NBC’s ‘The Endgame’ Depends Upon a Criminal Queen With Almost Too Many Answers to Be Compelling: TV Review
variety.comCaroline Framke Chief TV CriticSay this for “The Endgame”: It knows what it has in Morena Bacarrin, an actor so immediately telegenic that making sure she has everyone’s attention is as simple as her walking into a room.
As notorious mastermind Elena Federova, Baccarin commands her every scene in NBC’s newest drama with a sly grin and slightly raised eyebrow that usually spells disaster for those trying to test her.
It’s a good thing, too, since most of her screen time in the first two episodes is limited to prowling a concrete holding cell — and because the rest of “The Endgame” gets fuzzier the further it gets from Elena as the planet everyone else orbits.From writer Nicholas Wootten, “The Endgame” sets up a high stakes game of cat and mouse between Elena and Val Turner (Ryan Michelle Bathe), a once formidable FBI agent who’s been trying to claw her way back into the bureau’s good graces ever since her husband (Kamal Angelo Bolden) went to jail under mysterious circumstances.
Elena’s all ice to Val’s fire (a mode Bathe taps into with admirable ease), but both women have enough pride and guts to keep them intrigued by the other despite themselves.
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