- Network: HULU
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 30, 2024
Critic Reviews
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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.
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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.
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Poorly teased secrets are compounded by lazily executed spycraft and topped off with outdated tropes that turn a forgettable endeavor memorably ugly.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.”
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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.
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There’s nothing here that deserves expansion in a series that is already at breaking point. We’re led through the at times punishingly dull, four-and-a half-hour runtime with the promise of surprise but it never really comes. The only real shock is why, at a time of far too much TV, anyone would waste their time watching this.