The Flight Attendant S2

On the eve of the summer blockbuster campaign season, the pace nevertheless continues steadily for trailer drops for television series, whether on streaming or cable. Among them is what might be fairly put as Kaley Cuoco’s second act post-Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant. It’s a dramedy that put the actor in a new light in the first season and promises to extend that premise in the next one.

In the series, Cassie Bowden (Cuoco) is an alcoholic stewardess who wakes up one morning next to a dead body whom she did not murder; she eventually goes so far as to work for the CIA in an effort to find the real killer. Season Two promises to bring nuance into the notion of sobriety as a process—and as such, she confronts doubles of herself in her mind’s eye, in a Hitchcockian way.

While it seems so far that the show mainly deals with some heavy themes, the trailer is balanced with a lighter tone throughout—supported by the song used, a trailerized mix of Stacey Q’s “Two of Hearts” (1986). After an introduction by Cuoco—unusual, albeit reasonable considering she is definitely the show’s reason for being—the trailer proper begins with Cassie at a sobriety meeting; in the background we hear a ticking/chiming motif that’s become a favourite for many trailers as of late. At 0:21 the first measure of “Two of Hearts” comes through, but not recognizably so. Various additions to the arrangement bolster the monologue and montage sequence, with occasional bursts of percussion in double-time, signalling the drama to come.

At 0:42 “Two of Hearts” begins in full, albeit the vocals sound a bit obscured—maybe to ensure the dialogue comes through. At 1:00 there’s a synch point between the percussion flourish at the beginning of a new measure and the on-screen punch, and again at 1:02 with the bottle smashed on the ground. Notice how at 1:08 the music doesn’t stop so much as fade out, highlighting a tender moment at 1:10. Usually there might be a synchronized blackout or sudden, loud sound—this is refreshingly the opposite, and poignant as such. Granted, this doesn’t last long: the explosion we’d have expected happens at 1:12. At 1:18 the music starts up again with the sound of a tape rewinding—a fun touch that reminds us that the series is meant to be light-hearted as much as it tackles some deeper issues.

A very interesting, nearly 4th-wall-breaking effect occurs at 1:24 when Cuoco’s title cracks in synch with the music—one would be hard-pressed to find another example of such explicit interaction between the soundtrack and titles, in particular. Nevertheless, it conveys perfectly well the character’s internal struggles. A horror-like swell of high-pitched sound leads back unceremoniously into the song for a quick ending.

Season 2 of The Flight Attendant arrives on HBO Max April 21st.

— Curtis Perry