SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for American Hostage Season 1, Episode 7.
The penultimate episode of American Hostage leans into Tony Kiritsis’ mental illness, with mixed results. “Tomorrow Is Here” is an almost surreal episode of the MGM+ show as it takes a minute for the audience to catch up with what the intent is. It does, however, clearly set the table for the season finale.
The story uses glimpses into Tony’s mind as not only bookends, but almost like act breaks throughout the hour. Presented in a blue hue, these scenes get increasingly more bizarre as Tony wanders through the WIBC offices. At different times, he finds himself confronted by his lawyer John Ruckelshaus, Fred’s colleague Ben Hairston, and even his priest. He eventually ends up in a padded room. It’s not immediately apparent what American Hostage is doing by putting viewers inside Tony’s head; it feels like that might have been a more effective device earlier on (although that would have lacked the context provided in Episode 6). It takes until the end to really grasp it: Tony is looking for Fred, at the same time that in reality, Fred is trying to get through to Tony.
That’s because between the illusory interludes, the bulk of American Hostage is devoted to the fact that Fred has learned even more about the plan to deceive Tony and is determined to uncover it. He brings in Ben and Ginny to help him investigate the illegal wiretap on Tony’s phone, after he leans on Ruckelshaus’ nervous associate Wilson. The WIBC news crew does their best Scooby-Doo impression of sorts as they chase leads, such as Ben and Ginny searching through the basement of Tony’s building to find the literal wire. Even station manager Jerry gets back into the mix, although the scene in which he does isn’t as funny as the script thinks it is. Charlotte the randomly placed model being smarter than Jerry is only amusing for a few moments. If there’s one thing American Hostage has missed in the second half of its season, it’s the show’s ability to be funny in the face of something serious.
Jon Hamm continues to be solid as Fred’s frustration with this trap keeps growing. What’s interesting is that he doesn’t explode, as would be the case on any other series (or Episode 6); his emotion comes out quietly in a phone call to Tony, pleading with him to surrender unarmed. He’s trying to save the other man’s life, even though Tony doesn’t know that. And that is, naturally, the exact place for Episode 7 to end on. The big dilemma in the show has been for two episodes now whether Tony Kiritsis will live or die. Even Dick Hall’s survival feels somewhat secondary.
Ironically, it’s actor Kristoffer Polaha as Dick who winds up stealing the episode. After six episodes of being lectured or yelled at, Dick has finally had enough and tells Tony that he has a victim complex, and that he also has no idea about the realities of Dick’s life. The audience knows that this is an entirely justified complaint, having seen in the Episode 6 flashbacks how Dick has been treated by the rest of the family. And for that brief moment, Polaha is wonderful in letting Dick’s emotion bubble up. It’s disappointing that Tony has such little reaction to it. That’s an opportunity for something special, and while the audience does take away that the two are united in their dislike of Dick’s father, there’s so much more left on the table.
The subplot involves Dick’s wife Ibby and her kids taking refuge at the Heckman home, after Dick’s brother Bill informs her of a bomb threat that may or may not be real. This is, of course, an opportunity to further the friendship between Ibby and Barbara Heckman. Ibby encourages Barbara to “dream bigger,” after Barbara reveals both how much she loves Fred and how she occasionally thinks of starting over on her own. It’s an understandable sentiment, especially given the time in which the show takes place. Less successful is a beat between Ben and Ginny, in which she randomly confides in him that she married young because she did what was expected of her. It’s a not-small piece of her backstory, but feels tossed in, and it’s not clear what that adds to the overall plot.
“Tomorrow Is Here” doesn’t get back much of the propulsive momentum that American Hostage started out with. What it does do is connect all the dots so that the viewer knows where every characte stands going into the finale. The various cuts to all of the ensemble in the final minutes, even those not on the scene, are a visual acknowledgement of that. This is an hour that puts all the pieces on the table so the characters can complete the puzzle. The plot-bending cutaways add a little bit of color (literally), but they’re not that necessary to a series that just needs to tie all of its loose ends together.
American Hostage airs Fridays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on MGM+. Photo Credit: Steven Ackerman/Courtesy of MGM+/Sony Pictures Television.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
