‘The Flight Attendant’ Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4 Spoiler Review

Season 2, Episode 3 “The Reykjavik Ice Sculpture Festival Is Lovely This Time of Year”

Season 2, Episode 3 of The Flight Attendant was written by Louisa Levy and Ryan Jennifer Jones and was directed by Jennifer Phang.

As a homebody with an ironic wanderlust, I appreciate shows like The Flight Attendant and their ability to bring different parts of the world to my TV screen. Cassie’s (Kaley Cuoco) peripatetic lifestyle brought Italy, Thailand, and Germany all to the comfort of my own living room, and those traveling expenses only cost me approximately fifteen bucks of an HBO Max subscription.

Cassie’s Quest to Find Megan

This time, in The Flight Attendant’s Season 2, Episode 3, we fly into Reykjavík, Iceland. What brings us to such a random spot on the map, you might ask? It’s surely not for the interesting ice sculpture festival mentioned in the title, which I’m quite disappointed we didn’t get to see, by the way. It’s because Cassie received a very cryptic emoji message from Megan (Rosie Perez) that she somehow translated to “Help me! I’m in Reykjavík!”

After blackmailing a fellow flight attendant, Carol (Alanna Ubach), by threatening to expose the fact she sells her buddy passes for profit, Carol gives Cassie her jump seat to Iceland in exchange for keeping her side hustle a secret. If Cassie’s mysterious blonde double from Season 2, Episode 1 terrified her, I imagine her spiraling now after finding out almost everyone in Iceland also has long blonde hair and dresses the same.

Cassie is put to the test with her relationship with sobriety when she visits every bar and nightclub she and Megan used to frequent back in her party days, in hopes of finding her. It brings back old memories and simultaneously opens her eyes to the depth of her friendship with Megan, something she didn’t particularly grasp and appreciate in Season 1.

As easily impressionable Cassie is, she’s admirably strong enough to will away the urges to drink. No matter how much she wants to, she musters up enough strength to hide the hotel room’s bar stash out of sight. Every scene in which she’s confronted with a drop of alcohol is always tense, and at this point, it’s a ticking time bomb. Cassie has been through some crazy–borderline traumatizing–situations. So we’re left to wonder what exactly will finally tip her over the edge in this new season. She’s doing well so far and willingly attends an AA meeting there in Iceland. It’s during this AA meeting that she receives her first helpful clue on Megan’s whereabouts. However, she hasn’t cracked the case just yet.

Annie’s Gamophobia

Cassie’s troubles aren’t the only things haunting Annie’s (Zosia Mamet) mind because now she has one big relationship step looming ahead: meeting the parents. Coincidentally–and conveniently–Max’s (Deniz Akdeniz) parents live in Los Angeles and so the inevitable is finally happening, much to Annie’s dismay. If you need a reminder of who Max is, he’s Annie’s kind-of boyfriend, maybe fiancé. I mean, he proposed to her and she didn’t exactly say the word, yes, but she wears the ring anyway. She also says I love you and is still not entirely convinced Max is definitely her boyfriend. That should give you enough insight into Annie’s struggle with commitment.

Annie is already so confused about defining her relationship with Max, it doesn’t help at all that Max’s mother constantly hints about marriage and offers her a fertility-inducing tea. Annie is also still recovering from a terrible job interview at a Los Angeles law firm and is too busy worrying about Cassie’s impromptu trip to Iceland to focus on impressing potential in-laws. There are lots to unpack for her and she’s going at it agonizingly slow. At her rate, I wouldn’t be surprised that if ten years from now she’s still with Max, has an established life, and is raising a minivan full of kids, and only then will she finally acknowledge the fact she and Max are more than just friends. It’s all too much for her to handle that she tanks her meeting with Max’s parents by proving she’s not exactly wife (or mother) material for never wanting kids and settling down.

Annie’s unhinged behavior unsettles Max a little bit. He’s been patient with her for this long now and is finally starting to think Annie’s being serious with her fear of commitment. It causes a rift between the two of them but relationship problems are probably the least of their worries now when they’re knocked out and held hostage by a couple of familiar intruders.

Case Solved

At the aforementioned AA meeting, a guy stands up to share his story of sobriety and mentions a woman vital in his journey. When Cassie questions him, the description of having a Long Island accent practically screams that he’s talking about Megan. It confirms that she is, in fact, in Iceland, but it’s purely out of luck that Cassie finds Megan working as a bus girl at a bar.

Elated that she actually cracked Megan’s emoji code text and is there to rescue her, it confuses Cassie to find Megan shocked and angry at her being there. Not only did Cassie translate Megan’s message entirely wrong, but now they’re both in danger of being killed. Kaley Cuoco, as Cassie, delivers a line that’s the epitome of my general thought process (on the show and in the real world): I’m confused.

Season 2, Episode 4 “Blue Sincerely Reunion”

Season 2, Episode 4 of The Flight Attendant was written by Natalie Chaidez and Harlan Lee and was directed by Jennifer Phang.

This is already my favorite episode, solely because of Miranda’s (Michelle Gomez) iconic return.

Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape

“Blue Sincerely Reunion” begins with Megan updating Cassie on her not-so-fabulous life in hiding the past year. There are some dangerous North Korean assassins after Megan but she takes that as a compliment, thinking of herself as some sort of prize. Although her concern for being killed could be healthily heightened a little more… I get it, Megan. I’d blush a little too if the prize money reached half a million for my capture.

Since Megan’s emoji text was meant to send Cassie on a completely different mission in which she remains stateside, Cassie’s unexpected visit now complicates things. Megan and her new flirty friend, Utada (Margaret Cho), had plans to murder the man hunting Megan, Hawk (Bruce Baek), by poisoning him with mushroom powder. Now that Cassie is there in Reykjavík, they’re forced to take action a lot sooner than expected. When he arrives at Blue Sincerely for his usual drink and nighttime wind down, Cassie and Megan hide in the back rooms. Before he could take the chance to sip his laced cocktail, Cassie’s ringtone blares and irritatingly blows their cover. Based on Cassie’s contrasting clothing choices, terrible photo-sneaking skills, and lack of knowledge on how to silence phone notifications, Cassie and “incognito” don’t get along very well. Clearly, she’s not a professional. But she has enough experience dealing with criminal activity that one would think she’s better prepared for situations like these.

Thankfully, Hawk’s not as threatening as the show leads him to be, because Miranda saves the day by swooping in and gracefully stabbing the man to death. Unlike Cassie, Miranda knows exactly how to read cryptic messages and was able to figure out Cassie’s exact location by a simple “Help!” gif message from her.

Together, the four of them escape the bar and travel across Iceland to a remote cliffside where Miranda has a private jet ready to take them back to Los Angeles. The journey to their final escape wasn’t exactly smooth considering Miranda’s assistant, Cecilia (Briana Cuoco), exposed their itinerary to the North Korean assassins after discovering there’s a bounty involved. It all works out in the end, though, when Cecilia continues to deliver a seamless end to their escape plan. Miranda, of course, has to empty threaten Cecilia by killing her for delaying their arrival. Unfortunately, this is where Megan must bid her farewells to Utada and finally face the mess she left behind in America.

Esteban and Gabrielle

Annie and Max were held hostage in Cassie’s home at the end of Season 2, Episode 3 by a scheming, bleached-hair duo that we’re not yet sure their story is about. Esteban and Gabrielle (J.J. Soria and Callie Hernandez) made their run-in with Cassie back in Season 2, Episode 1 when Cassie was in Germany. Appearing as grateful passengers on Cassie’s flight, expressing their humble gratitude to Cassie in an attempt to distract her, they ultimately steal data from her phone. Which explains how they were able to find Cassie’s home in Los Angeles.

Their motives are soon explained and it’s surprisingly not because of Cassie. Well, they’re not out for Cassie specifically but they did get the memo about the bounty on Megan’s head and immediately wanted in. Gee, Megan, you are quite popular. The number of people wanting to capture her might inflate her ego a little bit, and I can see the show potentially heading that way based on Megan’s initial reaction to just one guy hunting her.

After retrieving what they were there for, Esteban and Gabrielle leave Annie and Max “tied up” and ditch them. I put those words in quotation marks because earlier, Max managed to break free and only pretended to be bound until they left. Boy, do they have a hell of a lot to catch up on with Cassie when they see her again.

Cassie’s Inevitable Relapse

Now in Los Angeles, Cassie drops Megan off at her sponsor Brenda’s (Shohreh Aghdashloo) house for safekeeping. And to kill two birds with one stone, also have a heart-to-heart conversation about her struggle with sobriety while in Iceland.

The constant stress in her life is starting to bubble and it reaches its boiling point when a murder in Echo Park is reported and her anxious inner self thinks it has something to do with her. As in, the mysterious doppelgänger she has yet to figure out is still on the loose out there. Cassie is convinced that the killer is her doppelgänger and is purposefully committing crimes in order to frame Cassie. Considering the plotline of Season 1, I understand her fear of getting in trouble for something she had nothing to do with.

Feeling like she’s talked out most of the people in her life, she opts for laying out a rant to none other than CIA officer, Benjamin (Mo McRae), back at his office. Thinking she was going to finally get everything off her chest, she instead finds Ben drunk. Tired of just everything life has thrown at her so far, and in a desperate attempt to get some sort of level of alcohol in her system, she plunges herself into a heated make-out session in Ben’s office.

The technicalities can be debated, but I still consider this moment a relapse in her sobriety. Or just a sexual outlet for her to release all of her general frustrations. Either way, it’s causing absolute chaos back in her mind locus, where she often escapes to discuss investigative breakthroughs with various versions of herself.

Final Thoughts On The Flight Attendant Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4

First things first, I’m absolutely thrilled my questions on Miranda’s whereabouts have finally been answered. Even though she’s parted ways with Cassie, I do hope that it’s not the end for her because I’ve been a huge fan of Michelle Gomez since Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Although we were led to believe Miranda to be Cassie’s biggest threat for the first big chunk of Season 1, her growing relationship with Cassie was an interesting one to follow. Their grumpy/sunshine dynamic is charming and it was heartwarming to see the way Miranda cares for Cassie despite her acting like Cassie is her biggest inconvenience. Miranda easily could’ve ghosted herself from Cassie’s life, yet she traveled all the way to Iceland to rescue her, got shot in the leg, and still delivered her home safely.

Now, the last thing I’m going to do is downgrade Miranda’s strength because that woman is a grade-A badass. I’m also easily convinced she’s a superhuman with the way she got shot in the leg (on two separate occasions, mind you) and still managed to travel long distances. Miranda is a rare and important resource for Cassie, I don’t imagine the writers not incorporating more of her in upcoming episodes. Cassie wouldn’t be able to get very far without Miranda’s criminal expertise, and combat and survival skills. Considering she’s able to sit still for hours on end with a bullet in her thigh and blood dripping down her leg.

In the event Miranda does not return, I want to share some helpful insights with Cassie moving forward. Camouflage clothing blends well with your immediate environment. The Do Not Disturb feature exists. So does the Silence feature. There’s even a vibrating notifications option for god sake! May I also suggest hidden camera devices in lieu of holding your phone up in a clear “I’m taking a picture of you” position? Miranda did end up inheriting Alex’s $200 million dollars, I’m sure she could loan you some money for business expenses.

After their little hostage scare, Annie’s eyes finally opened to the idea of mortality and the concept of expressing one’s feelings during their lifetime. It’s not the biggest step to acknowledge in a relationship, but it sure is for Annie, so kudos to her for trying. I can’t let go of Max just yet, either.

Marco (Santiago Cabrera) seems like such a solid rock for Cassie, yet she tainted that relationship with her infidelity. He’s like the one good thing going for her and she’s slowly picking out the pieces of her half-finished puzzle. With her alcoholism as a driving force in both mystery breakthroughs and downfalls in the last season, Cassie just might be heading back downwards in that direction. Time will only tell if that will be a good or bad thing.

Back in Season 1, while Cassie was dealing with the aftermath of Alex Sokolov’s (Michiel Huisman) murder, she would retreat into a series of loci in order to solve little mysteries in the case. In Season 2, she’s now accompanied by several versions of herself to help figure out her current situation. Just to recap who’s all there now, we’ve got: Party Cassie, Depressed Cassie, Put-together Cassie, and Young Cassie (Audrey Grace Marshall). The last two were only introduced recently, but the amount of perspectives isn’t much help with solving anything. Only sometimes are they convenient, but most of the time it’s just chaotic.

The mystery of the doppelgänger is still on the table and it could honestly go either way. It could be someone we already know as an audience or a new character being introduced in The Flight Attendant universe. Grace and Gabrielle were already ruled out, so again, time will only tell. We’re only halfway through the season and so a lot more drama and confusing mishaps still lie ahead before the final reveal.