The Copenhagen Test is a spy thriller about loyalty, revenge, and honesty. The Peacock series centers on Alexander Hale (Sim Liu), an intelligence analyst at the Orphanage, an organization that monitors the U.S. intelligence community. Founded by the secretive St. George (Kathleen Chalfant) and directed by Peter Moira (Brian d’Arcy James), the orphanage has never been breached. But when Alexander is promoted to field work, things take a shocking and dangerous turn. “The Copenhagen Test” has great potential, but its overly complex plot with too many characters gets it nowhere.
Three years after his last field mission as a Special Forces soldier, Alexander feels stuck in his current role at an orphanage. Although his personal life is on the upswing, and although he recently started dating a woman named Michelle (Melissa Barrera), his career has become stale. Disillusioned with his position as an analyst, Alexander interviews for a broader role in a newly established operation, putting him in competition with his professional rival Edmund Cobb (Mark O’Brien).
However, Alexander isn’t always honest about his health. He secretly suffers from migraines and panic attacks, relieved only by medication secretly given to him by his ex-fiancée, Dr. Rachel Kasperian (Hannah Crews). Additionally, the last three assets he was assigned to track were made public and required review by all of the organization’s analysts.
Still, following the guidance of his mentor Victor Simonek (Saul Rubin), Alexander was promoted through the ranks. Shortly after, he realized that his brain had been hacked for months and suffered from headaches. New technology has given hackers unprecedented access to everything they see and hear. Fearing that he will be seen as dishonest, he reveals the truth to Moira and, along with St. George, decides to use this knowledge to eliminate the culprit. They enlist Samantha Parker (Sinclair Daniel) to act as Alexander’s handler, recording and predicting his every mood.
Despite an interesting premise, “The Copenhagen Test” never delivers on its promise. What should be a gripping thriller centering on new and unknown technology and questionable loyalties degenerates into a jumbled mess. The eight-episode first season is so packed with content that viewers likely won’t be able to follow all the storylines, and ultimately it doesn’t hold much together. From the endless cast of characters to the various missions and timelines, there’s just too much to understand. It’s impossible to form a real connection with Alexander or feel sympathy for him. Because the characters are not yet fully realized and remain wooden. Moreover, when the villain and his motives are finally revealed, the discovery is neither revelatory nor meaningful.
“The Copenhagen Test” presents many fascinating plot points. In addition to revealing who hacked Alexander and why, there’s also commentary on the history of previously “unhackable” orphanages, xenophobia, racism, birthright citizenship, and the question of who is “allowed” to be a real American. But as creator Thomas and his writers’ room take viewers on such boring and unwieldy missions, the show loses momentum and interest as it heads toward its climax.
After all, the Peacock show may have a great cast and a solid concept, but the execution is uneven. The pacing is too long, and much of the tension and excitement that makes thrillers so appealing is lost. The structure of the series could have been improved with fewer episodes and a streamlined timeline. But among the plethora of other shows in the thriller genre, “The Copenhagen Test” isn’t clever enough to stand out.
All eight episodes of “The Copenhagen Test” will be broadcast for the first time on Peacock on December 27th.
