Hostages Will Hold You Captive
Kristina Carroll ’16/ Emertainment Monthly Editor
Sitting on the couch watching a sports game on television…looks like a normal night for the Sanders family. But there’s something wrong; they all look distressed. Why? Because there is a group of masked characters dressed completely in black, holding them hostage in their living room. Welcome to Hostages, the must-watch show of the season.
After witnessing this terrifying intro, we’re taken back in time to 12 hours earlier. Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette), is giving a press conference with President Paul Kincaid (James Naughton), in which she declares that she is going to perform surgery on the President to remove a mass in his lung.
The creepiness factor that begins at this point in the show only increases, as Ellen returns from her press conference. As she is going back into her office at the hospital, she sees an electrician-type worker exiting. From her expression, it appears as if she has never seen him before. When she gets into her office to call her husband Brian (Tate Donovan), she realizes that one of her pictures is missing from her desk. The weird thing, however, is that the frame is still there. Despite her confusion, she decides to forget it and move on with her day. But the audience knows that there is something definitely wrong here. Why? Because she’s being spied on with a camera!
After Carlisle’s heroic actions at the bank, we get a sneak peek into his much calmer personal life. His wife Nina, is comatose in the hospital, and the cause has not yet been revealed—leaving us with something to look forward to in future episodes! He also has an adorable young daughter, who he sends to stay with her grandfather for a short amount of time.
And this is where things get crazy. When the Sanders family returns home, we discover that cameras have been implanted in their house, and they are being spied on. Soon after, the people who implanted the cameras prepare to break in. Their plans are somewhat interrupted when the family dog Barkley notices something strange and begins barking, and Morgan leaves to go talk to her boyfriend. The woman spy is sent to follow and capture Morgan, while the men continue with their planned break in.
Carlisle brings Ellen upstairs, and explains that his goal in holding her family hostage is to convince her to kill the President tomorrow during his surgery. At first she refuses, exclaiming that there’s no way they won’t be caught, and even if they aren’t she won’t be able to live with the guilt. Carlisle declares that if she fails to comply with his orders, her whole family will die.
Ellen has the brilliant idea to set off the silent house alarm, but unfortunately her plan is not brilliant enough to slip by Carlisle. When the alarm company calls the house to see if everything is OK, Ellen is held at gunpoint and is forced to pretend that there is nothing out of the ordinary going on. The telephone operator explains that a police cruiser is on its way just to make sure. When Ellen answers the door she sees that the officer is the same man who was seen walking out of her office earlier that day. He hands her an envelope, and inside is the picture of her family that was missing off of her desk. This is perhaps the most terrifying moment of the show, because it proves that Carlisle has connections everywhere. It seems at this point that Ellen has no chance…and that she unfortunately must go along with Carlisle’s plan. But wait…it’s not over.
This is just the first episode, and we have already been exposed to several shockers and a handful of mysteries. And as if this conflict with Ellen wasn’t enough, the other members of the Sanders family are suffering with their own serious dilemmas themselves. Ellen’s teenage daughter Morgan (Quinn Shephard) is pregnant, her son Jake (Mateus Ward) is dealing drugs, and her husband Brian is having an affair with another woman.
Hostages is arguably the best show on television right now. It’s jam-packed with action, but also contains a handful of dramatic scenes. There’s something in it for everybody–suspense, emotion, and terror, to name a few. Also, the actors are just incredible. Tate Donovan, Dylan McDermott, and Toni Collette showcase their experience and raw talent throughout the episode, and are sure to continue to impress in the future.
One of the most interesting things about this show is that it’s hard to hate Carlisle. He helps the family avoid utter destruction by keeping everyone’s secrets, and reveals his personal side in scenes with his daughter. But then again, he’s trying to kill the President.
So who’s side should we be on? We’ll just have to keep watching to find out!