Cassie Bowden just can’t catch a break. The second season of “The Flight Attendant” finds Kaley Cuoco’s character struggling to stay one step ahead in a frenetic, spy-fueled game of cat and mouse. She’s also trying to stay sober for once, something that she was most definitely not in the show’s first season. The result is a more layered and introspective season than the first, but one that’s still charged with whodunnit intrigue.
Season two actually doesn’t start off that dramatically. Bowden has moved to L.A., is approaching one year of sobriety, and has an A.A. sponsor. She’s also got a handsome photographer boyfriend, Marco (Santiago Cabrera), who hopefully won’t turn out to be a homicidal maniac this time around. Of course, she’s still flying the friendly, first-class skies, but she’s also taken a trick from Shane (the great Griffin Matthews) and signed up to become a CIA informant.
Of course, Cassie’s version of what a CIA informant is and does is very different from the version of the role that the government agency would like. True to form, she always takes things a step too far, trailing her marks instead of just observing them and often becoming entangled in their lives. (Why the CIA would keep her on is anyone’s guess, but it’s a TV show so let’s just ignore that reality.) When a case in Berlin goes sideways fast, Cassie finds herself with a bad case of tinnitus, a missing suitcase, and a mysterious case of identity theft.
Things unfurl from there as Cuoco once again plunges into the challenges of portraying Cassie losing her grip on reality as well as her sense of control. Sadly, there’s no dead/undead Michael Huisman in a hotel room this season. Instead, Cassie’s inner struggles are conveyed by four different Cassies (three of which are played by Cuoco), who are hanging out in a hotel lobby that plays host to her quickly fracturing consciousness. This leaves Cuoco to frequently play off herself, which she does handily thanks to the show’s quick editing and adept CGI.
Huisman is just about the only season one character who’s not back for the ride. Rosie Perez is back as Cassie’s maybe best friend Megan, who’s now on the lam after unknowingly stealing secrets for the North Koreans. Zosia Mamet’s Ani and Deniz Akdeniz’s Max are conveniently staying with Cassie in her idyllic cottage, thus making them once again Cassie’s defacto Scooby squad. They’re also dealing with a maybe-maybe not engagement, and Ani’s struggle to find what’s next for her after being suspended from practicing law for a year. There are other season one cameos, including Cassie’s brother (T.R. Knight), but to say any more would ruin all the fun. All we’ll say is that there’s one in Iceland in episode four that made us gasp with joy.
There are a few new faces this season as well, including Sharon Stone as Cassie’s long-suffering mother and Cheryl Hines as one of the CIA staffers who oversee Cassie’s information gathering. (Margaret Cho plays a role, too.) While none of these actors get a ton of screen time in the six episodes given to press in advance of the launch, Stone’s role is particularly meaty, as Cassie is forced to face both the casualties of her drinking and the mess her father’s death left behind.
Overall, season two of “The Flight Attendant” doesn’t mix things up much from its first season, and that’s both a blessing and a curse. While fans will surely delight that all the twists and turns are back, it’s hard to believe that Cassie never learned her lesson following her season one brush with death. She’s still impulsive and careless, both with her life and her friends’, and nit-picking viewers will find it hard to believe she can tail someone half a block back with shocking blonde hair and a red coat and not be noticed. (Also, she’s got bangs now!) There are times when, as a viewer, you might just want to reach through the screen and shake Cassie, who’s not exactly the most sympathetic character. While she’s got a lot of reasons to be fucked up (thanks, Dad), she also never does herself any favors, and that can be frustrating to watch.
On the other hand, “The Flight Attendant” is one of the few places on television, streaming or otherwise, where viewers can get a glimpse inside the twisted lives of multiple middle-aged women. (At 34, Mamet is the core cast’s youngest female member.) While none of their lives are anything to aspire to, that’s actually a good thing. Seeing women on TV that are flawed, messy, and unsure of their future is just as important as seeing sitcom moms that make it all the better with a meal—if not more important. While (hopefully) none of us are fucking up as royally as “The Flight Attendant” crew, the show does serve as a good reminder that even the loveliest, most globe-trotting women can make mistakes over and over and over and over again. [B]