Netflix is an incredible streaming platform for accessing some of the best television content from around the world.
Case in point — the new Danish thriller series The Asset, which surrounds a female police officer who becomes an undercover operative tasked with bringing down a vast criminal network by befriending the girlfriend of a powerful mob boss.
Watch With Us loves a good espionage thriller, and this one isn’t to be missed.
We break down why The Asset deserves your full attention this week.
It’s an Incredibly Tense, Fast-Paced Thrill-Ride
The Asset follows Tea (Clara Dessau), a recovering addict who comes from a difficult background, attempting to turn her life around by joining the police force. But Denmark’s Security and Intelligence Service wants her as an undercover agent to topple a powerful crime lord and get close to his inner circle — thereby plunging Tea right back into the world she struggled to leave behind.
With high emotional stakes and intense drama, The Asset moves along at a brisk, exciting clip. It takes a familiar formula and creates something incredibly sharp and entertaining. At only six episodes, the series has to move quickly, and it not only does so with style and impact, but it also feels perfectly well-executed within these runtime confines. The Asset isn’t likely to make any new espionage thriller converts, but fans of the genre will find something new within the old.
The Characters Are Both Morally Complex and Well-Acted
The Asset isn’t interested in characters that are good or bad, but rather ones who live in the grey area between the two. For example, the criminal whom Tea is assigned to cozy up to, Miran (Afshin Firouzi), is not only a criminal but an abuser as well, yet the audience feels some empathy towards the affections he shows for his brother and daughter. So, too is Miran’s brother, Bambi (Arian Kashef), a complicated figure, boxed in by the devotion he feels for Miran.
Additionally, Tea’s government handlers walk a line that blurs justice and exploitation, as their dogged efforts to take down a bad guy seem to supersede Tea’s safety. Dessau does excellent work within this push and pull, as she finds her dual identities beginning to bleed together, tormenting her and threatening her life.
‘The Asset’ Focuses on the Emotional Consequences of Undercover Work
Tea is chosen for her assignment not because of her talent or skills, but because of her vulnerability to the circumstances. Her government handlers view her as weak due to her status as a recovering drug addict from a troubled upbringing, and therefore, she is easily replaceable if need be. Ultimately, her character becomes an example of how the state exploits methods of justice by using people as its own weapons.
Thus, The Asset is interested in the material effects of intelligence work on agents, depicting the psychological and emotional consequences of forcing someone to live behind an identity that is not their own. When the main objective seems to be control as opposed to equity, the victims are not just those of criminals but those who are being abused by their government. The Asset forces viewers to question the extent to which justice should be sought and the sacrifices made in its name.
Stream The Asset now on Netflix.
