The show starts in North Africa, where some soldiers, including Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel), kill a high level terrorist. They discover a weird bank transaction on a computer, before they’re told to stand down, by the command center. Meanwhile, Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli) checks out some new technology, which tracks ships or something another. Of course, the cargo has the same logo, which was on the bank transaction and he’s likely being dragged into a conspiracy.

On television, Harrison Walters (Jake Robinson) and some other dirty hippies protest in the streets, due to the G8. Harrison admits he is the son of Randal Walters. Next, another news report announces the death of Abdul Abbas. A private military group, Osela, arrives at the scene, where Odelle attempts to download the information. She successfully steals the information, before the Osela soldiers rush in and Frank Majors (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) addresses the group. Meanwhile, Peter makes it to work.

He speaks with Don about a potential investigation. Harrison speaks to another protestor and another, who loved his interview. Then, he meets with Ruby Simms (Daniella Pineda), who wants to do a report on him for Time magazine. Then Bob arrives and attempts to educate him about conspiracy theories. Peter speaks to Joe Abrams (Darren Goldstein, The Affair) and suggests they need to find out who the IRS is investigating. Joe tells Peter he has a trash man, who can get him intel.

Meanwhile, Odelle and her group camp out, while discussing the intel she captured on the flash drive. Odelle heads into the distance to pee and watches a video of her daughter, before a bomb kills everyone. Odella watches as Osela comes in and finish off the job. The trash man got the entire IRS file and Peter checks it out. Peter receives a visit from the IRS, who announces their dropping the charges against Danny Gentry.

Odelle wakes up and discovers Al-Qaeda scouring the soldier’s bodies, before she sends a text to the command center. Of course, she is captured and beat up, before her iPhone is smashed. Back in the US, Ron Ballard and Suzanne Ballard receive a visit from military men, who tell him Odelle is dead. Meanwhile Odelle is locked in a makeshift prison cell. Bob Offer (Nate Mooney) is belittled by his ailing mother, while he attempts to put together his conspiracy. The watch a news report about Odelle’s squad being killed, which spurs Bob on, as he prepares to hack.

 Meanwhile, Odelle finds a boy, who reads Harry Potter. She attempts to get him to give her some water. Harrison speaks to Ruby, before one of the Arab women blows herself up and Odelle provides them with help. Bob calls Harrison and tells him about the coverup of the death of Odelle squad. He says Odelle sent an email several hours after she was confirmed dead. Harrison and Ruby agree to check it out. Barf!

Peter and Joe speaks to the pilot, Danny, but he refuses to say anything. Of course, they’re being watched from a distance. The man puts a note on Danny the pilot’s daughter, which warns them to keep their mouth shut. Of course, the daughter seems to be sublime to the circumstances. Meanwhile, the American soldiers comes after Odelle. Of course, they are Osela soldiers. When Frank looks for Odelle, she is already gone. It seems Aslam helped Odelle escape, as they wake up in a safe location. Odelle begs Aslam for help, before she threatens him, before she is held at gunpoint, but of course, he can’t kill her. Big surprise.

Bob continues his rants, before he runs into the Time reporter. Joe and Peter return to Peter, who insists he was given orders to fire on Americans. He insists they paid off his mortgage to keep him quiet. Meanwhile, Odelle changes her clothes and cuts her hair. Aslam finally allows her to make a call to her family, but she gets a busy signal. Aslam takes a picture of her and sends it to Al Jazeera, so everyone will know. Frank kills their prisoner, as they have discovered Odelle’s coordinates, thanks to her phone call. Meanwhile, Danny Gentry gets ran over in the streets.

Harrison attempts to find Bob, but it appears he’s ran off with Ruby. He checks his phone and sees a nice HD picture of Odelle, despite Aslam having a crappy flip phone. Harrison attempts to call the Time office, but discovers that nobody works there named Ruby. Meanwhile, all of the families digest the photo in their own way. Peter calls Joe and insists they need to find Odelle, who continues moving with Aslam. At the same time, Harrison continues searching for Bob. Joe calls and rats on Peter, which was obvious form a mile away.

Review


American Odyssey had a somewhat decent premises, but its overloaded with too many modern conflicts, which makes it feel overly cheesy. Plus, the name alone is getting stale. American Odyssey, American Crime, American Horror Story. What will be next? The camera picture of Odelle was certainly a turnoff considering the show is on a major network and should be fairly realistic. Sadly, some of the acting came off as a MTV or Lifetime series, as well. If Bob comes back, the show might improve, even though his hacking reference was overly lame. Otherwise, the pilot deserved a 6 out of 10.