‘Alex Rider’: Season 3 Review – It Was Never This Bold, Dark, Personal And Compelling

After three seasons, Alex Rider, the series by creator Guy Burt (The Bletchley Circle, The Borgias) based on Anthony Horowitz’s novels, is coming to an end (which might not be as definitive as it sounds). However, before we say goodbye to this teenage spy series, the cast and crew pull out all the stops for this final season. Alex (Otto Farrant) faces his greatest enemy of all time, Scorpia, resulting in a life-or-death mission and an extremely bold, dark, personal, and compelling season.

Scorpia is deadly serious, and the cinematographers and special effects teams match their intensity. The mysterious criminal network, with ties all around Europe, is plotting its biggest attack with its new super weapon, “Invisible Sword.” The visual teams implement practical and impressive effects that heighten the impending danger, the magnitude of Scorpia, and the level of urgency. This season has much more at stake, and Alex feels that like no one else.

Surrounded by the most impressive CGI effects in this series, Alex, Tom (Brenock O’Connor), and Kyra (Marli Siu) travel to Malta with two main objectives: To neutralise the threat and for Alex to find out the truth about his father. Along the way, Alex discovers the truth, but it’s not what he expected, while Tom and Kyra embark on their own secret missions. The people Alex has trusted for years become enemies, and he realises he might have much more personal ties with his so-called enemies. He’s forced to question his identity and his place in the world.

This season is full of significant plot revelations and exciting story twists. That is both because of Scorpia’s threat and Alex showing us a much more emotional side, leading him straight to the HQ of the nefarious, dangerous organisation led by Julia Rothman (Sofia Helin). While Julia’s actions are deceiving, as she’s not how she appears at first, Helin’s (The Bridge, The Snowman) performance is crystal clear. She perfectly embodies the James Bond-ish protagonist, as Julia’s darkness and cleverness add intrigue, revelations, and manipulations to the series.

Those twists will keep you on your toes throughout the serialised storytelling. Wrong becomes right, and right becomes wrong. As an audience, you discover the secrets and truth slowly, and even if you’re an avid reader of the book, you’ll still find the up-close and dangerous journey and the explosive finale extremely satisfying.

Not only because you’ll be able to see a great spy series but also because you’ll witness the stunning growth of the characters and the actors behind them. Farrant (War & Peace, The White Queen) gets much more to work with this season, and he continues to excel as Alex Rider during the hand-to-hand combats and the more emotional scenes. The boyish charms still come through occasionally, but his charismatic presence will take over in season three. This heightens the dramatic effect and gives Alex the vulnerability he missed throughout the first two seasons.

Just like Alex, Tom also questions his future, as the only thing he wants to do is make films. However, what impact would that have on his education, his relationship with Alex and Kyra, and his involvement with the spy world? You may or may not find out, but you’ll soon discover that O’Connor (Game of Thrones, Dickensian) inhabits his Tom impeccably convincing. Tom goes on an emotional roller coaster, and Kyra does, too. Instead of only Alex’s potential lover, she gets so much more to work with this season, resulting in Siu (Run, Our Ladies) bringing much more emotional depth and vulnerability to her character and the series. Because Alex ventures out independently, Tom and Kyra spend much more time together to prove they can be spies, resulting in O’Connor and Siu’s convincing on-screen chemistry becoming more present and fun to see.

Vicky McClure (Line of Duty) and Farrant might not have many scenes together (unlike in the previous season) because of the two different but interwoven storylines, but with many acting credits behind her name (the most recent one, the stunning Trigger Point: Season 2), McClure succeeds in grabbing your attention from her very first scene. Her headstrong and determined Mrs. Jones might face her most prominent threat to date, and McClure embodies her with the necessary sturdiness and power.

While Alex’s choices are sometimes rushed, which can be distracting, the third season is everything you could wish for. It’s the most thrilling and secretive season, capitalising on the darkness of the twists and turns, the grown-up and convincing performances of the young cast, the scene-stealing McClure and Helin, and the beautiful scenery of Malta. Also, keep watching the credits of the last episode for a hint of what’s to come next!

Alex Rider: Season Three is available to stream exclusively on Amazon Freevee courtesy of Sony Pictures Television and Prime Video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIBryq5jWHw]