REVIEW: ‘The Flight Attendant,’ Season 2, Episode 5 “Drowned Women”

The Flight Attendant is based on the novel by Christopher A. Bohjalian and developed for TV by Steve Yockey, the series follows the particularly messy life of a flight attendant called Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco). A year on and Cassie is now sober, still working for the CIA, and she’s found some real balance in life. That is until she witnessed someone trying to frame her. Now with the emergence of Megan (Rosie Perez), and the CIA on edge after the death of two agents, Cassie is feeling the pressure in The Flight Attendant Episode 5.

Episode 5 titled “Drowning Women” begins with Cassie waking up in the office of Agent Benjamin Berry (Mo McRae) after indulging in some late-night promiscuous activity. The bar is immediately set for the tone right here, as the cracks in Cassie’s mental health are beginning to become more prominent as she grasps a way to cope with the immense weight of her current predicament. Meanwhile, Megan hunts down her lockbox to negotiate with the US government, and Max (Deniz Akdeniz), and Annie (Zosia Mamet) get a plan together to get their belongings back from their kidnappers.

This week’s episode had everything I felt was missing from the prior episode. While the pace was still frantic, and panic-inducing at least there were some real stakes finally. Whether it was Megan finally being in the US and searching for evidence that could save her from the clutches of being prosecuted for treason, or the strained relationship of Max, and Annie who attempt to enter the house of some very dangerous people to get their stuff back. Beyond that though, the primary story which smashes into you like an emotional freight train is all within the struggles of Cassie.

The main plot puts Cassie in such a precarious situation and seeing her battle with her choices to simply cope is an agonizing watch. Cuoco went above and beyond as her ability as an actor shines through as she demonstrates that she truly understands the assignment for Episode 5. Where you feel the depth of this episode is through the contrast of what was set up in Episode 1 where we were led to believe that life was great. Cassie had achieved a balance she’d never had before and everything was rosy. The ending for this week, however, damn you feel it. The culmination to get to this scene carries with it a lot of pain, and hats off to the performance of Shohreh Aghdashloo who plays Cassie’s sponsor Brenda, because she helped in elevating the message.

I love the creativity on this show, and I’m so glad they brought the mind palace back, as it gives the audience a unique perspective into the internal thoughts of Cassie, the struggle she’s going through, and how her alcoholism manifests itself. It’s always discussed as a disease, something that is a part of you, and the personification of that in this show is done so well.

The Flight Attendant Episode 5 is currently one of the best episodes of the season, taking all of the story’s groundwork laid previously and delivering an emotional gut punch that results in a stupendous final scene. Kaley Cuoco and Shohreh Aghdashloo deliver one of the toughest scenes of the series but prove once again why the drama and tension in this show are enough to send your blood pressure crashing through the roof.

The Flight Attendant Episode 5 is available now exclusively on HBO Max with a new episode coming next week.