When Human Target premiered several months ago I recommended the show declaring that it had promise thanks to “its impeccable casting and some thrilling action sequences.” I did comment though that the show belongs to a genre which can easily become formulaic and that keeping the show fresh would be the biggest challenge the producers would face.
The episodes that followed that review have gone some way towards addressing my concerns. Though the series definitely has a fairly straightforward storytelling style, it has set up some interesting locations and worked hard to give us different action set pieces from week to week while delivering enjoyable comedic banter and some great stunt work.
The series returned after a two week absence with a new episode, ‘Salvage & Reclamation.’ This time the action takes place in the jungles of South America as Chance is hired by an old flame to help rescue an archaeologist who has unearthed a lost treasure. Together they attempt to escape the clutches of the local military and a man who is looking to acquire the treasure.
One of the simpler, more action-focused episodes, ‘Salvage and Reclamation’ does little that is particularly original. Viewers with the most limited knowledge of the adventure genre are still likely to be able to predict the twists, dramatic moments and even some of the lines long before they take place. Fortunately though the material may be lacking in originality the show makes up for that with its sharp execution and superb production values.
More than some other episodes of the series there is a real sense of scale to the events of this episode. Here we have an army descending on Chance, the characters racing through a jungle and yet more aircraft antics. Though the action is clearly not on a modern feature film scale, the results are impressive and certainly far exceed expectations for a television action series.
Less satisfying though is the way in which Guerrero and Winston are sidelined for much of the episode. Stuck in a rickety cargo plane, they banter enjoyably enough but become very passive players. Though the pair clearly share superb comic timing and a great chemistry it is a shame that this episode does not give them more to do and integrate them more to the main storyline.
Fortunately next week’s episode ‘Baptiste’ is a much more pleasing installment in almost every regard.
Adopting a style more like that of a thriller, the episode features Chance teaming up once again with FBI agent Emma Barnes (Emmanuelle Vaugier, Saw II) to prevent the assassination of a visiting foreign dignitary. This time the episode begins with the confrontation between Chance and his adversary and then shows us the events leading up to that moment.
This not only builds our sense of suspense as we wonder what has happened up to this point but also allows the episode to state its themes and pose its questions right from its opening. The series used the same technique in its second episode but here it feels more important to the story being told, adding to its effectiveness.
During the course of the episode we learn that Baptiste, the assassin, has a long history with Chance and lots of hints are dropped about Chance’s former employer and the events that drove him to give up his old career. Though little of what is said will surprise, what we do learn intrigues and clearly sets up the stage for a future encounter with that former boss.
Guest star Lennie James (Jericho) is perfect as Baptiste, portraying him not as a villain but as an efficient professional. Though he handles the espionage scenes well, he is best when playing directly opposite Mark Valley, pushing Chance to reveal why he made the choices he made and attempting to goad him into rash action.
Vaugier is also very good in her recurring guest spot, building on the sexual tension between Barnes and Chance that was established earlier this season in the third episode ‘Embassy Row.’ The scenes the two characters share contain enjoyably lively banter, particularly a conversation in a lift early on in the episode, and certainly justify the return appearance.
With some superb casting and an amusing, suspenseful script, I consider ‘Baptiste’ to be the best episode of the show to date. For the first time the series presents Chance with an adversary who knows him and this results in some superb exchanges in addition to providing us with some real hints as to just who he used to be. As such it represents the first real movement in our understanding of the character while the episode gives us a stronger sense that the series is building towards a showdown between Chance and his former employer.
If the danger for an action-adventure series is that they can easily degenerate into a formula, the sense of character and long-term plot development in ‘Baptiste’ is the solution to that problem. The more that the series can cultivate the sense that it is building towards something, the less danger there should be of episodes feeling disposable.
Unfortunately disposable is an adjective that can be applied all too easily to ‘Salvage.’ Though it is entertaining, containing some enjoyable banter and excellent action sequences the events of the episode seem largely irrelevant. The stakes of what the characters are trying to do are never really made to feel important, nor do we get a clearer sense of who they are as a result of the action.
– Aidan Brack
Human Target is shown on Fox Wednesdays at 8/7c.
