Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Hanna - City


"City" offers the first major divergences of the series from the source material as Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) and Erik (Joel Kinnaman) reconnect in Berlin and he brings in his old Army contacts to plan a hit on Marissa (Mireille Enos). Unlike in the film where both Hanna and Erik believe she killed the real Marissa, Hanna recognizes the deception from the show's second episode allowing her father to gather support on a contingency plan to trap their foe. Despite Marissa being able to turn one of Erik's old friends by offering to settle his substantial debts, the episode still concludes with Marissa staring down the barrel of Erik's gun.

While it seems obvious for Erik to simply pull the trigger and walk away, I have serious doubts about whether or not Hanna is willing to get rid of such an important character halfway through its season. The first major change to the story helps Hanna forge its own path rather than continually struggle to live-up to the film which, up until this point did the same story, only better. His daughter's unanswered questions and the impending task of taking or Marissa also allow the show to continue to work in flashbacks to Erik working for the woman including his first meeting with Johanna (Joanna Kulig) and the birth of Hanna. Hanna's inclusion in the mission also continues to offer glimpses of her abilities which save her father's life, although the foreign nature of the world she now finds herself in almost gets her captured.

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