Who would have thought that seemingly innocent numbers like 11, 23, and 37 could pose such a threat to national security?

In Apple TV+'s thrilling new series Prime Target, we follow Edward Brooks, a mathematics genius whose groundbreaking work on prime numbers leads him into a dangerous web of intrigue involving the National Security Agency (NSA).

The Show's Premise

The show kicks off with Leo Woodall, known from The White Lotus, portraying Ed, a highly intelligent postgraduate research candidate at Cambridge University. He’s a man consumed by his passion for mathematics and patterns, often at the expense of his personal relationships. In an unexpected twist, when one of Ed's mentors falls ill with Alzheimer’s, he reluctantly starts working under Robert Mallinder, a seasoned mathematician played by David Morrissey of The Walking Dead. Mallinder has a vested interest in Ed's research, igniting Ed’s skepticism and tension between the two.

A Complicated Dynamic

Complicating matters is Mallinder's wife, Andrea, a professor heavily involved in an archaeological pursuit related to the legendary Bayt al-Hikmah, or House of Wisdom, thought to have been destroyed long ago in Baghdad. After a startling discovery in Iraq reveals remnants of this long-lost library, Andrea’s excitement compels her to want to visit.

The Dinner Incident

The plot thickens during a dinner hosted by Mallinder and Andrea, where Ed shares the provocative idea behind his research: “What if prime numbers are God’s cipher, the very fabric of the universe?” Intrigued, yet cautious, Mallinder urges Ed to abandon this line of thinking due to its potentially explosive implications. However, Ed's fascination only deepens, leading to eerie events when he notices alarming gaps in past studies on prime numbers at the Cambridge library.

The Keeper's Warning

As tension escalates, a shadowy figure known only as 'The Keeper' begins to monitor Mallinder, warning him to abandon his prime number inquiries. Unbeknownst to Ed and Andrea, Mallinder's growing paranoia leads him to destructive actions, including the burning of Ed’s research—an act that spirals into tragedy when Mallinder is found dead under suspicious circumstances, seemingly a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Introducing Taylah

The plot takes a dramatic turn in Episode 2 as we meet Taylah, a sharp NSA surveillance officer stationed in France. Her mission is to keep a watchful eye on mathematicians across Europe for any hints of research that could develop into new digital weaponry. After Mallinder's death, Taylah becomes increasingly intrigued, initially believing Mallinder to be the protagonist behind the threatening research. However, as she investigates further, she realizes the truth: Ed is truly the threat that the NSA has been seeking.

The Vanishing Evidence

But Taylah’s discoveries don’t stop there. She uncovers that critical CCTV footage has vanished and that Mallinder's final voicemail message to Andrea appears to have been artificially generated. What starts as a series of unfortunate events transforms into a tense thriller, with Taylah becoming obsessed with proving that Mallinder's death was no accident.

A Tense Thriller

As she digs deeper into the case against the backdrop of a tense international political climate, an attempt on her life leads her down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and danger. The implications of prime numbers may be far more significant than anyone realized, potentially influencing not just mathematical theory, but geopolitical stability itself.

Conclusion

With each episode escalating the suspense, Prime Target offers a rumination on the intersection of genius and madness, highlighting how the pursuit of knowledge can lead to perilous outcomes. Prepare to buckle in as the stakes rise and the bodies start to pile up—because in the world of prime numbers, nothing is ever as it seems!