Mr. & Mrs. Smith is probably not what people were expecting, but at the same time, it’s so much better than what I ever hoped for. The show has a 6.9 overall rating on IMDb, but don’t let that fool you. If you look at the episode-by-episode rating, you’ll see that they all range between 7.2-7.9. The last episode got the highest rating, which is an excellent sign. My guess is that the overall rating is a little lower than expected because it’s not as action oriented as some might have hoped for since it is obviously inspired by the hit movie of the same name starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And like the movie, the TV show pits two spy/assassins in a relationship. But how they go about it is entirely different.

Don’t go into the Amazon Prime version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith expecting it to lean into action scenes to be entertaining.  Sure, the two main characters happen to be assassins/spies, but it’s not about that. In fact, it’s pretty clear early on that the logic surrounding the action is fairly ridiculous. If any two people did what these two did, there would be a nationwide manhunt out for them, and they would be recognized everywhere. For instance, there’s a scene in one episode where they abduct a famous person in front of many witnesses. But just ignore that they would never ever get away with it because that’s not what the show is about.

Well then, what is it about?

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is primarily about relationships, specifically about marriage. The show compresses the arc of a normal relationship into what probably takes place over a few months. The characters go from strangers who meet at work, to co-workers, to lovers, to married in just a few episodes. The ensuing episodes explore the troubles that relationships inevitably encounter as a couple that works closely together.

The writers did a great job putting the characters in situations to stress their relationship and the actors did a magnificent job, not just with the dialog but with the expressions needed to make these characters feel real.

As with many series, this one started well enough to give us hope that it would be worth watching. But, as we all know, many times our early confidence is dashed as a series wraps up and goes downhill. My wife and I experienced this in the previous show we watched: Bodies. It started good, but got worse and worse until it was almost unwatchable. This series isn’t at all like that. No one episode stands out as exceptional compared to the others, but at the same time, there isn’t a single episode that is disappointing. Each night that we watched a new episode, I was apprehensive that they would eventually have a dud, but it never happened.

The show has a satisfying ending and will hopefully have many more seasons.

Also, I just noticed that the actress who plays Jane, Maya Erskine, is also the voice for Mizu in Blue Eyed Samurai. 

Grade: A-