Review of 'Echo 3' 1.1-1.4

Hey, if you're in the mood for some potent adrenalin, surprises at every turn, colorful locales, and thoughtful characters -- and I'm always in the mood for that -- check out Echo 3 on Apple TV+.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

The series has a Bondian flavor, with a little Narcos mixed in, served in a rich tapestry of places and characters. Amber Chesborough, recently married to Delta Force operative "Prince," gets taken hostage doing research into tropical cures for drugs, in Colombia. Except she's also on some kind of CIA mission which her husband didn't know about it when he slipped a high-tech tracker into her luggage so, well, he could track her if she got into trouble. Which she does -- becaused being kidnapped is of course big trouble -- and when the kidnappers find the tracker, things get much worse, because they think (correctly) that she's a spy.

Also, she has a brother,"Bambi," in the same unit as Prince, and they start from being good buddies at Amber and Prince's marriage, to being at pretty serious odds over a mission that went pretty bad in Afghanistan. But you know they have to bury that hatchet and join forces to rescue Amber, which of course they do (join forces, that is -- she's not yet rescued), and though that's obvious, it's good to see it happen, anyway,

Other characters (so far) include Colombian military guys at all levels who are excellent, and a pack of kidnappers who seem to produce a succession of new leaders as some are picked off by the good guys. This might seem a little too much to believe, but the action is so good, I have no problem with it.

There's also a woman journalist who tries to negotiate for Amber's release, but gets taken prisoner by the kidnappers, raising terrible memories of what actually happened to Diana Turbay, a renowned journalist who was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's cartel, and was killed in a government rescue attempt gone terribly wrong in 1991.

My only disappointment with Echo 3 is that after seeing these first three episodes, I of course wanted to see more. Which I just did.

***

After last week's fireworks, which ended with Amber nearly rescued and Prince badly wounded, we get to see our major players carving out and moving into new roles. Prince and Bambi were the most compelling, diverging into two very separate stories.

Bambi isn't leaving the Colombia/Venezuela border until he rescues his sister or dies trying, which he has no intention doing if he has anything to say about it. He sets up a life among the locals, including making what will no doubt be a crucial alliance with a local fisherman. The vivid green South American scenery reminded me of The Mosquito Coast, another fine Apple TV+ series I'm watching and will be reviewing the second season of soon.

Meanwhile, Prince has recovered (of course), and is back in the U.S. trying to get our government to do more to rescue his wife. That would be easy, given that so far our government is doing practically nothing. This is a familiar theme -- our government not wanting to lift a finger to rescue or help an agent who went out on a limb that was sawed off -- but Echo 3 does it well and makes it worthwhile to see again.

Prince also fails to resist getting intimate with Reese (well played by Katherine Hughes), who has a great body and an inviting smile. Well, at least he tried to be loyal to Amber. The question now is whether he'll be to get her to help save Amber without continuing a full-blown affair with her.

These are good questions to pursue.