“The Old Man."

“The Old Man” (Hulu) 2 Seasons. Political drama thriller, based on the 2017 novel “The Old Man” by Thomas Perry. The series premise revolves around Dan Chase, a former CIA operative and Vietnam veteran, who 30 years ago was in Afghanistan. But there’s more beyond and around Dan’s story. It’d help a lot to do some reading prior to watching this interesting series due to its affinity with current events, especially in regards to geopolitical maneuverings in/around Afghanistan. 

       Some pertinent points: <>1979. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, its Central Asian neighbor to the south. <>The U.S. support of the Afghan resistance fighters. The Taliban’s ascent to national authority in the post-Soviet power vacuum. <>Post-Fall of Kabul, 2021. And the approximately $7 billion of Afghan’s funds or assets deposited in U.S. financial institutions at the time of the Afghan government’s collapse in August 2021. And <>Washington-favored installation of U.S.-educated Ashraf Ghani as Afghanistan president from 2014 to 2021, when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

       Plus. <>Military contractors, such as The Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company. <>China’s focus on trade negotiation over military pressure in other countries. <>Afghanistan’s wealth of natural resources distributed in over 1,400 mineral fields: Lithium, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, salt, sulfur, talc, zinc, as well as rare earth elements. 

       Of course, “The Old Man” is fiction. Yet with some ideas, based on facts, we’d be able to somehow navigate why Jeff Bridges’ Dan Chase is also known as Henry Dixon, Johnny Kohler, Peter Caldwell, and Lou Barlow. Of course, it’d be easy to know why Alia Shawkat’s Angela Adams is a.k.a. Emily Chase and Parwana Hamzad. Meanwhile, why John Lithgow’s Harold Harper seems so powerful in Washington. 

       Also, what was Belour Hamzad fighting for and why the conflict with husband Faraz Hamzad? Who is Morgan Bote to the U.S., Suleyman Pavlovic to Russia, and Marion to the Chinese? The apparently high-profile presence of Amy Brenneman’s Zoe McDonald throws me off a bit but hey, this is fiction. And the two dogs? Obligatory. Cool with me. 

       The plot thickens as Season 2 ends. I am hoping for Season 3, of course. I do enjoy this series though I can’t really say if it’s great, so-so, or mediocre. I like it because I like to follow what’s going on in the world, especially around the United States, Russia, and China. 🎥📺📽