Class of ’09 Episode 1-4 Early Review

Most television lovers would agree that the FBI has been depicted to death through its medium. Oftentimes, they are shown as an omniscient force with every available gadget and typically apprehend their bad guy in 45min or less only to move on to the next crime. Rinse and repeat.

This is a trope that Class of ’09 could have easily adopted with its story which would have likely delivered a semi-satisfactory product. However, this limited series thankfully doesn’t, opting for a more unorthodox approach by shifting between three decades of interweaving careers of several Federal Agents starting with them as trainees at Quantico, their varying careers within the Bureau, and 10 years into the future showing the repercussions of their life choices and scars from their previous cases. Even more interesting is their revealed future which shows several agents with bio-enhanced body parts due to hazards of the job, but more importantly, reveals a ratified Bureau that is heavily reliant on AI technology in order to arrest criminals based on behavioral patterns before they are able to even commit a crime. The series slowly unfolds the understanding of how such technology exists and morphs into a heavily dependent tool by such a large government agency that is closely intertwined with the lives of the agents from the titular class.

These agents are Tayo (Brian Tyree Henry), Lennix (Brian J. Smith), Poet (Kate Mara), and Hour (Sepideh Moafi); all from various backgrounds, and many taking on this role as a second career but quickly prove to be one of, if not, the best graduating class in FBI history. The series cleverly allows for each character to shine on their own path while also contributing to a larger unfolding narrative involving all of them that subtly looms over their past, present, and future. Each brings unique abilities and traits to their respective roles in the Bureau and offers interesting perspectives towards the agency that employs them and the line of morality when it comes to protecting their own as well as their nation against any threat.

Even more impressive than its ability to buck narrative tropes, Class of ’09 displays essentially tight writing to carry the burden of multiple storylines across multiple timelines and keep viewers engaged even when not fully aware of what is being show only for it to be paid off by episode’s end. This further feeds into the slowly turning narrative screw which increases the stakes for the agents with each passing episode, allowing the characters to remain intriguing across all timelines despite seeing how their lives end up in the future. The series takes the position that it’s the journey and the small decisions that add up over time that are the truly impactful pieces not so much the destination.

Class of ’09 slowly and strategically places narrative components in a pattern where many things seem to be revealed early on to the viewer, giving the impression that there is little more to be discovered as each episode continues, but is more about how the pieces fully connect. However, there is an unspoken simmering impression under the surface that once these pieces fully click into focus, there will be an intricate patchwork of storylines that build to a truly poignant message that speaks to issues far beyond the confines of the screen but easily bleeds into real-life repercussions that might be on the horizon.

still courtesy of Hulu

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Critics w/o Credentials

Trying my best to get all thoughts about TV and Film out of my head and onto the interweb.