The article critiques the depiction of father figures in recent Netflix thrillers, highlighting how these narratives often reduce complex characters to mere archetypes bound by paternal trauma. Shows like 'The Night Agent', 'Carry-On', and 'The Recruit' feature protagonists whose quests for justice or redemption orbit around their fathers’ questionable legacies. This reliance on paternal figures offers surface-level motivations while neglecting the potential for deeper storytelling. The article suggests the oversaturation of this theme results in heroes whose journeys become clichéd and unoriginal, prompting skepticism about whether their struggles could emerge from sources beyond paternal influences.
The recurring theme of absent or morally compromised fathers dilutes character development, transforming complex motivations into mere tropes.
Characters like Peter Sutherland show how paternal trauma can drive a narrative, yet often leads to oversimplified storytelling.
Collection
[
|
...
]