Hanna - General Discussion

[ohjoy]

New series coming to Amazon Prime in March 2019, adapted by the co-writer of the original feature film.

Quote

“Hanna” follows the journey of a young girl with extraordinary skills as she evades the relentless pursuit of an off-book CIA agent and tries to unearth the truth behind who she is.

[ohjoy]

First teaser:

[paulvdb]

Super Bowl ad:

 

The first episode will be available as a sneak peak for 24 hours after the Super Bowl. The official series premiere is in March.

[Irlandesa]

The show is actually live now.  I'm watching it instead of the second half of the Superbowl.

ETA:  So the episode was basically set up and I'm not quite sure why Mireille Enos's character is after Joel Kinnamon and his daughter's characters.  I imagine that's what we'll find out.  But it's fun to have The Killing duo back together again even if they didn't share scenes. 

The scenery was also gorgeous and atmospheric.  I might rewatch it when the rest of the episodes drop but I definitely think I'll continue. 

Plus, I love that it was only 48 minutes long. I find Amazon drama series (i.e. Bosch) are more willing to play with a running time that is closer to traditional commercial TV.  As a result, I find the episodes tighter and easier to binge.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Irlandesa

[Bort]

I suppose this’ll get explained later, but why was baby Hanna being kept in some high security facility that her parents (I presume they’re her parents) had to break in to get her out? 

[paulvdb]

Trailer:

[Enigma X]

I started off very strong on this but have lost interest by episode 5. I like Kinnaman and Creed-Miles well enough. There is something about Enos that is off putting. More importantly, I can guess the ending at this point and fear we will never know what Utrax or Utrachts (don’t know) was up to. If I have already been told, that shows just how uninvested I have become. I really want to like this but the bad guy side is a little too stereotypical.

[Whimsy]

I just binged the crap out of this and loved it. I would watch Joel Kinnaman in literally anything. I was actually worried about his safety the entire series so 

Spoiler

I was glad he didn’t die until the last couple of minutes of the series.  Without him, not sure I’d watch a second season if there is one, tbh  

There is, obviously, a lot that is not realistic, but I think the main thing for me was how easily Hanna moved around Europe never having left her forest. 

[HollyG]

I'm on episode 3 and also feel my interest waning. Not sure if this is a baby selling venture or something more. If someone would care to spoil me, I'd appreciate it as I'm not sure I will finish the series.

Edited March 31, 2019 by HollyG

[MissLucas]

3 minutes ago, HollyG said:

I'm on episode 3 and also feel my interest waning. Not sure if this is a baby selling venture or something more. If someone would care to spoil me, I'd appreciate it.

Ditto. I'm getting mild Orphan Black vibes (just swap clone with genetically engineered super soldier or something in that vein). 

[HollyG]

6 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Ditto. I'm getting mild Orphan Black vibes (just swap clone with genetically engineered super soldier or something in that vein). 

That was one of my thoughts too. They are building super soldiers or something. I'm not sure why it's not working for me as I loved Orphan Black. I may not have the patience for this one though.

[OoogleEyes]

Joel and Mirelle, back together again 

They weren't interesting in 'The Killing', and they're not interesting now

[Garden Wafers]

It's been years since I've watched the film, so I'm not sure if my preference for the theatrical release over the TV series is due to rose-colored glasses or if the story really is better served by a shorter runtime. The show allows us to see more of Hanna's experiences out in the world, but I find myself utterly bored during those scenes. There's only so many times I watch Hanna stand wide-eyed at the noise and crowds. Plus, as @Whimsy mentioned, I found Hanna's interactions with the wider world unrealistic, especially in how quickly she became friends with Sophie. 

[Mindthinkr]

I’m on Episode 4 and need some answers. There needs to be some pay-off for watching. 

[MJS]

Finished the series and enjoyed it immensely. Sure I had to suspend disbelief in bunches of places, but I liked the characters a lot and though that Hanna and Erik had real father-daughter chemistry. 

Found it a satisfying ending. 

[TexasGal]

I’m on episode 4 and my question is - why has no one cut and died Hanna’s hair so maybe she’ll not be so immediately recognizable?

[Enigma X]

50 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

I’m on episode 4 and my question is - why has no one cut and died Hanna’s hair so maybe she’ll not be so immediately recognizable?

I was sort of wondering how they recognized a 16 year old from when she was a baby, but...

[Pike Ludwell]

The whole episode with Anton was Twilight Zonish. Hannah is at a party filled with people, makes eye contact with Anton, and it's love at first sight! And it turns out that it is the same boy that her friend has been raving about how gorgeous he is and who also has a thing about him. This guy? Come on. I've noticed an obsession with interracial relationships in British series the past few years, but this is an American series. then I noticed the writer (David Farr)  is British. That explains it - the British have an obsession in this area, for some psychological reasons.

[Anela]

I'm on episode 7. I like it, and watched the first three episodes last Friday, but I think it's convenient that she got her period, and immediately became rebellious, happened to meet a teenage boy, kind of go on a date, spark interest from the authorities, all in a couple of days? Then gets caught, deliberately, so that she can murder her way out of the facility, meet up with the girl, and so on. Gets to England, loses her virginity - how much time is supposed to have passed? 

Erik's own mother giving him up so easily, and saying he was always trouble - that's cold. 

On 4/8/2019 at 1:12 PM, Pat Hoolihan said:

The whole episode with Anton was Twilight Zonish. Hannah is at a party filled with people, makes eye contact with Anton, and it's love at first sight! And it turns out that it is the same boy that her friend has been raving about how gorgeous he is and who also has a thing about him. This guy? Come on. I've noticed an obsession with interracial relationships in British series the past few years, but this is an American series. then I noticed the writer (David Farr)  is British. That explains it - the British have an obsession in this area, for some psychological reasons.

I'm British, and I disagree. It's just a normal thing in the UK. 

[paulvdb]

‘Hanna’ Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon

[Bort]

I just binged this today. I liked the redemption arc of Marissa, I found her to be the most interesting character, she was definitely a badass. I don't know why she was settling for that relationship with the bossy, demanding French guy and his kid who hated her.

RIP Erik! I'll miss your pretty face in season 2.

[Whimsy]

15 hours ago, paulvdb said:

‘Hanna’ Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon

8 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I just binged this today. I liked the redemption arc of Marissa, I found her to be the most interesting character, she was definitely a badass. I don't know why she was settling for that relationship with the bossy, demanding French guy and his kid who hated her.

RIP Erik! I'll miss your pretty face in season 2.

I have serious mixed emotions.  I guess I'll probably watched even though I said I was out because they killed Erik.  

[Bort]

8 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I have serious mixed emotions.  I guess I'll probably watched even though I said I was out because they killed Erik.  

If they had killed off Marissa too, I'd probably be out as well. Partly because I don't think the character of Hanna herself can carry the show, but also because I'm interested to see how Marissa parlays the situation as she manipulated it in the finale episode. And as the only adult left who has any concern over Hanna's welfare.

[Whimsy]

5 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

If they had killed off Marissa too, I'd probably be out as well. Partly because I don't think the character of Hanna herself can carry the show, but also because I'm interested to see how Marissa parlays the situation as she manipulated it in the finale episode. And as the only adult left who has any concern over Hanna's welfare.

This is also why I would stick with it.  

[Writing Wrongs]

I'm trying to get through this show (I'm on Episode 4) because I liked the leads on The Killing, but I'm finding it pretty boring. I'll finish it because I'm a completist, but I doubt I'll be back for Season 2.

[Writing Wrongs]

I finished it. It reminded me of Dark Angel.

[NJRadioGuy]

I wanted to love this series. I really did. Great premise, the movie it was based on was well made and the pilot to this Amazon series was pretty riveting. But by episode 3 or 4, it started to drag, and by episode 7, the wheels had fallen off and it became a second-rate dumb action pic with a (mostly) predictable conclusion. Villains are cartoonishly dumb/evil, and the main story makes no sense most of the time.

The gems that are saving this from a one-star review are teenage actor Esme Creed-Miles, who plays the titular character, and the "Everyman" family in the U.K.

The bits I liked the most were Hanna's humanization once the main plot started to unfurl. We see how she was raised in the pilot, but that her humanity and teenage fragility was left out of her programming. Where she starts to pick up those pieces with Sophie's family is where this becomes a very engrossing story for me. Alas, those moments are too few and too far between, then gone completely, and it's back to shoot-em-ups and villains proverbially twirling their mustaches. 

Season 2 could be far more engrossing if they focus a lot more on Hanna's humanity, and (presumably) her reconnecting with Sophie's family, but I have my doubts that the Hollywood moneybags financing this are interested in anything more than another ridiculous CIA spy thriller with flying bullets and plenty of scenery porn that will attract the 18-24 YO set. I wish they'd have continued with Arvo (from episode 1) later on. Their interaction was great, and the characters had screen chemistry. Then poof.

This needed less Hollywood, and more humanity. 4/10, and that's being generous. Take out Sophie's family and friends and it's a 1/10.

Edited June 5, 2019 by NJRadioGuy

[ICantDoThatDave]

On 6/5/2019 at 1:29 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

This needed less Hollywood, and more humanity. 4/10, and that's being generous. Take out Sophie's family and friends and it's a 1/10.

I wound up with the same overall feelings about the show (mediocre to below average) but for the opposite reasons.  I felt like way too much time was spent on CW Teen Drama, driving, long conversations, & it just ground the pace of the show to a halt.  Plus there was a lot of "they're about to be caught! no they escaped by... oh, running away again".

The basic premise has been handled a lot better by other shows/movies - River Tam in Firefly/Serenity, X-23 in Logan, Eleven in Stranger Things.  They need to pick a lane & either lean into the humanity, adjusting to real life, fish out of water aspect (which it sounds like you'd like more) or else focus on the enhanced, what makes her special, action sequences (which is more of what I'd like).  I'm not saying either preference is better or even that it should be 100% either way but trying to strike a 50/50 balance doesn't seem like a good approach, especially when both aspects are handled poorly like they were here.

[NJRadioGuy]

Except if all they did was focus on her powers and training then we have a cute Batman, basically. I'm good with the cloak-and-dagger stuff if the story is compelling, but this just wasn't. And in 10 episodes you have a choice: develop character, unfurl a good plot or kill a ton of baddies—but only two out of the three.

Her training was remarkable for what it was, but at the end of the day she's a teenager who's woefully unprepared for the life of a teenager, and equally unprepared for the kind of high-stakes espionage that we're given. Add in very predictable stories and cartoonish villains and you get the mess that was season 1.

[Rez]

There's still one thing I cannot figure out: Episode 7, right at the start, there's a cool scene in a ravine where kids, one of whom is called Abdul are playing and Abdul is about to jump off the rock in to the water. As the camera pans to Abdul's view there is a helicopter under the water.

WTF is that all about!? Who are these people? Where are they? What language? What's going on? I don't recall them ever anywhere else in the whole series!? Wtf!?

Loved the whole series and ep 7 was immense, what a finish! Even the music is perfect.

[TV Anonymous]

On 3/31/2019 at 4:59 PM, Whimsy said:

There is, obviously, a lot that is not realistic, but I think the main thing for me was how easily Hanna moved around Europe never having left her forest. 

Being a government employee, the most unrealistic aspect for me is that they keep on pushing on Heller and Hanna despite the number of casualties on CIA's side, even from the beginning in Morocco. That is a lot of funerals to hold and families demanding explanation.

[paulvdb]

Season 2 premieres Friday, July 3

Teaser trailer:

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm late to the party on Season 1. I'm up to episode 7 and have struggled to stay with it.  I endured The Killing, so, I don't mind those actors so much.  

I did struggle with the actor who plays Hanna.  I'm not sure if they just didn't give her good direction, it was poor writing.....whatever,  but, it seems like she is pretty much one note. Just hit someone and run like hell.  I'd like more charisma and intellect. Even in the year that  she was engineered, didn't scientists realize that the key to super agents would be their mental abilities, computer genius, etc and not brute strength.  She did hear Eric's voice in the restaurant before he arrived. Was that her gift?  Maybe, I'll see more as it wraps up in these last few episodes.  It just seems that the camera zooms in to see her experiencing something and it's always the same.  So, maybe, that's a gift.  I don't know, it happens when she's alone too.  

I will watch Season 2, though, since I have lots of time at home now self quarantining. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm now on the finale.  Can someone tell me what Marissa meant when she was talking to Erik on the phone about how they were really responsible for Hanna?  She said about how they created her.....was Marissa actually the mother? Erik the father?  Did they switch babies?  I don't understand.  

 

[overtherainbow]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I really like this show, I definitely think it's one of amazon's better original series and I found the acting pretty solid. I loved the original 2011 movie (super underrated!) as well but I find it hard to compare it with the show since they're both so different - the show is a lot more gritty and intense, the movie was more whimsical and art house. It is after all drama though so it isn't exactly meant to be realistic. Marissa's character and her dynamic with Hanna is really intriguing. I look forward to more character development in season 2 (and fingers crossed they find some way to revive Erik!).

[MCMLXXVII]

Anyone watching season 2?

[HerkyJerky]

1 hour ago, MCMLXXVII said:

Anyone watching season 2?

Yep!  I've watched the first 3 episodes so far and it's a lot better than Season 1.  I LOVE it so far...

[MCMLXXVII]

Yeah, I’m almost done with episode 4. Did they ever explain why the Utrax program is only girls? 

[Bort]

13 hours ago, MCMLXXVII said:

Yeah, I’m almost done with episode 4. Did they ever explain why the Utrax program is only girls? 

Because no one suspects a pigtailed co-ed to be an assassin. 

[MissLucas]

Well, I decided to give it another go after dropping out of episode three in season one. Now that I've finished with the season I have to make a mental note to stop watching shows with Joel Kinnaman, first Altered Carbon and now this, sheesh ☹️

Edited July 5, 2020 by MissLucas

[Bort]

Was anyone else surprised to see Dermot Mulroney in season 2? I didn’t know he would be on. 

Marissa is still a badass. Just about every time Hanna got in over her head, there was Marissa, mowing down bad guys with gunfire. 

[overtherainbow]

I just finished S2 and enjoyed it even though this season felt a lot more like a teen drama and I do wish that there was more focus on Marissa. Dermot Mulroney was a surprise!

I wonder what the significance of the list of young assassination targets are, other than them all posing some sort of implied threat to the power structure. I guess we will find out in the next season. There is so much they can do with this, it will be interesting to see where it goes.

[Bort]

29 minutes ago, overtherainbow said:

I just finished S2 and enjoyed it even though this season felt a lot more like a teen drama and I do wish that there was more focus on Marissa.

Yeah, I think that was my one real criticism of the season was all the focus on Sandy and Jules transitioning into their personalities, with Sandy swallowing the koolaid pretty readily and Jules actually bucking the trend a little bit, only for them to both fall into line as mindless drones? I feel like there was a lot of time wasted on them if there wasn't ever going to be any conflict with them questioning their orders. Instead, they both carried out their executions without flinching.

And I will always wish there's more focus on Marissa.

[tennisgurl]

I really liked season two, very different vibe and story from season one. I thought the focus on the girls in the Utrax program was interesting, I feel like its setting up a lot of stuff for the next season. I found the fake girls school where the girls get fake identities and learn to act "normal" to actually be a lot creepier than the sterile lab with dead eyed girls, the teen girl shenanigans juxtaposed with its actual sinister purpose, and how quickly Sandy and Jules could switch to kill mode, was really disturbing. I really found how the girls fully committed to these fake lives and families (including Sandy mourning her dead imaginary sister) to be rather sad. They just have nothing, not even names, so of course they latch onto these fake lives that seem real. I also thought it was interesting that they seemed to give a lot of the girls rather old fashioned names, like Sandy, Helen, Clemency, etc. 

Dermot Mulroney was quite a surprise! Maybe dont get drunk and start rambling about your Evil Plan and leave your Evil Plan Documents out in front of people before you confirm that they're on the team. 

Looks like Terri might be on the verge of switching sides, this has been a real "I think I might be working for the bad guys" kind of day. I hope that next season we can focus on Marissa more, she is definitely my favorite character. What a badass. 

Edited July 13, 2020 by tennisgurl

[paulvdb]

‘Hanna’ Renewed For Season 3 At Amazon

[NJRadioGuy]

On 7/6/2020 at 9:31 AM, overtherainbow said:

I just finished S2 and enjoyed it even though this season felt a lot more like a teen drama 

That's what made it much better than S1 in my opinion. I reviewed S1 about a dozen or so posts above and so many of my criticisms were addressed in S2. I want to care about the characters I'm watching. I want to see them grow and become three dimensional.

Sandy's path was easy to see coming. She drinks the kool-aid from day one and is extremely malleable. Jules, you could tell from early on, that she was going to be a stone cold killer. Clara was just wonderful and her actor played her wonderfully. And then of course there's Arya Hanna. This season she became everything I'd hoped for.

I honestly don't care about the main plot, holey as it is in many places. The whole concept of Utrax should just have been allowed to leak to the press and move on to other Big Bads in future seasons.

This season was a joy for me to watch, and for as much as I hate-watched the last 3 or 4 episodes last year, I loved this season immensely. So glad they get a 3rd kick at the can, although we probably won't see it until 2022.

[overtherainbow]

19 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

That's what made it much better than S1 in my opinion. I reviewed S1 about a dozen or so posts above and so many of my criticisms were addressed in S2. I want to care about the characters I'm watching. I want to see them grow and become three dimensional.

Sandy's path was easy to see coming. She drinks the kool-aid from day one and is extremely malleable. Jules, you could tell from early on, that she was going to be a stone cold killer. Clara was just wonderful and her actor played her wonderfully. And then of course there's Arya Hanna. This season she became everything I'd hoped for.

I honestly don't care about the main plot, holey as it is in many places. The whole concept of Utrax should just have been allowed to leak to the press and move on to other Big Bads in future seasons.

This season was a joy for me to watch, and for as much as I hate-watched the last 3 or 4 episodes last year, I loved this season immensely. So glad they get a 3rd kick at the can, although we probably won't see it until 2022.

That’s interesting, this season seems to be more popular but I guess I actually didn’t care for it nearly as much as the first. It had more of an American, less European feel to it thinking back on it and I detested Sandy and Jules and their storylines. Clara I didn’t care for much either and Hanna’s instant connection and loyalty to her and willingness to keep trying to help her even after the betrayal and her terrible attitude, I never really got whereas in last season Hanna and Sophie seemed a lot more natural together (even though she was kind of the stereotypical snooty teen). It’s a good show nonetheless and I look forward to the next season whenever that comes out.

[buttercupia]

I miss sophie and her family.

[paulvdb]

Season 3 premieres on November 24

[Mindthinkr]

12 hours ago, paulvdb said:

Season 3 premieres on November 24

Thank you. 😊