The Old Man Season 2 Review: An OK Show Going Undercover as a Good One

The Old Man Season 1 had one of the most precipitous in-season declines in recent TV history. If it had maintained the level of thoughtfulness and tension of its first two episodes, it would have been one of the best shows of 2022 (it certainly was great for FX, where it became one of the biggest cable series debuts in years) . But it fell apart as it went along, becoming mired in portentous monologues and baffling plot choices before ending with a reveal so obvious that I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be surprising or not. In the end, it was a disappointing season. So The Old Man Season 2 has its work cut out for it getting the show back on track. The good news is, at least through the first five episodes, Season 2 is better than the worst of Season 1. The bad news is that it doesn't come close to realizing the promise of those first two episodes. 

The Old Man's stylistic choices create a tension it can't resolve. Its presentation — especially in the virtuosity of Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow's performances and in the cinematic quality of the direction, cinematography, and editing — is that of a serious show like The Americans. But its overly expository dialogue and weathervane characterization are that of an unserious show like The Blacklist (I'm not saying The Blacklist is bad, just that it's a different type of show that places less of an emphasis on thematic depth). That tension makes The Old Man not work as a cerebral drama about the interior lives of spies or as a fun action thriller about old guys kicking ass, but rather traps it in the mediocre middle. 

The plot of Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off. Emily Chase (Alia Shawkat) has been kidnapped by her biological father, Afghan tribal leader Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), which leads to her other "fathers," mercurial ex-spy Dan Chase (Bridges) and methodical FBI deputy director Harold Harper (Lithgow), teaming up to go into Afghanistan on an off-the-books rescue mission to save her. But Emily might not need saving, as she's developing a meaningful connection to her newfound family. 

6.0

The Old Man Season 2

at FX

Like

• Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are excellent
• Top-notch direction

Dislike

• The writing doesn't meet the level of the direction and some of the performances
• Some performances are substantially weaker than others

Emily Chase aka Angela Adams aka Parwana Hamzad is the show's weakest link, with Shawkat unable to sell the inconsistently written character. When she behaves in a way that doesn't make sense for the character as established, she verbally reassures us "I am still who you think I am," in a particularly egregious example of telling rather than showing. Later in the same episode, Harper, while trying to devise a plan, says "We need to be really careful about how we play this," a line of dialogue that calls attention to how clunky it is. It's the kind of line inserted into a bad action movie that doesn't trust its audience to understand the stakes, not a supposedly sophisticated show like The Old Man. If viewers can stick with a show with a plot as hard to follow as The Old Man's, they don't need characters to say obvious things. At least there are fewer monologues this time around. (Saying The Old Man's plot is confusing is not a criticism, by the way; spy thrillers in the John le Carré vein like this are supposed to emphasize character over plot. Not fully understanding what's happening is part of the genre. There just needs to be strong characters.) 

For all the problems with its writing, The Old Man remains beautifully made. The action scenes are crisp, clear, and hard-hitting. The shot composition is painterly, and the camera moves are elegant. For some viewers, the artful vibes and the chemistry between Bridges and Lithgow will surely be enough. And those things do keep it watchable. You'll probably want more of Bridges and Lithgow together than you get. A whole show of these two being long-in-the-tooth secret agents having to figure out how to survive in the field would be great. Lithgow in particular shines this season, as the show dives deeper into the character of Harold Harper. 

Ultimately, though, The Old Man is frustrating. There are things about it that keep it from being as good as it should be, and things that make it seem better than it actually is. It's an OK show dressed up as a good one. 

Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 12 at 10/9c on FX, streaming the next day on Hulu
Who's in it: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman, Alia Shawkat
Who's behind it: Creators Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine (Black Sails)
For fans of: The Americans, Homeland, The Dude
How many episodes we watched: 5 of 8