As the first episode of Crossfire begins, Jo (Keeley Hawes) swims. She walks out onto the balcony to wave at Adam (Noah Leggott). Later, she exchanges texts with someone that are romantic in nature. As she begins hearing gunshots outside, Jo admits it didn’t begin that day and it didn’t end that day either. Jo remembers putting on her sneakers instead of flip-flops because she kept thinking she’d have to run. After the intro, Jo, Jason (Lee Ingleby), and others ride on the bus to reach the resort. Once they arrive, Jason thinks they should wait for Ben (Daniel Ryan), but Jo tells the kids to go ahead because they’ll be awhile. Later, Ben takes pictures of Jo and her friends while Jason talks to Chinar (Vikash Bhai) about having a pint this early in the day.

It feels strange to Jo now like she is trying to catch up. It was to remember what it was like to unwind and have a laugh with friends. It is never that simple. Ben and the others catch Jason and Jo arguing a bit later. In the morning, Jo plays with the kids on the bed before Jason tells them to get ready for breakfast. They talk about Adam wanting to go swimming after. Miriam (Josette Simon) tells Ben that he should keep using Ibuprofen. He invites her to come down, but Miriam wants to go to aerobics instead. They briefly talk about Jo and Jason’s blowup last night. Abhi (Anneika Rose) tells Chinar that they call them Mister and Miss Perfect. He claims they are before asking the kids to take a picture together. Jo snaps a selfie and appears to send it to someone. Abhi and Ben go to the pool with the kids.

They wonder where Jo is since she wasn’t at breakfast. Abhi thinks she should go check on her. Ben says it’ll be an interesting week if Jo and Jason aren’t speaking. Abhi leaves moments later. A resort worker nervously uses his phone nearby. Bea reminds Iker (Guillermo Campra) that he is supposed to leave his phone in his room. Jo shares more pictures with her friend when they request them. Chinar takes pictures of the kids jumping into the pool. Jo comes out onto the balcony so she can watch Adam jump. Abhi goes to the receptionist because her key card is no longer working. Jo texts her friend saying she thought they were going to stop this, but the response says they can’t stop. They both say they want each other. Miriam walks down by the pool before the man in front of her gets shot. Everyone begins scattering as a man walks around shooting people.

Bea (Alba Brunet) and Iker hide in different spots. Ben runs inside to Jason and tells him that Chin has the boys. Chinar finds a place to hide before telling the boys to stay quiet. Ben and Jason frantically talk about the ones they’ve left behind while Jo runs through a hallway. Ben ends up taking the kids so Jason can go back and look for the others. Miriam sneaks around outside until she catches up with Bea and helps tend to an injured woman since she is a doctor. Iker helps them drag the woman inside while Miriam puts pressure on the wound. They go into the kitchen with other workers, barricade the door, and Miriam begins dealing with the woman’s wound. Bea says the girl is her cousin and her husband is the security manager although she doesn’t know where he is. Jo tries to get to the pool, but a worker puts her in another room and closes the door behind her.

In a flashback, another tourist tries to guess everyone’s professions. He finds out that Jo is a security advisor at a department store where she advises them on fraud and theft issues. She used to be a police officer too. Jason believes it has been a long time since she has had to run after anyone so she probably forgot how to run. She used to tell people that she gave up policing to be a mother, but Jason says that isn’t true. When Amara arrives, Jo tells her that Jason is just putting her in her place again. In private, Jo asks if he can’t stand her being the center of attention for five minutes. Their argument continues as Jo confesses she wants to try to go back to policing. Jason says it is impossible since they’ve already agreed that he would start working full-time. He asks if there is anything else he doesn’t know about. Jo reveals she had lunch with Paul to discuss going back.

Jo says she couldn’t tell him about having lunch with her ex-husband because she was scared of his reaction. Jason complains about her having an affair with someone from work last year and how he isn’t allowed to mention it. Ben and the others overhear their argument. In the present, Amara tries to call Jo’s phone, but it has been left behind in the room. Jo manages to run upstairs and get back into the motel. She runs into Mateo again and immediately tells him that she is a trained police officer. He explains it may take 30 minutes for help to arrive. Jo saw two of them by the pool and both had side arms. One had a rifle. Mateo says they’re inside of the building shooting as well. Jo confirms she knows how to use a gun. Abhi tries to call Chinar who no longer has his phone. Jason runs into a man who has been shot. The woman with him asks for help. She believes there are five or six people killing everyone and they’ve gone into the hotel.

Jason says he needs to find his son. After another gunshot, Jason asks if they went inside because he has to go out there to find his son. The woman admits she doesn’t know. Jason helps them get across and tells them where to go to get help. He begins sneaking around by the pool while Amara continues calling for help. She ends up calling Paul to tell him something has happened. She sees Jason run in the other direction so she runs after him. She has to stop when she hears a gunshot. Abhi sees one of the gunmen walking around nearby. The gunman tries the door before moving on. Chinar tries to keep Adam calm when he begins asking to go find mom. Mateo and Jo talk about getting to his office while Jason gets into the elevator. Jason makes it back to their room only to find that it is empty now. Ben sends the kids ahead without him so he can help others. Mateo and Jo catch up with Abhi and others.

Jo uses her phone to call Jason and learns that the two kids were outside with Ben. He doesn’t know about Amar and Adam. Jo tells him where to get her phone and the code so he can see if Amara has called. Jason is told to take the phone and get outside. Mateo tells the others how to get out of the resort. They tell Abhi to go with them too. Jason grabs the phone and begins unlocking it before he hears something nearby. Mateo and Jo make it to the security room where they check the camera feeds. A gunman goes down the stairs while Abhi tries to get out of the building. Abhi opens a door and another before she gets locked out. Someone tries to get into the kitchen where Bea and the others are hiding. When Miriam hears Abhi’s voice, she pleads with the others to let her in. They do before securing the door again.

Mateo and Jo discuss ways to get the guests out of their rooms and possibly climbing down from the balconies. Miriam comforts Abhi before checking on the injured woman. Abhi tries to call Chinar, but he doesn’t have his phone. Another man tells her not to call anyone because she could be giving them away if they’re hiding. One of the gunmen walks close to the room where Chinar and the kids are hiding. It sounds like he shoots someone else. Mateo and Jo spot the gunman on the camera so they get getting their guns. Once she gets a gun, Jo sees Amara on the camera and decides to go help her. As she runs off, Mateo grabs his gun and a bunch of shells. Jason finds Jo’s text messages and a picture of the man she has been texting. It looks like Chinar. The gunman approaches Chinar and the kids. Chinar jumps up with his hands up.

While Jo moves around with her gun, there is a flashback of her partying with the girls and Ben. Chinar punishes his son for snatching the phone. Jo goes upstairs after Chinar tells his son that his mom doesn’t snatch anything. The boy leaves. Jason answers the door to let Paul inside while Chinar and Jo get closer upstairs. Amara leaves with Paul to celebrate New Years. Jo returns to the girls to discuss going on holiday. Jason calls Chinar’s phone to remind him he is his oldest friend and godfather to his son. He hopes they shoot him. When the kids run away, the gunman gets distracted so Chinar goes after him. The gunman shoots and kills Chinar. Jo talks about being in the wrong place at the wrong time and how making one different decision could’ve changed that. The gunman walks into the hallway and sees one of the fleeing boys.

Iker grabs a knife. Ben continues walking around as people flee the resort. Jo suggests this ending was always waiting. The gunman who killed Chinar sees Amara outside. Jo walks outside and yells for him to drop his weapon. The boy fires at her after Amara yells for her mother.

 

Crossfire Review

Crossfire is a new drama series focusing on a shooting incident at a resort. Jo, Jason, and the family go on vacation with their children and friends. When multiple gunmen arrive and begin shooting people, their lives are turned upside down. The first episode saw Jo team up with Mateo to try to fight back against the unidentified gunmen. Jo’s husband, Jason, managed to escape only to return in hopes of saving his family.

He inadvertently found out that Jo was having an affair with his oldest friend Chinar who is also on vacation with them. Chinar protected the children only to be shot and probably killed by the young gunman. The episode ended with Jo confronting the same gunman outside when he went after her daughter Amara. The first episode had some thrilling moments in the beginning, but it quickly fizzled out midway through.

When you find yourself rooting for the lone gunman, you know something has gone wrong along the way. While there were supposed to be five or six gunmen, it never seemed like it. Everyone was running through and out of the resort without encountering any of them besides a few gunshots in the distance. There was never a legitimate sense of danger because the characters effortlessly moved around the resort while only encountering one gunman.

The series is also overloaded with clichés that really send a cringe chill up your spine every so often. It is a lot like The Holiday with a lot more gunfire. The series could do without the flashbacks, affairs, and other petty stuff. It could even avoid turning Keeley Hawes into a Rambo-like heroine, especially when the character is already semi-unlikable.

Some of the scenes are indeed intense, but viewers will have to throw the rules of reality out the window to truly enjoy this. The first episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Crossfire can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent entertainment site by visiting this link.