An Engaging But Thrill-less Revenge Drama

‘The Season’ Boasts A Large Main Cast

Cola’s duplicity throughout The Season provides a nice tension as she works to uncover evidence of the secret that’s been buried for 22 years. As she attends parties in increasingly luxurious and over-the-top locations, she is constantly digging for clues and information.

This puts Li opposite most of their co-stars as Cola flits between smoothly and awkwardly gathering bits and pieces of their characters’ personalities and history to use against them. Li at times plays Cola with a smug impetuousness that belies her naivety about this world to a satisfying degree.

But the sheer size of the main cast does mean that the Hong Kong elite fall into archetypes that are only cursorily explored.

Fiona (Karena Lam) and Christopher (Toby Stephens) Hext are the crème de la crème who rule the roost though they’re hiding secrets of their own. They both come from powerful families with longstanding ties to Hong Kong, but while Fiona is busy throwing parties and wielding influence over their peers, Christopher spends his time trying to keep up appearances and the family afloat.

Lam and Stephens strike a good balance between being aloof billionaires with skeletons in their closet and a loving couple who stick by each other’s sides through thick and thin. Their chemistry feels lived-in as people who’ve been married for decades and who understand that they can only truly trust each other.

Their daughter, Alison (Kōki), who’s back for the summer and hating nearly every moment of their time together, exists outside of their bubble. She’s also not given much to do but complain and yearn for a real conversation with Fiona. Alison isn’t privy to her parents’ secrets and there’s one in particular that’s been hidden from her that goes a long way in explaining her mother’s hot and cold demeanor.

Madeline (Yvonne Chapman) is the Hext’s wayward niece who is constantly at odds with Fiona. She’s recently widowed, weathering a rumor that’s damaging her position in society, and having an affair with a close family friend that could ruin both their lives.

Chapman imbues Madeline with a lost and angry energy that bleeds into her interactions with Fiona. Ever the outcast, she often leans into the chip on her shoulder and makes a point of demonstrating she’s not going anywhere. This makes for snappish scene work that runs both fiery and frigid depending on the moment.

Cola’s in to this world is Carrie, one of the only members of the Hext’s elite group who wasn’t born to privilege. Her tendency to overshare and be too friendly with her young summer associate speaks to both her loneliness and the kinship she feels toward her. Carrie does business with the Hexts and is hoping to secure a lucrative contract with Christopher. However, she enters into a romance that could hurt her business if even a whiff of impropriety is suspected.

Shen plays Carrie like she’s a romantic lead in a show with an entirely different genre. There’s a softness and almost rom-com like quality to her portrayal that’s endearing. It adds a lightness to The Season which is often preoccupied with keeping Cola one step ahead of everyone else and the biting commentary between the characters.

Due to her job, Carrie tends to work closely with David (Justin Chien), Christopher’s lawyer who is putting himself back out on the dating scene after divorce. Chien gives him an unassuming charm but David’s privileged life means that he overlooks the weight of his own status. There’s also a side to him that he acknowledges people don’t know and that would likely change their opinion of him.

Rounding out the main cast is Chris Pang’s Andrew, a business man looking to land a big deal through fraudulent endeavors and the backing of his wife, Nikita (Reina Sawai). Crass and prone to saying whatever comes to his mind, Andrew is the anti-thesis of his best friend David.

Beneath the arrogance is a sincerity that Pang allows to rise to the surface just enough to keep Andrew from being one note even though the character’s flaws outweigh the glimpses of vulnerability that he lets slip through with someone who isn’t his wife.

‘The Season’ Has Intrigue But Lacks Thrills

Cola has six major dynamics to navigate alongside her run-ins with Jon (Lee Jae-yoon), the Hexts head of security, which makes for decent snooping sequences, conversational subterfuge, and occasionally surprising reveals from the supporting characters. However, The Season is at its best when the elite interact with one another because they have a shared history.

As the newcomer, Cola’s ability to ingratiate herself with the Hext’s friends and business partners rings false. She’s the sole summer associate in the group, and she’s treated like Carrie’s tag-a-long family member not her subordinate. For the sake of the plot, she learns things she often shouldn’t and gets out of tangles that she should’ve gotten caught in. Particularly when she was clunky in her delivery or behavior whilst acquiring information she needs.

Still, the plot moves in such a way that Cola’s success on each leg of her mission begets a new interesting piece of the past or present for the viewer to chew on. Paired with the messy relationships in Fiona’s group, and multiple shoes waiting to drop besides the secret Cola is trying to expose, there’s enough here to be invested in without feeling like you’re being dragged along by the story.

The issue is this is a revenge drama without thrills. The question of whether Cola is going to be discovered hangs over the narrative, but it’s undermined repeatedly. She is clever but reckless and her overconfidence isn’t checked by the twists and turns the series takes. Because of this there’s rarely sustained suspense which is odd considering the amount of intrigue in the plot.

Without truly threatening characters or weight paid to the possible consequences of Cola being found out, the show coasts on the reveal of what put her father in jail, who’s responsible, and why it’s been hidden for so long. But with the beautiful backdrop of Hong Kong playing a supporting character, especially the inclusion of Ocean Park, The Season has a distinct look that helps gloss over some of its less arresting qualities. It’s an engaging watch just not always an exciting one.

All six episodes of The Season are available to stream on Hulu. Follow Sabrina Reed on Forbes for more coverage of what’s airing on television, like her weekly recaps/analysis of The Vampire Lestat, and explainers on what’s happening in the entertainment industry that’s impacting consumers.