Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Chris Revelle | TV | March 7, 2025
Prime Target is a conspiracy thriller set in a version of our reality where math is one of the most dangerous concepts known to man and prime numbers are weapons of mass destruction. Over eight episodes, the series followed math wunderkind Edward Brooks (Leo Woodall) and NSA agent Taylah Sanders (Quintessa Swindell) on a globe-trotting adventure dodging armed goons, engaging in some light hacking, and, most importantly, solving a prime number-centric theorem that could destroy cybersecurity entirely. Though Ed wants to solve the theorem for the love of math, others would use the “prime finder” to slice through every password-protected page on the cursed internet. The finale (“The Key”) had a tall order to fill and many questions to answer. Unfortunately, Prime Target’s season 1 finale left me feeling like Community’s Annie Edison after she figures out Dean Pelton’s harebrained schemes:
Warning: Spoilers for Prime Target’s season 1 finale follow.
It turns out our main villain wasn’t NSA honcho Jane Torres (Martha Plimpton), the NSA, or the sinister math organization Kaplar, but a different evil firm known as Axiorn. Yes, Kaplar and the NSA were colluding and pulling strings, but Axiorn was the real threat hiding behind them. They’re responsible for murdering Safiya and Professor Mallinder, as well as the bomb that blew open the long-buried Bayt al-Hikmah, killing many bystanders. They planted Adam to seduce and observe Ed, along with Professor James Alderman (Stephen Rea), who appeared to be a mastermind in Axiorn’s plans.
Taylah uses the prime finder tool to take both Kaplar and Axiorn offline, which spurs Jane and James into action. Jane is too late to stop Taylah from sending all evidence of the grand math conspiracy to NSA headquarters at Fort Meade. While Jane and Taylah have it out in a field somewhere, Edward goes to James, thinking he’s an ally. James channels a discount Bane as he explains his grand plan: make the prime finder openly available so that every system worldwide—financial, governmental, commercial, etc.—is torn down entirely. James sees this as a goal worth virtually infinite casualties and collateral damage because Ed needs “to put a hammer to our world.” Edward has an Oppenheimer-biting epiphany that he is a “destroyer of worlds” for creating the prime finder and stops things by shooting James dead. Taylah appears soon after and helps Edward escape with the prime finder by allowing the NSA to arrest her, taking the fall for Ed.
The final sequence shows an NSA press conference announcing an internal corruption probe into the NSA/Kaplar/Axiorn mess. The slimy Andrew Carter (Harry Lloyd) is leading it, a clear sign that corruption at the agency is alive and well. The man brought wine to France. Send him to The Hague! Anywho, Ed is watching this on a big screen in London and begins to noodle with his phone, suggesting he’s about to expose Carter’s wrongdoings as well.
It’s not a terribly satisfying or even entirely sensical finale. Maybe James’ plot to burn the world down would’ve felt more meaningful if it hadn’t been squeezed into the final episode. As of now, the series has not been renewed for a second season, and creator Steve Thompson has said, “There are no assurances at this stage.” There’s a hook for a second season, with Ed on the run with the most powerful math weapon in existence, but overall, the series was pretty mediocre —- entertainingly goofy espionage plotting sandwiched between dull stretches of boredom. A likable cast and great production design made it all go down smoothly, but for all its silly charms, Prime Target didn’t add up to much.
