All 8 new episodes Alex Rider of Season Three will be available on 5 April 2024, exclusively on Amazon Freevee in the UK, U.S., and Germany.
Synopsis
Season Three sets the teenage spy on the tail of his greatest enemy: the elusive criminal network known as Scorpia. Under new leadership, the criminal cabal plan to extort the British Government using their catastrophic new super-weapon: ‘Invisible Sword.’ Free of The Department and aided by his closest friends, Tom and Kyra, Alex embarks on a personal mission to destroy Scorpia once and for all. Little does he know, his ties to both organisations run deeper than he ever thought possible.
Review
Alex Rider is back. After more than two years away from our screens the teen spy (played by Otto Farrant) returns to our screens this week for an new eight-part adventure based on Scorpia, the fifth book in Anthony Horowitz’s ongoing series.
After learning from Yassen Gregorovitch (Thomas Levin) that his father was more than just a mere soldier. Alex begins the season in Malta on a mission to seek out Scorpia, a mysterious criminal organisation with ties across Europe. But whilst Alex searches for the truth, Scorpia has intentions of its own. The elusive criminal enacts a dastardly plan to extort the British Government using their catastrophic new super-weapon: ‘Invisible Sword.’
Alex is joined in Malta by best friend Tom (Brenock O’Connor) and love interest Kyra (Marli Siu). This season the trio works almost entirely separate from the team at The Department allowing the characters to really come in to their own. It plays perfectly in to the overall theme of the season. Zooming out there’s a really rewarding arc to the first three seasons of Alex Rider which culminates in the young hero accepting his past and finally looking optimistically towards his future.
Across each of the three seasons I’ve been consistently impressed by writer Guy Burt’s ability to balance the YA elements of the Horowtiz’s books with more mature spy sensibilities. That balance has been consistent across the three seasons but has never felt more compelling than it does in this latest (and final) season. With the young actors all getting older there feels to be a more perceptible shift towards adult spy action in season 3. For a start there’s more hand-to-hand combat. Something which Farrant as the lead seems to handle effortlessly.
But it’s more than that. Without Mrs. Jones (Vicky McClure) and Alan Blunt (Stephen Dillane) in his corner, Alex is forced to step up and lead his team. Knowing this is the final season and with the actors aging quicker than they can make seasons of the show, Burt and the creative team has cleverly aged the tone to keep it appropriate without ever losing sight of the core audience of the novels. The sixth former we met back in 2020 was more likely to face detention than criminal masterminds. But with two surprisingly global adventures under his belt the more confident and capable Alex now faces challenges like his feelings for Kyra alongside reconciling two very different accounts of who his father really was.
Playing on Alex’s vulnerability this season is Julia Rothman (Sofia Helin), aka the new head of the nefarious Scorpia. Right from the beginning of the season Julia is aware of Alex and his investigation. But cleverly there is far more going on than the audience is clued in to until later in the season. Across the eight-episodes the serialised storytelling plays out with multiple strands which perfectly coalesce in to a satisfying finale for the series. Julia’s connection with Gregorovitch, as well as some rather damning evidence, presents Alex with a story about his father which stops him in his tracks. It literally forces him to question everything he’s learned across the previous seasons and to reconsider his place in the world. That emotional conflict is perfectly reflective of Alex’s place in the wider world, finishing school and considering a future at university. Entering in to potentially his first serious relationship.
It’s also reflected in the experiences of Tom who questions his own future in the education system when he wants a future making movies. It’s great to see the show offering serious development to supporting players who could easily remain two-dimensional in the shadow of series with a single, titular lead. To a similar degree Alex Rider season 3 gives Kyra plenty to do besides stealing Alex’s heart. As the events of season three progress Kyra and Tom find themselves separated from Alex. Working together both are able to prove their worth as spies in their own right despite having no obligation to put their lives on the line.
Each of the young actors inhabits their roles with impressive conviction. Farrant has really grown into the role as well as with it. The boyish charm of season 1 has become a commanding presence which adds a new level of gravitas to more dramatic scenes. Whilst he is still afforded the chance to show a vulnerability, Farrant shines when standing shoulder-to-shoulder with adult members of The Department. Whilst both O’Connor and Siu bring new depth and relatability to both of their characters give more emotional material to play with.
Book readers will understand the direction of travel for season 3 from the outset. But even those with intimate knowledge of the plotting will still find the journey satisfying to watch as it unravels. Stepping back to look at the series as a whole, season 3 feels like the most aspirational and ambitious. Though each season has manage to achieve a global sensibility, it feels best implemented as the story hops between the action in Malta and on home turf. Likewise the threat of the “Invisible Sword” is both the most outlandish but the most threatening which the series has tackled. The results of an “Invisible Sword” attack find the show taking risks and pushing the limits of its YA sensibility, further driving home the overall sense of growth in the tone.
Alex Rider has never been a show filled to the brim with visual effects. Instead its relied on more street level smarts and practical effects to achieve its ultimate goal. As Alex rushes to stop “Invisible Sword” from murdering an entire city of people, the series employs its biggest CGI set-piece to date. The effects are exactly what we’ve come to expect from a mid-budgeted streaming series and is surprisingly effective.
Seemingly the final chapter in this version of Alex Rider’s story, season 3 manages something which some series finales only dream of carrying off. It provides a satisfying conclusion to the characters arcs whilst leaving plenty of room for future storytelling. A final poignant scene between Mrs. Jones and Alex gives closure on plot threads back to the beginning of season 1 whilst a credit stinger gives a little nudge-nudge-wink-wink to what might come next.
Verdict
Alex Rider’s biggest, boldest and bravest season yet. Capitalising on its core casts journey in to adulthood, this season’s darker tone creates a compelling and action-packed adventure for Alex and his friends.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
