Episode 2 delivers an thrilling chapter of this new adaptation of Man On Fire, combining intense drama with pulse-pounding action that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II continues his haunted portrayal of John Creasy, a man carrying the weight of past failures, while young Billie Boullet more than holds her own as Poe Rayburn, the traumatized teenager thrust into a nightmare of conspiracy and survival in the chaotic streets of Rio.
The episode picks up after the devastating explosion that upends everything in the premiere. Creasy is now working alongside Brazilian government to find out how much Poe knows and to get revenge for his friend’s death. It expertly balances the quieter, character-driven moments of the investigation while growing the danger and possible conspiracy. Creasy’s attempts to help Poe piece together her fragmented memories feel authentic and layered, cracking open her memories of the build up to the explosion. The revelation the Poe may have seen the face of one of the bomber’s trigger’s another attempt on there lives and a standout action sequence.
After a supposed arrangement with President Carmo’s men to get Poe safely out of Brazil and back to the States, Creasy and Poe climb into a vehicle escorted by armed personnel who are meant to ensure their protection. From the moment the convoy rolls out, the atmosphere shifts into something suffocating, cranking up the tension. You can feel the paranoia radiating off Creasy as he scans every rooftop, every side street, every seemingly innocuous pedestrian. People looking on as the pass build a mounting sense of dread. It’s a slow-burn masterpiece of suspense, where the real threat isn’t immediately visible but you can sense danger closing in.
This sequence reminded me strongly of the gripping border crossing and convoy scenes in Sicario. Just like Denis Villeneuve’s film, Man On Fire uses the drive not just as transportation but as a pressure cooker for moral ambiguity, institutional distrust, and the thin line between protector and predator. In Sicario, the armoured convoy’s journey crackles with the threat of ambush at every intersection, turning routine movement into a tactical nightmare. Here, the airport run achieves something similar as there pursuers close in, force the convoy to take a different route. The comparison feels apt because both pieces understand that true tension often comes from what you don’t see yet, from the creeping realization that the people you’re supposed to trust might be leading you straight into the fire.
It all leads to a thrilling shootout at the airport and the daring plane escape, which ranks among the most audacious action set pieces in recent TV. As Poe sits on a private jet, waiting to to be flown back to the states, the terrorists launch their attack. The plane gets shot up, killing all the crew and an assassin jumps onboard, hunting Poe. With no safe options left, Creasy improvises a desperate bid to protect Poe and get airborne. What follows is pure adrenaline: a runway chase where Creasy commandeers a vehicle, racing parallel to a moving plane while under heavy machine-gun fire. Bullets fly as he makes a harrowing leap from the car directly onto or into the aircraft mid-motion. Once inside the cabin, the fight doesn’t let up. Creasy has to neutralise the assassin in the tight confines of the plane then take control of the plane himself.
Steven Caple Jr.’s direction elevates these moments, giving the action weight and clarity. You feel the the desperation, and the narrow margins for error. It’s ludicrous on paper – up there with mid-franchise Fast & Furious action – driving alongside a jet, mid-air boarding under fire, impromptu piloting, but the show sells it through Creasy’s grim determination and practical problem-solving rather than cartoonish invincibility. It all culminates in a takeoff that just about clears the end of the runway and a landing on a road just beyong, leaving the characters breathless but alive for another day. This sequence doesn’t just deliver spectacle; it advances Creasy’s arc, showing how his skills, once lost in an alcoholic haze, are now the only thing keeping Poe safe.
Beyond the action, Episode 2 deepens the conspiracy layers effectively. The captured assassin opens new avenues of intel and is brutally tortured with drips of battery acid, while Creasy’s interactions with local allies like Valeria (Alice Braga) hint at a growing network of misfits willing to bet on him. Creasy also gets back in contact with his former CIA handler (Scoot McNairy) which will no doubt add another layer to the conspiracy.
If the rest of the season maintains this level, Netflix will have a show to rival Reacher its hands.
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