A Preview of ‘The Terminal List’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

More often than not, stories that feature a blunder from a military standpoint, one that features a great loss of life… tend to gloss over that loss of life and it does make sense as to why. After all, war is something that is engrained in our modern society and every schoolkid knows that losses are part of the game and sometimes, the bad guys will get the upper hand for a little while and cause harm before the good guys take control. Not to mention, there’s a story to be told. Wherein the hero needs to exact revenge and/or save the day, so taking the time to mourn those lost… just doesn’t seem possible when the story has bigger fish to fry and bigger moments waiting down the line. But while those concepts are indeed a standard, the kind we’ve come to accept, that isn’t how these stories should handle death in the slightest.
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Because whether we want to acknowledge it or not, death is a huge deal, and those brave men and women that die in the line of duty, aren’t coming home. Which means someone is going to hurt back home regarding their loss, and quite frankly… so will the soldiers left behind. In fact, it would impact their mental health greatly. For they fought alongside the fallen, called them family and their death would be devastating. But as audiences continue to demand depth and realism from their stories, such glossy concepts are beginning to go the wayside and that kind of impact is beginning to be properly explored. And it just so happens that Prime Video is about to be host to a new series that explores the impact of death upon fellow soldiers and commanding officers and that makes The Terminal List quite the refreshing and visceral story. One that honestly, holds nothing back regarding this concept.

For this is story that revolves around a Navy Seal named Lieutenant Commander James Reece, who is in a tough place when we meet him in this tale. For James is returning home after a botched covert operation. One that saw twelve of his men die horribly due to a surprise ambush on said op, and well… this is a series that wastes zero time in exploring the emotional toll that kind of loss would have on a platoon commander. For James is badly distraught and broken and unable to reconcile the reality that his men are gone just like that and that alone… makes this an engaging tale. Because that kind of depth really is downright refreshing to find here and it really does add humanity to this story, the kind that the audience can relate to and that also changes the trajectory of this story in the process.

Because without such meaningful and honest moments and careful reflections, this show would be another Navy Seal story that is ready to indulge the audience in notions of revenge and violence. But thankfully there’s more here at last and what’s amazing is that the uniqueness of this story is extended beyond its humanity. For James is a man that follows orders and the teachings and discipline that accompany his rank. Which means he is a man of honor and expects honor and peace to be paid to the fallen. Which motivates him to search for answers as to how this operation failed so badly and why the answers he receives don’t quite add up. Which in turn, leads to quite the juicy story, one full of surprises that we simply will not spoil here.

For this is a story that you need to experience firsthand. Because it truly is original and engaging and it utterly defies convention and wows you every step of the way and thankfully… what also allows for this story to shine, are its performances. Because you need great actors to sell that kind of depth and intelligence and you’ll certainly find that here. Since Chris Pratt, or CP as he prefers to be called, turns in a nuanced performance as James Reece. One that is both tortured and determined and we feel the pain of loss through him, and he is anchored wonderfully by Constance Wu and Taylor Kitsch and well, in the end, the best news of all, is that we don’t have to wait all that much longer to enjoy this show. For The Terminal List arrives on Prime Video on Friday, July 1, 2022, and we here at NTG cannot wait to geek out alongside all of you when this show hits the airwaves later this week.

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