The Veil (2024)

As a spy story, it’s a decent example of its kind, but as a dramatic two-hander, fueled by subtle performances from Moss and Marwan, it’s pretty terrific.

Every time that “The Veil” threatens to spiral off into espionage clichés—not an infrequent occurrence—a choice made by Moss, Marwan, Charles, or a supporting player brings it back. There’s just something about spending time on a show like this with smart characters bouncing rich dialogue off each other in interesting ways.

Elisabeth Moss’ spy thriller The Veil is effectively tense and provocative, but it gets derailed by unnecessary subplots.

It has its merits as a Homeland-type series for those of us craving more heart-pounding, international spy fare, but more than anything, it may just be proof that the Peak TV bubble has most certainly popped.

The Veil is an expensive, character-driven show that feels like a prestige show but isn't. It's politically nonpartisan, narratively easy-to-follow, and a bit bland. [It]'s a well-made and entertaining mass-market spy thriller that you will enjoy while you're watching and forget about as soon as it's over.

The jury is still out for us whether The Veil will be worth the time investment; on first glance there doesn’t seem to be enough story there, but Moss, Charles and Knight give us hope that things will pick up.

The way Knight tries to craft the personal and emotional on top of the plot to give it meaning and weight is appreciated but ultimately does itself no favors.

The Veil repeatedly tries to figure out where the line exists between this persona and the real her, whose name isn’t even Imogen. The problem is that the version of the series about “Imogen” is vastly more entertaining, but the show mostly seems interested in her true identity.

A disjointed spy thriller for Hulu. Adopting a British accent, Moss sinks her teeth into the role of an MI6 agent, but her cat-and-mouse game with a suspected terrorist gradually unravels after a reasonably compelling start.

Perhaps most disappointing is how “The Veil” becomes more and more about Imogen and less about Adilah as the episodes drone on. The finale includes a series of whiplash-inducing plot twists, some violent developments that feel arbitrary and manipulative, and one key reveal involving a piece of office equipment that is unintentionally funny.

You’ve seen shows like this plenty of times before, and watching Elisabeth Moss try on a British accent has its charms. This would have been far better as a 118-minute movie, but that’s not really the entertainment landscape right now.

Unfortunately, for all of its potent ideas, its carefully chosen and depicted European locations and Moss’ excellence — which should never be taken so entirely for granted that you don’t pause and marvel — Knight doesn’t know how to steer his story to a place that’s as provocative as its origins. The Veil first becomes perfunctory — Homeland-lite — before fizzling entirely in its concluding episodes, in which almost none of its twisty reveals hits deeply on either a plot or character level.

Where the series is at its best is when Moss and Marwan effectively ground the plot in more of a two-hander through their early road trip scenes, facing off with each other warily before deciding where and when to be more honest about themselves. If only the show was more intent on allowing them to spill their truths on their own terms and in their own time, rather than rushing to spoil the reveals for us first.

To endure it is to risk baldness from all the outraged hair-pulling it inspires.

There’s a terrorism threat to the U.S. painted with broad strokes, CIA interference, cliché portrayals of Middle Eastern countries and people, and, of course, Imogen’s white savior complex. In 2024, there is simply no need for such recycled, derivative, distasteful fare in the name of entertainment.

Better casting would not have made this a great show. There are too many gaping plot holes and silly characters, like Max, for that. Knight freights the dialogue with ponderous statements (“I’m trying to create a system for this filthy chaos and broken humanity,” the leader of the refugee camp declares) and Shakespeare quotes that are anchored in Imogen’s past but convey little besides a desire for unearned profundity.

Poorly teased secrets are compounded by lazily executed spycraft and topped off with outdated tropes that turn a forgettable endeavor memorably ugly. Moss, saddled with a British accent for no particular reason, does what she can to act her way out of a hopeless situation, but even her considerable gifts can’t merit lifting this “Veil.”

The problem is that, ultimately, “The Veil” isn’t outrageous at all. It’s rather flat and does not get better as it goes along. The more we learn about Imogen, the less she seems like a person and the more like a construct. And the dialogue is never less convincing than when Imogen is revealing her deepest feelings.