As amusingly improbable and slick as the show is, The Flight Attendant digs deep when necessary.
Without getting needlessly gritty, The Flight Attendant punctuates Cassie’s good times with dysfunctional details: sneaking shots at work, glugging mouthwash to mask the scent of alcohol, lying regularly about just how many drinks she’s had.
It makes for a strong counterpoint to the somewhat ridiculous world of crime that she’s wandered into; the plot points don’t have to be believable if the character feels like a real person.
That comes through especially in how the story depicts Cassie’s relationship to drinking, which becomes a subject of more self-reflection for her by midseason when her brother, Davey (T.R. Knight), comes to visit New York with his family.