HANNA

Full Name:	Hanna
Nationality:	None
Organization:	CIA
Occupation	Other - Research Experiment

Creator:	Seth Lochhead, David Farr
Time Span:	2011 - 2020

ABOUT THE SERIES

Hanna is a CIA research subject.

At least she started out as one, as a baby, and years later she was very much wanted back in the program.

In the months prior to her birth, Hanna's mother was an unwed pregnant girl planning to have the pregnancy terminated when she is approached by CIA operative Erik Heller and offered a chance to become part of a project, which we later learn is called Utrax. The idea of the project was to manipulate the genes of fetes from an array of young women, including the insertion of a small amount of wolf DNA, to increase the strength, endurance, and innate fighting abilities of the child.

When Hanna's mother had a change of heart about giving the new-born up to the Agency to be raised, she and Heller, who had fallen in love with her, decided to 'steal' the baby and flee, putting the entire program into jeopardy. In the escape attempt, the woman was killed but Heller and the infant managed to escape.

The powers at the Agency who had green-lit the project in the first place, decided to terminate Utrax and ordered its project lead, veteran operative Marissa Weigler, to destroy all remaining test subjects and erase all evidence of the program's existence.

Jump ahead 15 years and a now-teenage young girl named Hanna is living in the wilderness of a large forest in Poland (Finland in the movie version), raised by her adopted father Erik and trained every day to be the very best fighter and survivor she could be, all in preparation for the time when the CIA would find them.

Her skills at hunting and killing and taking care of herself in a wide range of situations, all taught by Heller but very much improved by the enhancements to her DNA, make her a very impressive weapon. She is highly intelligent and quick thinking but she is totally naive about the human interactions. Heller had tried to make her aware of what it was like 'outside', lack of actual contact and personal experience causes considerable problems when she is thrown back into society. Especially since the CIA is still constantly on the lookout for any sign of her existence.

Once her whereabouts are discovered and Weigler brought back to help in her recapture, Heller decides to let Hanna know the full truth of her origins and in so doing, he and Hanna and even Weigler will all learn that the Utrax program had been restarted and that there are several dozen teenage being indoctrinated into being perfect killing machines totally obedient to their masters.

Hanna has a new mission far beyond just survival.

MOVIES

Number of Movies:	1
First Appearance:	2011
Last Appearance:	2011


1			Hanna Director: Joe Wright Writers: Seath Lochhead, David Farr Actors: Saoirse Ronan as Hanna, Eric Bana as Erik Heller, Cate Blanchett as Marissa Wiegler, Jessica Barden as Sophie Released: 2011 A 16-year-old girl, raised in isolation by her father in the forests of Finland, is given the chance to visit the outside world, even though this will alert the CIA to her existence and bring them after her. She was part of a ultra-secret project to raise super-soldiers from before birth. The project had been terminated and all evidence destroyed - except for her, and the former project leader, Marissa Wiegler, wants that corrected.

TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:	16
First Appearance:	2019
Last Appearance:	2020
Network:	Amazon

REGULAR CAST
Esme Creed-Miles	Hanna [ 1-2 ]
Mireille Enos	Marissa Wiegler [ 1-2 ]
Joel Kinnaman	Erik Heller [ 1 ]
Dermot Mulroney	John Carmichael [ 2 ]
Rhianne Barreto	Sophie [ 1 ]

I watched an interview on IMDB with the co-creator, David Farr, who talked of the chance to bring Hanna back for television and how he appreciated the chance to expand on concept of the character. He talked about how the director of the movie had centered on one facet of the storyline but now with greater time, Farr was planning on adding to the Hanna universe and taking it in other directions.

1	Forest Director: Sarah Adina Smith Writer: David Farr 15 years after Erik Heller rescues baby Hanna from a covert Romanian facility, the two live deep in the Polish forest. Erik trained Hanna to be an incredible killer and hunter. Yet, keen to grow beyond the boundaries of her isolated world, she begins to venture away from home. This attracts the attention of CIA agent Marissa Wiegler, who has hunted Hanna since birth.

2	Friend Director: Sarah Adina Smith Writer: David Farr Following her capture by Marissa's men, Hanna must fight to escape from the Moroccan CIA facility and join Erik in Berlin. Along the way, she meets Sophie, a British teenager on holiday with her family, who gives Hanna her first proper taste of the real world and the thrill of adolescence. Yet despite this glimpse at normality, the threat of Marissa and her operatives is never far behind.

3	City Director: Jon Jones Writer: David Farr Hanna and Erik are reunited in Berlin, where they hide out with his old army friends and she learns more about her father's past. However, Hanna continues to long for the normal life she glimpsed with Sophie and becomes increasingly frustrated at the restrictions her own father imposes on her. Sensing Marissa is closing in on them, Erik and his friends begin to prepare for an attack.

4	Father Director: Jon Jones Writer: David Farr Erik is holding Marissa prisoner, trying to negotiate a deal to get him and Hanna safely out of Berlin. Meanwhile, Hanna hides out with Dieter and his family. Desperate to know more about what her father is up to, Hanna discovers a huge secret in her own past. As an escape plan begins to form, Marissa attempts to make her own.

5	Town Director: Amy Neil Writer: Ingeborg Topsoe Still reeling from her revelations about Erik, Hanna hides out in suburban London with Sophie, who is keeping her new friend secret from her parents. Sophie persuades Hanna to attend a school party where Hanna experiences the thrill of a teenage crush for the first time. Meanwhile, Erik's friends desperately try to save him from the life-threatening injuries he sustained fleeing capture.

6	Mother Director: Amy Neil Writer: David Farr Sophie and Hanna's relationship begins to turn sour over their shared interest in Anton. In the fallout from this argument, Marissa arrives at Sophie's house pretending to be Hanna's mother. Hanna finds herself torn between endangering Sophie and her family, or giving up her own freedom and going with Marissa. Meanwhile, a captured Erik is brutally interrogated by Sawyer and his men.

7	Road Director: Anders Engstrom Writer: David Farr Realising that Hanna will no longer accept anything but the full truth, Erik takes her back to Romania so she can learn more about her past. Meanwhile, Marissa begins to sense that Sawyer has not been telling her the full truth about UTRAX.

8	Utrax Director: Anders Engstrom Writer: David Farr When Erik reveals to Hanna the truth about UTRAX, she is determined to take action. Meanwhile, Marissa attempts to find out from Sawyer what has really been going on at the facility. Erik and Hanna attempt to rescue trainees from UTRAX facility, however, they manage to convince only one trainee, Clara, to escape with them. They managed to escape the facility with help from Clara, but Erik succumbs to his injuries.

9	Safe Director: Eva Husson Writer: David Farr As Hanna hides Clara in the vast forest of Northern Romania, the remaining trainees are transferred to an educational facility called The Meadows, where they are assigned new identities and encouraged to socialize with each other. Marissa sets about finding Clara by posing as her mother online. She lures her to a hotel in Bucharest, where she is ambushed and captured by Utrax. Hanna follows and is reunited with Marissa.

10	The Trial Director: Eva Husson Writer: David Farr Marissa and Hanna return to Paris, and Clara is re-introduced to the group at The Meadows. Her rebellious nature causes problems, so Terri is tasked with persuading her to follow the programme. Pursuing Clara, Hanna finds the pharmaceutical company behind the Utrax medical implants and takes part in a drug trial. She discovers that the drugs are bound for the trainees at The Meadows.

11	To The Meadows Director: Eva Husson Writer: Paul Waters Hanna returns to Passway Pharmaceuticals and follows Louis Dumont and the drugs out of the city, aware that this will lead her to The Meadows. Marissa discovers that Sonia is in Belgium and reaches Hanna just in time, killing Sonia in the process. Hanna arrives at The Meadows, ready to save Clara, but is shocked to discover that Terri's plans to get through to Clara have worked. Clara appears to have settled in.

12	Welcome Mia Director: Ugla Hauksdottir Writer: Laura Lomas Marissa joins Hanna at The Meadows, assuring her that she is on her side by arranging an escape plan for that evening. Hanna convinces Clara to join them, but the familial community of The Meadows proves too comforting for her, and she betrays Hanna, putting the power back in Carmichael's hands. Meanwhile, CIA operative Mannion finds The Meadows, but there is no sign of Hanna or Marissa.

13	A Way To Grieve Director: Ugla Hauksdottir Writer: Nina Segal Marissa is imprisoned in The Meadows while Hanna is encouraged to embrace her new identity as Mia Wolff. But doing so requires grieving for Erik, which Terri helps accelerate. Marissa escapes and convinces Hanna to leave, only for Clara to get in their way. Clara shoots Marissa and tells Carmichael that Hanna did it to stop Marissa from kidnapping her. Hanna is accepted back into The Meadows.

14	You're With Us Now Director: Ugla Hauksdottir Writer: Charlotte Hamblin Hanna and Jules are sent on their first mission. They are to kill a journalist in London who is planning to meet with a military lawyer intent on exposing Utrax's secrets. Meanwhile, Sandy and Clara fly to Barcelona to recover the evidence. Hanna attempts to back out and joins forces with Mannion in an attempt to save Nicola's life, but Jules and Leo are one step ahead. The consequences are disastrous.

15	Tacitus Director: David Farr Writer: David Farr Hanna arrives in Barcelona, intent on saving Gelder and persuading Clara to leave Utrax. Hanna tells Clara the name and whereabouts of her mother, leaving her conflicted. Sandy has earnt Gelder's daughter Kat's trust and is furious when Clara backs out of killing them. She kills Gelder whilst Hanna and Clara escape with Kat. Marissa is tasked with finding Hanna by Mannion's colleague, Grant.

16	The List Director: David Farr Writer: David Farr Following Gelder's murder, Carmichael arrives in Barcelona. Hanna, Clara and Kat hide in a hillside villa. Hanna returns to the hotel and recovers Gelder's target list. She is helped by Marissa, who follows Carmichael to the villa and blackmails him into bringing his fellow Utrax leaders to justice. Hanna allows Clara to reunite with her mother before returning to Marissa to help destroy Utrax.

MY COMMENTS

I loved the heck out of the initial movie. The whole idea of a young person trained non-stop in the wilderness to be a fighting machine was interesting and spooky at the same time. Her knowing that there was an organization devoted to her capture added a lot of suspense but it was her wanting to be 'normal' that made the story so compelling.

That and the terrific acting of the star of the movie, Saoirse Ronan. As of this writing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award four times. That is some acting chomps.

I was psyched when I heard the movie was being made into a television series by one of the initial creators, expanding the origin story. The excellent choice of Esme Creed-Miles for the role of Hanna was superb as she was able, like Ronan, to give Hanna both vulnerability and menace. Hanna is a kick-buck heroine able to tackle much bigger and stronger men but at the same time able to be betrayed because she really wants to believe.

The story is also enhanced tremendously by two actresses who have played CIA operative Marissa Weigler. Cate Blanchett can be soooo very spooky when she wants to be and she must have wanted to be a lot in the movie version. Mireille Enos's version of Weigler is not quite as frightening, perhaps, but still very daunting (I know I would be intimidated all out) but what comes across best to me is in her own way, she is every bit the survivor that Hanna is [guess she would have to be after the end of the movie!]

I enjoyed a great deal the first season and was very impressed and excited at the direction the second season took. The expected third season is highly anticipated by me.

GRADE

My Grade: A-

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