TV Review – Fox’s The Passage S01

Godzilla) and those they can’t (Bird Box, A Quiet Place). So it only makes sense that Fox takes a stab with it’s newest vampire series, The Passage. Adapted from Justin Cronin’s best-selling novel, Fox’s newest drama finally brings Cronin’s vampire trilogy to life after Ridley Scott’s failed attempts to bring it to the big screen. The Passage follows Project Noah, a secret government’s lab attempt to save all humanity by infecting humans with the blood of a scientist who found himself on the wrong side of an encounter with a 250 year-old “man”. The government is hoping that the cure will put an end to a flu epidemic that has killed 15,000 in Asia and is making its way to the States. The first three episodes follow Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), a ten-year old girl who may be hold the key to saving millions of lives, and her relationship with her “kidnapper”, Agent Brad Wolgast (Zack Morris, er, Mark-Paul Gosselaar). After serving three tours in Special Ops, Wolgast now works with the government to convince death row prisoners to partake in a drug trial that gives them more time to live. Wolgast is a guy who does his job and “doesn’t think about what happens to prisoners once they are handed over”, even though he knows that something sinister may be going on. That all changes, however, when he is tasked to bring in Belafonte, a “girl from nowhere” and that “no one will miss”. Developing an almost instant bond with Bellafonte, Wolgast goes from kidnaper to protector, by going rogue and taking Bellafonte off the grid to save her life. Where each episode goes from here needs to be watched rather than read here. The chemistry between Bellafonte, a girl wise beyond her age, and Wolgast, a man grieving the loss of his daughter, is first-rate and with each of the first three episodes ending on a cliffhanger, viewers will certainly be wishing that Netflix had adapted the show so that it can be binge-watched. The Passage, if it follows the book, is ultimately a story of survival against the virals (the book and series’ term for vampires) so where the series goes after the first three episodes, only Fox knows. To survive, the network will need to successfully balance the terror of the virals with the lives of those impacted, fleshing out existing characters and how the outbreak impacts their relationships. And, if they learn anything from The Walking Dead, ending the series after a few high-quality seasons. The Passage airs on Mondays on Fox at 9pm ET. Catch the pilot episode on January 14th.]>