I'm honestly not sure how the production of shows that stream online works nowadays. Back in the traditional cable/network TV days, the writers, actors, and production teams worked hard every week to pump out the next episode of the season. A show like Lost Symbol (on Peacock) is streamed one episode at a time, but I'm curious if they already have the entire show shot. At the very least, I doubt they stuck to a week-to-week formula for each episode. A recent behind-the-scenes look at The Mandalorian Season 2 finale indicates that some of these streaming shows follow more the traditional production timeline without revealing everything up front, whereas other shows that have the entire season released at once for the sake of binging are probably shot and produced more like a movie than a TV show.
Regardless of when it was shot and produced, the third episode, titled "Murmuration," feels like the actors and writers (and even the editors, honestly) felt a little more comfortable and got into a better rhythm than the opening episodes. The flow of scenes had sharper endings and didn't seem to drag. The pacing of the episode felt pretty standard for an action mystery like this show. The chemistry between Robert Langdon (Ashley Zukerman) and Katherine Solomon (Valorie Curry) felt a little more realistic for two people with a history who may or may not be destined to end up together despite Langdon's continued lack of respect for Katherine's approach to science. Suddenly he wasn't so condescending when she was able to extract useful clues from his mind using her noetic techniques to great effect while solving puzzles.
This episode gives us our first true look at the Leviathans, who think they have the key to a secret they discovered a long time ago. The scene when Langdon and Katherine are playing the film they found was eerie (and well crafted with the voiceover work, I might add). They witness this weird animation of a man proving he can control a giant flock of birds in the air; he exerts his power by slamming them into the ground and killing them, a stunning visual representation of the corruption power can have. The lore building in the book was doled out slowly, yet methodically, and this show is matching that pace well. We're getting just enough to pique interest and build suspense while the mystery unfolds.
The balancing act to keep several side characters relevant is hard to pull off, but again, I feel like the writers were getting into a groove at this point as the picture is getting clearer ever so slightly. The FBI agent Inoue Sato suddenly became a much more interesting character after we realize she may be on a secret personal vendetta to right a wrong in her past; her motives seem to be in the right place the whole time, especially when she befriends Warren (the friend of Peter, whom we are reminded is still in bad shape while being held captive). Nunez, the cop who got shot in the premiere, helps Langdon and Katherine and becomes far more likeable of a character - you want to root for as he seems to be wiser to the bigger picture.
My biggest problem with this episode was the big action scene when Langdon and Katherine are at the graveyard trying to find the capstone. They solved mysteries to get to this point, which was really fun to watch, but when they get there, it seems they just stumble across the final pieces of the puzzle. When the bad guys chase them down, I was reminded that this show does not have the same big budget as a movie would. Langdon finds a cheap way to block off the door to the room they're in, so the bad guy decides the best way to get to them is...throwing a gas grenade in the room. What's he going to do, wait for them to hit the ground while falling asleep, then call a locksmith? He somehow can't find another way into the room that clearly has several openings all around; that's where the lighting in the room is coming from! In an effort to escape, Langdon and Katherine duck behind a tombstone that happens to serve as a secret entrance to a hidden basement room. But they later escape the basement room, which happens to have a very obvious maintenance-like alternate entrance not far from where they were trapped two minutes ago. So, what, no one has thought to go into that room before? The only defense for the writers is the entire graveyard seems to have been locked down by this leviathan group for a long time, so it could be that no one has ever tried to get in there before, but if that was the case, wouldn't they know to guard that door from the other side? Also, it seemed like a pretty silly place to hide extremely important and sensitive material...unless, of course, they wanted Langdon to find that stuff (dun dun dun).
The final scene ended with a surprise murder that served as a reminder to Langdon that he was instructed not to work with Katherine, Peter's daughter. Yeah, she isn't going to back down.
I will say that it's fun to watch this show after having read the book, but remembering almost nothing from it. I'm getting reminded of certain things along the way that are triggering my memory of the plot, which are fun re-discoveries.