‘The Terminal List’ – ‘Transience’ – Review
The hunter is now the hunted in the latest episode of The Terminal List, ‘Transience’, and time is of the essence as Navy SEAL James Reece (Chris Pratt) finds himself cornered in the California backwoods, with an encroaching force all around him and he has to do everything in his power to stay alive. So you’d better brace yourself for max adrenaline.
The FBI’s manhunt intensifies as they close in on James Reece. Without the medications, Reece’s physical and mental symptoms escalate. Surrounded by law enforcement, a man hellbent on his mission must escape without taking innocent lives.
With each episode of The Terminal List, it feels like we’re getting a show that switches up its genres to keep the audience guessing, and the action moving at speed. So far we’ve seen moments of full-on down-range direct action, a brooding, messy psychological thriller, and intense, chilling moments of pure horror. Now with ‘Transience’, we’re right in the middle of an escape and evasion adventure. It’s a classic pursuit, with the seconds ticking by, and director Sylvain White keeps the audience on edge the whole time. ‘Transience’ is a throwback to the action and intensity of First Blood and John Rambo, a major influence for author Jack Carr, and that force is seen within the episode.
What we find in ‘Transience’ is a broken, beaten and bleeding James Reece outnumbered and on the run in the California backwoods. Seeking shelter from the redwoods where he can, Chris Pratt brings audiences into Reece’s outdoor and survival skills. Using every recourse he can find for his advantage, what we find is a man operating on instinct and his training, and ‘Transience’ is an intense watch. While there are some moments of considerable suspense and action in ‘Transience’, the focus on this episode swings more to the dramatic, with Pratt showing considerable depth as he has to deal with his volatile mind that is fighting against him, and dealing with the echos and ghosts of his past.
With his boots on the ground in ‘Transience’ is FBI Agent Tony Layun (JD Pardo), and he’s going after Reece with no-holds-barred energy. ‘Transience’ is an episode that parallels the actions of Reece and Layun and it’s interesting to see these men go head-to-head with one another. As a now branded criminal insurgent, Reece has nowhere to turn and in a rare moment in the episode, he shares a somewhat ‘face-to-face’ moment with Layun. Here he recollects his life with his family, the intensity of his training as a SEAL through BUD/S and the actions that have led him down this path. There’s considerable emotion present in ‘Transience’, and audiences can see Reece not merely as a warrior, but as a husband and father, and these fractured memories help to humanise him as a character.
If you thought the ending of Episode Five of The Terminal List, ‘Disruption’ was explosive just wait till you see the action of the third act of ‘Transience’ because this episode goes BOOM in a big way. It’s an intense conclusion to this high-stakes chase, and the final moments of this episode are important to the transition and development of this new character of James Reece. Branded as an insurgent, and hunted by the law, Reece proves that he’s still a man of honour bound by the traditions and symbol of his trident and his actions in the final moments of this episode speak to his character and persona.
‘Transience’ makes for a terrific watch for audiences and episode by episode, The Terminal List is proving that it is ‘the show’ to be binged right now. The action is intense, the drama is deep, the narrative twisting and it’s anyone’s guess as to where this series is going to go next. I guess we’ll just need to keep watching.
The Terminal List is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Image: Prime Video
