Codename Capricorn: The Making of a Secret Agent

After watching the movie Hanna (2011) which I thoroughly enjoyed, I figured that I would take the opportunity to continue to enjoy the story in the series that began in 2019 on Amazon. It contained some of the same characters and amplified some of the themes that were proposed by the movie.

My expectations for the series were not only met, but exceeded. The themes here are grander in scope, because there is a continuing storyline. As such, every season should deepen the character, increase the thrills, and widen Hanna’s skills.

The Hanna TV series is an action drama secret-agent-in-the-making Amazon streaming TV show. David Farr created the show and writes most of the episodes, Sarah Adina Smith directs most of the episodes, Esme Creed-Miles, Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos are the stars.

The story begins with Erik breaking into a lab to snatch a baby. He is pursued by the techs and soldiers with guns. He is met outside with the baby’s mother as they drive away. Then there’s a montage of Hanna training to hunt, and fight, and kill. Hanna is 15, living with her Dad in the wilderness.

Erik, is the only man she has ever known. He trains her daily, ostensibly so that she can be prepared to defend herself from the CIA and Marisa Wiegler. Erik believes that they will one day come to reclaim Hanna, so he trains her with a single-minded paranoia that smothers Hanna. Eventually, Hanna will rebel. Any parent can see this coming.

Little by little, Hanna begins to leave the boundaries that Erik has set in the forest. There are clear delineations to where she can travel, but she longs to travel further. She is curious and the more Erik attempts to satiate her curiosity with dire warnings, the more Hanna wishes to go beyond her father’s prescribed milieu.

When Hanna’s secretive wanderings results in a CIA hunting party invading the forest to search for Hanna directed by Marisa Wiegler, the watcher begins to discern that Erik’s paranoia was well-founded. He has been drilling Hanna about the eventuality from the beginning and by the end of the first episode Hanna deliberately allows herself to be captured in order to give her father an opportunity to get away.

In the second episode, Hanna figures out a way to escape the CIA facility with ease. Again, her father had trained her for this and had drilled her on the step by step procedure and possible questions that might arise. He also arranged a contact location in Berlin.

Along the way, Hanna finds a teen girl, Sofie, who befriends her and begins to demonstrate what normal teen behavior is like — both the good and the bad. Despite the glimpse at “normal” teen behavior, we begin to recognize that Hanna is not normal.

The details of this story are fun to find out as the story unfolds. I promise not to reveal too much. Hanna’s mother was a pregnant lady who was recruited by Erik into a CIA program called UTRAX. The program injected wolf DNA into the babies with an eye to creating super soldier agents. Erik fell in love with Hanna’s mother and decided to help her.

That is the end of my little tease and as to the why of inclusion for Codename Capricorn. The show may involve Hanna’s training as a super soldier, but it also involves Hanna’s growing pains as a human being, young lady, and person. Remember, she is 15 when she has actual contact with the outside world. She was 15 years alone with her father.

He was her only teacher, and her skewed worldview was imparted and circumscribed solely by that one man. No matter how educated or compassionate he could be, he simply can not be enough.

The writing is emotive and on point. The characters are treated as three dimensional and well-rounded. The fight scenes are well-choreographed, as they should be on a program as action-heavy as this. There is a love that is conveyed in what I believe to be the minutest detail of the narrative. It is beautiful. Season 2 is equally as good and Season 3 is coming soon.

Followers of the blog know that I love this show. It has made me cry from deep within. I have to say, if you’re looking for some secret agent fare, this is perfect for Codename Capricorn month.

That’s all I have for you all, right now. Thanks for reading! My name is Louie Matos. I am the Mustache. See you later! Take it easy! Peace!