“The Copenhagen Test” is a spy thriller that revolves around loyalty, revenge and integrity. The Peacock series follows Alexander Hale (Simu Liu), an intelligence analyst at The Orphanage, an organization that serves as a gatekeeper to the United States’ intelligence communities. Founded by illegal St. George (Kathleen Chalfant) and with Peter Moira (Brian d’Arcy James) at the helm, The Orphanage has never been compromised. However, when Alexander is promoted to the field, things take a shocking and perilous turn. “The Copenhagen Test” has a lot of potential, but its overly complicated plot, filled with too many characters, leads nowhere.
Three years after his last field mission as a special forces soldier, Alexander feels delayed in his current role at the Orphanage. Although his personal life is improving – he recently started dating a woman named Michelle (Melissa Barrera) – his career has become stale. Disillusioned with his job as an analyst, Alexander interviews for a larger role in a newly created operation, putting him in competition with his workplace rival, Edmond Cobb (Mark O’Brien).
But Alexander isn’t entirely honest about his health: He secretly suffers from migraines and panic attacks, alleviated only by the pills his ex-fiancée, Dr. Rachel Kasperian (Hannah Cruz), secretly gives him. Additionally, the last three assets he was responsible for tracking were exposed, leading to a review of all analysts in the organization.
However, following the advice of his mentor, Victor Simonek (Saul Rubine), Alexander gets the promotion. In the process, he discovers that his brain has been hacked for months, resulting in headaches: new technology has given the hacker unprecedented access to everything he sees and hears. Horrified that he might be considered disloyal, he comes clean to Moira, who, along with St. George, decides to use this knowledge to their advantage and smoke out the attacker. The couple enlists Samantha Parker (Sinclair Daniel) to act as Alexander’s handler, documenting and anticipating his every mood.
Despite its intriguing premise, the “Copenhagen Test” never delivers on its promises. What should be a gripping thriller centered on new, unexplored technology and questionable loyalties degenerates into a confusing mess. The eight-episode first season is so overstuffed that audiences probably won’t be able to keep up with all the threads, which barely end up coming together. From the vast cast of characters to the different missions and timelines, there’s just too much to go through. Forming a real bond with Alexander, or feeling sympathy for him, is a difficult exercise because the character remains wooden, never fully realized. Additionally, when the villain and his motivations are finally revealed, the discovery feels neither revelatory nor meaningful.
“The Copenhagen Test” has many compelling plot elements. In addition to finding out who hacked Alexander and why, there’s also the story of the previously “unhackable” orphanage, as well as commentary on xenophobia, racism and citizenship rights and the question of who is “allowed” to be an authentic American. Yet because creator Thomas and his writers’ room take viewers on such a boring and heavy-handed mission, the series loses momentum and interest as it builds its way toward the climax.
Ultimately, the Peacock show may have a stellar cast and a solid concept, but the execution falls flat. The pacing is too long, eliminating much of the tension and excitement that makes thrillers so compelling to watch. A tighter number of episodes and a simplified timeline would likely have improved the structure of the series. However, among so many other shows in the thriller genre, “The Copenhagen Test” is not smart enough to stand out.
All eight episodes of “The Copenhagen Test” premiere December 27 on Peacock.
