Allegiance is a a NBC spy drama, airing starting February 2015, which follows in the footsteps of The Americans, as well as Little Nikita, in which the CIA analyst Alex O'Connor finds himself in the middle of a secret conspiracy perpetrated by the SVR against the United States. Oh, and his parents and older sister just happen to be spies for the SVR...
On March 6, 2015, NBC canceled the series after five low-rated episodes. On March 12, 2015, NBC confirmed that the series would move online, and a new episode premiered in the U.S. via Hulu and NBC.com. The final episode of the series was released on April 30, 2015.
The show is based on the Israeli TV show The Gordin Cell.
This show provides examples of:
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Given Alex's mental prowess, it's pretty much a given that he spots things and makes deductions that nobody else would (at least not as fast).
- Artistic License – Biology: The human eye cannot see well past wavelengths of 700 nanometers, so for eyeglasses to be exceptional for wavelengths 850+ nanometers long would be useless except at focusing invisible infrared light on the eyeball, which is decidedly not the purpose of corrective lenses.
- Batman Gambit:
- The O'Connors manage to bluff Scott Tolliver, a money bagman, into revealing where the crucial information about the SVR's money laundering is stored.
- In "Family Crisis", Natalie and Sarah successfully dispatch the SVR agents sent to kill them.
- Book Ends: Viktor begins the series wanting to recruit Alex as an asset; by the end of the series, Alex's first assignment after being reinstated to the CIA is recruiting Viktor as an asset.
- Everything Is Online:
- The O'Connors can hack into just about any database or CCTV network as the plot demands.
- Occasionally inverted; for example in "Liars and Thieves", Tolliver reveals that his boss writes down money transactions by hand into a ledger.
Natalie: [scoffs] What is this, 1975? - Heroic BSoD: Alex in "Those Who Help Themselves", after he discovers that among others, Sam Luttrell may be dead due to a large explosion.
- Hyper-Awareness:
- The CIA boss, Sam Luttrell, seems to be almost inhumanly aware of everything going on around him. He also has an excellent understanding of voice pitch and how it relates to the expression of human emotion.
- Faber, the FBI lie detector expert, is capable of visually recognizing signs of truth, noticing things most people would process only subconsciously, such as pupil dilation and the rate of a person's pulse under their jaw.
- Indy Ploy: Katya, Alex's mom, makes up a story about having had an affair in order to deflect his questioning about her whereabouts in the past. It turns out she was actually telling the truth and using it to deflect Alex.
- The Mole: It's Faber, the FBI lie detector guy.
- Ms. Fanservice: Natalie, particularly the scene where she seduces someone
while wearing a Sexy Backless Outfit in the episode "Tipping Point". - Queer Establishing Moment: A casual reference is made to a female agent "liking women", when discussing her partnering up with Alex.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Sam, to Faber:Sam Luttrell: Who says they're from the Bureau?
- Properly Paranoid: The sometimes verging on Ax-Crazy Arkady Isakof, the SVR Rezidentura head.
- Teen Genius: Alex in his younger years. Overlaps with Child Prodigy.
- Villain Has a Point: Faber isn't totally wrong in his scathing commentary on the way politicians ignore fundamental injustices and curry favor with the wealthy.
- Wham Episode:
- "Chasing Ghosts". Alex realizes his parents were the SVR agents the FBI+CIA were chasing in Philadelphia.
- "A Convenient Place to Die". Faber is revealed as the SVR mole inside the FBI.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Alex's parents are doing this to try and keep out of jail and ahead of the SVR too.
