Apple TV+'s Prime Target Has Only 46% on Rotten Tomatoes – But Is It Really That Bad?
New spy thriller with The White Lotus star failed to impress the viewers.
Apple TV+ has released five episodes of Prime Target – a series about a brilliant mathematician who finds himself on the radar of intelligence agencies.
The show was created by Steve Thompson, who has written episodes for Sherlock and Doctor Who, and starred Leo Woodall who previously played in The White Lotus.
What Is Prime Target About?
A 9th century building is accidentally discovered underground in Baghdad. It is believed to be the House of Wisdom – an ancient library where Arabs collected and translated works on astronomy, mathematics, medicine and philosophy.
At the same time, in Cambridge, a young scientist named Edward Brooks is trying to get funding for his work on prime numbers. By chance, he came into possession of photographs of the vault taken in that very building in Baghdad.
Brooks realizes that the image on the ceiling reflects the work of an ancient scientist who was doing the same thing he was – looking for patterns in prime numbers. If such patterns could be discovered, he believes, they would provide answers to almost every question in the universe.
Director Mixes Espionage Thriller With Scientific Research That Do Not Work Well Together
Showrunner Steve Thompson mixes a spy thriller with leisurely mathematics. As a result, the show is too slow as a story about spies, conspiracies, and secret organizations, and too fast as a story about scientific research.
By the fourth episode, the mathematical puzzles fade into the background. The body count increases, the number of characters movements in space increases.
Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell's characters – graduate student Brooks and hacker Taylah – are constantly dodging trouble in the form of hired guns and phantom pursuers.
Compared to Sherlock, the Script of Prime Target Is Much Worse
The script, in which scientists explain things that are obvious to each other, is unpleasantly surprising. Thompson, the author of the wonderful episodes The Blind Banker and The Reichenbach Fall in the Sherlock series, did not have Dr. Watson at his disposal this time, to whom he could explain all the incomprehensible moments.
There is no trace of the visual extravaganza of Sherlock, too. Director Brady Hood is mathematically restrained, limiting suspense to a peeping camera and an alarming soundtrack.
Prime Target Hooks Viewers Only With the Main Mystery
Perhaps the only reason to see a Da Vinci Code-style show through to the end is curiosity as to what the main character's research will lead to and how the mysterious symbols will be connected.
The espionage thriller storyline seems to be tacked on mechanically to keep the viewer interested, and perhaps the series would have been more harmonious without it.