people external to his family that he cares for.
Given the speed of the series, sometimes the relationships and backstory can come across as the weaker moments of the series, not really offering much outside of having the characters have a raw, open moment outside of the main story. Ed opens up to his almost-boyfriend Adam (Fra Fee) about the relationship with his dad, Taylah struggles with her history with Jane (Martha Plimpton) while Andrea struggles with her relationship with her colleagues and the secrets of her husband. It can sometimes be a bit too much and too convoluted, almost as if these side plots are forced together but is the only time the series lacks in substance. Apart from this minor issue it is an exhilarating ride.
Prime Target premiers 22 January 2025 on Apple TV, screeners provided for review.