The first introduction we get to Keeley Hawes' main character in Prime Video's new thriller The Assassin is a special one. Let's just say, the hitwoman makes light work of carving her way through countless bodyguards on her way to end her mark – which she also achieves with a cool, 'box-ticked' kind of attitude.
What shakes Julie is not the blood stains she leaves behind, nor the crude remark made by her handler about her "exceptional arse" after a job well done. Instead, it was the intrusive beep that let her know the timer on her watch had elapsed. It was the removal of the pregnancy test from her pocket, and the confirmation that she was indeed expecting.
These first five minutes tell us everything we need to know about Prime Video's new spy drama. This is a man's world that Julie is operating in. Misogyny is baked in from the get-go. But instead of just occupying space, our leading hitwoman is owning her spot with every ounce of her being.
This is where viewers part ways with Georgina Bitmead's brilliant depiction of the younger version of Julie, and where we pick up with the older, seemingly more disgruntled one 31 years later.
It's also where the main action picks up, and the show fulfils its promise of delivering a "high-stakes drama" that sees Julie and her estranged son Edward (Freddie Highmore) "flee an idyllic Greek island when Julie's dangerous past catches up with her" (via the synopsis). The at-odds pair must now work together to survive, and their uneasy dynamic is perfection.
Edward, slightly awkward and more readily available with his emotions, clashes with his blunt mother, who scarcely doles out affection – and when she does, it's indirect.
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Their purposely uncomfortable dynamic is wonderfully cringe-inducing, as they learn each other once more. Each actor excels in their role, but Hawes truly is the standout of the cast. The Line of Duty actor goes beneath the thrilling action-packed surface, and cuts through to the meat of the piece.
At its heart, The Assassin is an exploration of womanhood in a male-dominated world. It dares to approach this theme through the lens of a menopausal hitwoman, who is still as sharp as the version we met at the beginning.
Bringing something refreshingly unique for the genre, The Assassin centres a menopausal woman right at the heart of the piece, and she's ripping those out with a chilling lack of mercy. Julie is not the face of a floundering woman who rediscovers the power she once had in her youth, because crucially she never lost it in the first place.
She is a morally grey, as some of the best characters are, and she is fierce and complex and domineering – importantly though, you can't help but root for her, despite her nefarious activities.
This isn't the only thing the Prime thriller gets right. The Assassin's exploration of womanhood doesn't end there. Her struggles with her identity as a mother are also captivating.
Women are socialised to believe that having children is their path, but while gunning down enemies may come naturally to Julie, connecting with her son is much more difficult.
This is the only time we see her uneasy or doubt herself. The thriller shows the impact that Julie's work has had on her relationship with her son, and how being successful has meant leaving certain parts of what's deemed to be 'womanhood' off the table.
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But these themes aside, The Assassin should also be praised for building a twisty narrative that's more typically seen in the genre. The story shunts you from one plot point to the next, in a pleasingly frantic and hurried way, that suits its urgency.
It leaves viewers with a desperation to find out what happens next, which is perfect for a boxset drop such as this. We expect fans will be locked in all weekend, as Julie and Edward's story continues to spiral out of control and hopefully hurtles towards a satisfying conclusion.
All episodes of The Assassin are available to stream now on Prime Video.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
