A still from ‘Ride or Die’
| Photo Credit: Prime Video
The retired assassin seems to be a constant fixture in action movies, and, in Ride or Die we have a different kind of killer. The series opens with Judith (Hannah Waddingham), disregarding her handler Sam’s (Calam Lynch) instructions to very publicly kill a nasty Russian. When she meets Sam after the mission, he tells her the firm has decided to retire her as she is a WOACA (Woman of a certain age).Judith demands another chance, which Sam reluctantly arranges. Besides Judith’s mission that goes spectacularly wrong, we also see her best friend, Debbie (Octavia Spencer), the American wife of a British MP, David (Jamie Parker). Debbie loves shopping for antiques and plotting her husband’s rise to the premiership and 10 Downing.Ride or Die (English)Creator: Tessa CoatesCast: Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Ed Skrein, Calam Lynch, Savannah Steyn, Jamie Parker, Sylvia Hoeks, Bill Nighy, Jacky IdoEpisodes: 8Runtime: 48–55 minutesStoryline: Two lifelong friends, while on the run from some very bad people, discover shocking truths about each otherDebbie has no idea about Judith’s secret profession, believing her to be a forensic accountant, a profession that sounds so boring as to kill any further questions, according to Judith. Judith’s latest job — doing away with Billy Donovan (Ed Skrein), from a crime syndicate, takes her to a gala, and into the path of Debbie and David. All hell breaks loose as bodies, truths and half lies tumble with alarming frequency and end up with a furious Debbie on the run with Judith.Through eight episodes, the two friends hurtle from Britain, Calais, Barcelona, and Monaco, to Lyon, Geneva, Turkey and Mexico City, with Judith’s vengeful former work colleague, as well as a blood-thirsty Albanian mob and the Interpol in the form of courtly Jacques (Jacky Ido) on their tail.There is mob money (£24 million) involved and all sorts of wild schemes to return it as well as corruption in high places. Ride or Die moves at a quick pace and the chemistry between Spencer and Waddingham has a charming lived-in feel. Spencer’s Debbie despite not having Judith’s elite training has common sense and decency to get the duo out of many sticky situations.
