The Old Man Recap: Love vs. Trust

Well now, y’all! I reckon I’ve seen some family dramas in my time, but this one here takes the cake and eats it too. It’s like a rollercoaster ride without the fun part, ain’t it? Emily, bless her heart, finds herself in a pickle deeper than a Georgia mud hole. The father-daughter brawl is a sight to behold, but it sure ain’t no picnic.

Dan and Abbey Chase have left many people in their path affected. In the second season of “The Old Man,” it’s Emily Chase’s turn to speak up, the one most impacted by their actions. After following the lives of her two fathers, Harold Harper and Dan Chase, we delve into Emily’s perspective in the second episode. Emily has spent a significant part of her adult life with a double identity, and now she faces an even more startling truth. The woman known as “Emily Chase” to Harper, and as FBI agent “Angela Adams,” is also Parwana Hamzad, the daughter of Belour Daadfar (Abbey Chase) and Faraz Hamzad, born in Afghanistan.

Although Alia Shawkat’s character goes by three names at the moment, I’ll stick with calling her Emily for now. The show “The Old Man” does an impressive job of portraying Emily’s ongoing struggle with her identity crisis. I can only imagine how perplexed she must feel, just like I would be if I were in her situation.

Another way I appreciate this fresh narrative is that even with three powerful father figures present, Emily seems less focused on their histories. Instead, she’s eager to uncover more about her mother, a woman who tragically passed away from Huntington’s disease before the start of the series. (This serves as a subtle reminder of Emily’s mom’s untimely demise prior to the show’s initial episode.)

I found myself drawn into the heart of the story as Emily embarks on a journey across the globe, unaware that she was about to unearth the mystery of her mother’s past. Alas, her efforts yielded no answers. The challenge for Emily wasn’t so much embracing her new identity but rather deciphering how her Afghan family could contribute to a more authentic portrait of Belour.

We resume the story from where it ended in season one finale: Emily gets to Faraz Hamzad’s compound in Afghanistan, having been abducted by her aunt Khadija. It turns out that the history Dan and Abbey Chase shared with 18-year-old Emily was far from complete, leaving out key family members. At this juncture, Emily continues to pose as Angela Adams and threatens Khadija, saying she’s an FBI agent being held captive unlawfully.

Until Khadija brings an antique film projector into Emily’s sealed chamber, forcing her to view home movies of her toddler self with young Faraaz Hamzad singing to her while Dan Chase looks on from behind, Emily is left in a state of shock. Her response is far beyond what one would call traumatized, and Shawkat finds herself crying out in disbelief. Uncertainty fills Emily as she questions whom she can trust now – the people who raised her under false pretenses or the Afghan family she has only just met? Your guess is as valid as mine.

The following day, Emily encounters Faraz Hamzad after many years apart, and the meeting is as awkward as one might anticipate. To begin with, Faraz shares some background on his family history with Emily, emphasizing that they originate from a line of male freedom fighters. However, Emily isn’t interested in learning about domineering males; she’s had her fill of that. Instead, she seeks information about her mother: Why did she take her away and conceal the truth? Most crucially, was there any trace of affection hidden beneath this distant woman’s cold exterior? Was there love between them? These are all pertinent questions, Emily. Sadly, Faraz can’t provide answers. He describes Belour as a “cold and calculating manipulator,” hinting that uncovering the truth about Belour will be one of the main mysteries in the second season of The Old Man.

In this episode, it’s revealed that a suspicious character named Omar, who was previously linked with the Taliban, has appeared near Hamzad’s village. His untouched appearance implies he hasn’t encountered the Dude and Harper in this particular timeline yet. The interaction between Omar and Hamzad demonstrates Omar as a ruthless individual, while also suggesting that Hamzad is less influential than before.

But it’s not just Omar who’s on thin ice: A brief convo between Hamzad and Khadija reveals that, yeah, they’re in a precarious position too, and Emily’s kidnapping wasn’t because they desired a family reunion: She’s an asset. This, compounded with Hamzad’s decades-long conflict over his daughter’s abduction and an unforgivable betrayal courtesy of his wife and his trusted American ally, means his emotions are ready to boil over. And boy, do we get that in spades. First, Hamzad enters Emily’s room, pointing a gun to her head, furious that she is exactly like the woman who absconded all those years ago. What he didn’t expect was for Emily to rebuff his anger with expert FBI training. She calls him every insult under the sun, taunting him with the knowledge that he wants just as many answers from her as she wants from him.

What transpires here is exactly what Chase was afraid of: Emily triggers Faraz into a rage that spirals into a batshit brawl between father and daughter. It’s disturbing to watch because Faraz and Emily are the victims here. They’re only fighting each other because they can’t release their anger at Johnny and Belour, the real perpetrators. But I digress: We’ve got Faraz nearly choking his daughter to death because he can’t separate her from Belour, and Emily almost pulls the trigger on her own father.

In this troubled household, an unexpected show of self-defense earns Emily a fresh wave of admiration. She’s now residing in a more comfortable room and receiving necessary medical care. Emily encounters her cousin Faruza (Sara Seyed), who fortunately offers a glimpse of the wisdom she yearns for. Faruza is aligned with Hamzad due to the Taliban taking her husband’s life, and Faraz has been keeping soldiers at bay since then. While it may not be much, it’s preferable to Khadija’s silence. The most challenging aspect for Emily isn’t the emotional toll of her biological father attempting to harm her, but the disillusionment that the people from her childhood village can’t provide the “endless stream of answers” she desperately needs about her mother. Emily also comes across Faruza’s adorable son Farouk, who facilitates Emily’s growing acceptance of her new family. He teaches her Dari! He shows her his secret collection of toys!

To show the progression of events, we transition to a scene featuring Omar, who now sports a large pirate-style eye patch following Chase’s attack on his eye socket in the last episode. A foreboding dialogue with a minister from Kabul reveals that Faraz Hamzad’s predicament is precarious, given that Omar has uncovered evidence of Hamzad’s possession of a significant American asset. When Khadija realizes Taliban forces are encircling the lithium mine, she recognizes the balance of power has shifted.

All of a sudden, a large group of soldiers led by Omar, the Taliban leader, storm Hamzad’s property. Khadija bravely resists them, but Omar angrily declares that he will force every boy in the village to join his ranks as retribution for deceiving him about Emily. Recognizing that his daughter is now in danger with him, Faraz secretly takes Emily into the mountains.

I can’t think of a better time for these two to finally have a heart-to-heart conversation than during a high-pressure escape from the Taliban, can you? To lower the dramatic temperature, The Old Man takes a cute approach, presenting this exchange as Old Faraz speaking to Emily’s childhood self. He offers his condolences on Belour’s death and his divergent thoughts over why he brought Emily to Afghanistan. But he knows what she really wants to hear is something positive about her mother. Since he can’t give Emily what she most desires, he passes along a piece of fatherly wisdom he learned from Belour herself: “You can love someone, or you can trust them.” Gee, who needs warm fuzzies at a family reunion when you can have pain and chaos instead? But before Emily even has time to absorb this bonkers advice, Faraz goes to investigate the sounds from his secret cave hideout. Why could this be the same secret cave hideout where Chase and Harper are currently taking cover? (Yes, yes, it is.) Emily hears a familiar gunshot and enters the cave. Since we don’t know who shot whom, her horrified expression will have to hold us over until next week.

That’s Like, My Opinion, Man

Is it troubling to anyone else that Emily referred to Raymond Waters as a friend after their physical altercation? In the season one finale, when Emily accused Hamzad of killing her “friend,” it seemed she was referring to the time Khadija had taken her away from Waters and Julian Carson. Throughout the entire first season, Waters had been antagonistic towards Emily, culminating in his kidnapping her on Morgan Bote’s orders. Given their history, it seems strange that she would ever feel affection for him.

2024-09-13 08:54

The Old Man Recap: Love vs. Trust

That’s Like, My Opinion, Man

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