Veteran actors returning to form with grand action spectacles, spy capers, and franchise movie gigs has become a yearly tradition at this point, so Jeff Bridges returning to the small screen in his early 70s with a TV series adaptation of novelist Thomas Perry’s political espionage thriller, The Old Man, back in 2022 was nothing unprecedented. What sets this return apart from other ‘big name project baits’ though is that the series is more cerebral, smart, and character-driven than most similar ventures shouldered by younger leads. Jeff Bridges puts his years of experience on the silver screen to excellent use in presenting a physically diminished, psychologically afflicted hard-boiled spy—weighed down by the burdens of the past—and practically carries the first season of The Old Man on his back. Having very minimal yet solid action sequences, the narrative focus often hovers around questions of identity, nature of truth, moral tribulations, and demons of the past, as a geopolitical conflict of the past starts raising its ugly head to dismantle the foundations of the established truth.
As the second season of The Old Man is set to premiere on FX later this week, let us guide you through the events of the first season, which will help you into the groove of things pretty easily.
Spoilers Ahead
The Illustrations in the Beginning
The seven episodes of The Old Man begin with displaying seven different Iranian art illustrations of “Kalila wa Dimna,” painted by Hana Shahnavaz. “Kalila wa Dimna” is the Arabian retelling of the Indian stories of “Panchatantra,” where anthropomorphic characters, especially two jackals, Kalila and Dimna, play a major role by chronicling their adventures with other animals, which in their core are metaphorical tales about humanity, morality, virtues, and vices, to impart lessons to the readers or listeners. The significance of the illustrations featuring animal characters from this anthology lies in them acting as clues, which hint at events that have taken place in the past or are going to take shape in the future—and various themes related to the stories are also at play in the series itself.
An Elderly Fugitive on the Run
Dan Chase, or at least the present alias the ex-CIA elderly in the lead played by Jeff Bridges is going by, has been living alone with his two canine companions, ever since his wife’s demise two years ago. For reasons not revealed initially, Chase has been living off the grid for the last three decades, and occasionally gets tormented by visions of his late wife. The only person from the outside world with whom Chase is connected is his daughter, Emily, and the only means of communication between them is over the phone, as Chase’s secretive life resulted in Emily not even being able to show up at her mother’s funeral. To ensure his cognitive functions have not rusted, Chase occasionally goes through tests at the clinic and lays old-school alert traps in his house in anticipation of the arrival of possible intruders. One night, a covert operative arrives at his house with the intention of killing Chase, but a timely detection by the dogs results in Chase getting the upper hand in the situation, and knowing that he won’t be able to learn the identity of the operative, Chase kills him. Staging the scene as a burglary attempt, Chase informs the cops and, taking his dogs with him, goes mobile.
The assistant director of the FBI, Harold Harper, learns about Chase being detected by Agent Waters and his team, and it seems that in the past, Harold had a part to play in whatever secret Dan Chase is carrying with him. Harold, a former acquaintance of Chase, decides to give him a heads-up about agency operatives being on his tail. Harold advises Chase to go underground forever this time, for his own safety, and for his daughter’s as well; otherwise, the agency will send Harper and his men to hunt him down. Chase decides to spit on the proposal, as despite great difficulties, with the help of his dogs, Chase manages to kill the operatives sent to eliminate him, challenging Harold and the agency itself.
Dan Chase’s Murky Past
Through flashback sequences scattered across the central narrative, Dan Chase’s troubling past is unearthed, which reveals the reason the CIA is hell-bent on capturing him and also why Harold Harper’s fate is intricately connected with it. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan through the 80s, the world was divided into opposing factions in the proxy war as an extension of ongoing Cold War, as the United States government’s infamous interventionism strategy led the CIA to assist Afghan Mujahideen warlords with wealth, arms, and ammunition. Dan Chase, a seemingly righteous CIA field operative, going against the agency’s policies, started directly assisting Faraz Hamzad, a seemingly noble Afghan warlord in Panjshir Valley, as he served him as a sniper. Bringing down hordes of Russian military enforcers and rival warlords, Chase got the nickname Baba-Khorkhore, the Boogeyman. However, the person Chase really needed to prove his allegiance to was Belour Daadfar, Hamzad’s wife—who was the real leader of the warring clan, as her guidance, ideals, pragmatism, and hope for a better future for her people were the foundation of belief that kept Hamzad’s stance in the ongoing war a moral one. Harold, who was more of an analytical expert in the CIA team stationed in Afghanistan, repeatedly warned his friend, Dan Chase, to not get deep in the affairs involving the affairs of local clans. Eventually, Dan was relieved from the CIA, but Harold continued to help him in secret.
The situation started going south when a Russian military general, Suleyman Pavlovich, was captured by Chase and brought to Hamzad for questioning, and Belour confided in Chase about her plan to free him. To Chase’s surprise, Belour was a double agent acting as a Russian spy, and in secret, she was making plans to de-escalate the situation at both ends. Suleyman knew her true identity, which makes it imperative for Belour to arrange for his freedom, and knowing the fact that her husband and his comrades could not be trusted with this information, she turned to Chase. Belour further revealed that she was aware of an extremely valuable mineral deposit in the valley, for which the Russians have been searching desperately, and the resources are valuable enough to change the fate of the country forever. She is not willing to share the information with her husband, Hamzad, either, as she is aware of how too much power can corrupt the noblest of men. For the sake of her country, her secrets must survive, and Chase begrudgingly assists her in breaking out Pavlovich. Hamzad eventually gets a whiff about Chase and Belour’s role in breaking out the Russian prisoner, and while questioning them, learns about the mineral deposit. Hamzad slyly threatens his wife into revealing the location of the deposit, which he aims to use for his tribe’s betterment—but Belour refuses to do so. Realizing it is no longer safe for Belour or himself to stay with Hamzad’s company any longer, Chase pleads with Harold to organize a safe exit from Afghanistan in 1987, and pulling the many strings at his disposal, Harold manages to do so. Belour and Chase lived a life in secrecy in the States, had a daughter, Emily, and after all these years, Chase has been flushed out into the open, which risks Harold’s reputation in the final phase of his career. Back in the day, Harold had advised Chase to kill Hamzad, which he was unable to do, and now Hamzad, who has significant leverage over the CIA (due to the States’ obvious interventionist tactics), is breathing down the neck of the agency to hand Chase over to him.
Emily’s True Identity
Upon Chase’s request, Chase and Harold’s mentor, an administrative hotshot, Morgan Bote, had enlisted Emily into the FBI, and totally unaware of this, Harold trained her as his protégé, Angela Adams, through all these years. Now with Chase on the run, Bote’s secret is up for grabs as well, and he prompts Harold to send assassins after Chase. In the meantime, Chase, who has moved to another location, gets acquainted with his neighbor, a divorcee housewife, Zoe McDonald, and as the duo quickly hit it off, Chase unwittingly drags her into the mess that is his life. Emily’s information helps Chase to successfully fend off the assassination attempt, and to ensure Zoe’s safety, he has no other option but to take Zoe along with him. Zoe is horrified to realize what kind of trouble she has gotten herself into, but has no other option except to comply with Chase’s directives. Under the identity of certain business magnates, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, Chase and Zoe move to a different location, and Zoe tries to blackmail Chase to learn about his true intent. The duo eventually reconcile as Chase shares his past with her, and leaving his two dogs in the care of his trusted acquaintance, Chase takes Zoe to Morocco to meet with Suleyman Pavlovich, who is now a business tycoon in Morocco, to learn about Hamzad’s whereabouts and kill him.
Hamzad’s lawyer, Nina Kruger, asks Harold to accept Hamzad’s invitation to move to an undisclosed location via chartered flight to learn about his true motivation to capture Chase. Harold agrees to the proposal and takes Emily along with him. Harold had figured out Emily’s true identity, and the duo got into a heated argument regarding its implications. The death of his son, Chip, had resulted in Harold treating Emily as his daughter, and learning she was living a secret life right under his nose all along makes Harold feel dejected. The duo arrive in Morocco, where they are sent to look for clues in Harold’s past case files, especially regarding the flight in which he had sent Chase and Belour to the States in 1987. By now, Chase has also learned that Emily had joined Harold and is at risk of getting captured by Hamzad’s men, and he rushes to meet Suleyman to put an end to the warlord.
To cover up his role in the entire mess, Bote sends his specialized covert team consisting of the aforementioned assassin and Agent Waters to Morocco as well and tries to convince Harold to leave Emily there for her own sake so that she can go underground and the truth regarding her identity never gets revealed—which will save Harold’s from a disastrous exposé as well. Harold disagrees to do so, but Emily, after getting a whiff of the situation, convinces him to agree to the proposal. However, Harold realizes too late that Bote has ulterior motives of his own as his operatives abduct her.
Meanwhile, Chase realizes that Suleyman has double crossed him and is shocked to learn from him that Belour had used both Suleyman and Chase as her pawns for her safe exit from the warzone. Killing Suleyman’s henchmen, Chase tries to flee with Zoe but gets apprehended by Harold and the Moroccan police while doing so. Chase sends Zoe back to the States, hoping that she can get back to her normal life, and goes with Harold to locate Emily. However, Emily’s abductors/Bote’s operatives get surrounded by Hamzad’s cavalry and presumably get killed, and Harold is ordered to back off by higher authorities. Prioritizing Emily’s life, Harold decides to turn on the Moroccan police as he, along with Chase, quickly take care of the police convoy tailing them in a chase. A desperate Harold questions Chase about whatever Hamzad’s motivation is in capturing Emily, only to learn the secret Chase has carried with him all these years—Emily is Hamzad and Belour’s daughter, Parwana, whom Chase had brought with them in the States. The first season comes to an end with Parwana being taken to Hamzad’s hideout and both Harold and Chase having turned into fugitives of the state.
What Is To Be Expected From Season 2?
Thanks to Chase and Belour, Emily had lived a false life all along, not knowing that her parents whom she admired and looked up to had fabricated her identity itself. As Emily, or should we say, Parwana, gets to learn about the truth during her stay with Hamzad in the upcoming season, it will be interesting to see how she grapples with life altering reality all of a sudden. Also, the fact remains that the abduction of an FBI agent by an Afghan warlord will result in a heated geopolitical situation -putting nations at conflict. Harold and Chase are on the run, given how they turned against higher authorities by the end of the first season, and needless to say, both of them will try to get their ‘daughter’ back from Hamzad’s grip.
