Underneath the ceaseless twists and turns of The Copenhagen Test lies a lot of wasted potential. The drama, created by Legacies writer Thomas Brandon, centers on an intelligence agent whose brain has been hacked by nanites. A mysterious enemy can listen in on all of Alexander Hale’s (Simu Liu) conversations and see everything he does through his eyes, whether he’s reading critical mission files, conversing with his parents, or frequently dining with his spy mentor-turned-chef (played by Saul Rubinek). By the time he learns the truth, his bosses encourage him to use this problem to their advantage. They can now manipulate the culprit to draw them out. But what if the hackers are onto this scheme and approach Alexander to be a double agent? And then what if he decides to spy on the spy? The Copenhagen Test is obsessed with delivering shockers, and its storytelling coherence is all the worse for it.
The series badly wants to be an edge-of-your-seat thriller to a degree that each episode tries to rewrite what came before to prove Alexander can’t trust anybody in his life—not his colleagues, not his ex-fiancée, and not his new girlfriend. This formula is exciting in the beginning, with a lengthy but absorbing premiere that kicks off the action. But this shock value diminishes as it goes on. By the end, the audience has been trained not to believe anything or anyone. Oh, you thought Alexander and his loved ones didn’t have a complicated backstory or that those who work with him didn’t have vested interests in this mission? Think again. As far as espionage dramas go, The Copenhagen Test has the right ingredients. But they don’t blend well together. In fact, for a show that wants to be a wild ride, it can get borderline boring at times.
At least none of that comes courtesy of Liu and Melissa Barrera. The two stars find their groove quickly, despite Liu’s protagonist being quite one-dimensional. Alexander is virtuous and too good to be true. He loves his country, he’ll do everything in his power to serve, he won’t let anyone harm his parents, and he finds it difficult to betray orders. As a skilled agent, he wants a promotion to get away from his basement job at The Orphanage and get into one of the coveted upper floors. When he gets the opportunity, it’s because his mind is a weapon. Still, Liu imbues Alexander with a lot of personality that the writers don’t always give the guy. And then there’s Barrera, who kicks ass as Michelle, another covert agent and Alexander’s love interest. As their relationship develops, the show weaves a tangled web about her true agenda. Can she be trusted? Is she also just following orders, or are there more secrets at play? The role requires Barrera to slip in and out of various personas, which she does seamlessly.
As The Copenhagen Test pulls the curtain back on its other characters, like Alexander’s supervisors (portrayed by Brian d’Arcy James, Adina Porter, and Kathreen Chalfant), it loses momentum. There’s a random reference to two of these folks being married, but there’s no real effort to establish any interpersonal dynamics beyond that. James and Porter simply keep acting with straight faces, whether they’re arguing or celebrating. At least Chalfant’s St. George has a few surprising tricks up her sleeve that moves the action forward. The only other breakout ensemble member here is Sinclair Daniel, who tackles the Orphanage employee Parker. Her entire job is to monitor Alexander, analyze and predict his moves, and determine if he’s reliable. It’s a limited role that Daniel brings depth to, especially as Parker becomes slightly more involved in big decisions.
A few noteworthy performances aside, The Copenhagen Test leaves hardly any room for its character to breathe. It’s a shame because when it does, like during Alexander’s bonding moments with his immigrant parents or talks with Michelle and his co-workers about what drives his commitment, the show has something to say about what it means to fight for your country, even if that country doesn’t necessarily support you. But those bits are drowned out by endless plot twists that don’t help the show color in who most of these people are. At a time when some compelling spy dramas populate TV, including Slow Horses and The Agency, the big swings of The Copenhagen Test mostly fail.
Saloni Gajjar is the TV critic at The A.V. Club. The Copenhagen Test premieres December 27 on Peacock.
