All series are made up of countless images, a succession of frames that usually tell a story with multiple plots, however, there are times when a single image, isolated, can completely change the meaning of a work. It makes us stop at it, question it. This is what happens in the magnificent spy thriller titled Mr.
Mr.
Glover, who is also the co-star of the series along with actress Maya Erskine (the chemistry between them is something out of the ordinary) manages to mix the spy genre with, say, Bergman’s Secrets of a Marriage, but always with an intelligent sense of humor. Thus, the most unique thing about the series is his interest in delving into the emotional ups and downs of the couple, leaving the action scenes as an ideal background to talk about their relationship problems.
Named Jane and John by the entity that has hired them (it is not clear whether it is a real person or an artificial intelligence), called HiHi (a name that is both a greeting and a laugh), both have been put aside for complete his past identity. Thus, when they meet for the first time in the house where they will live, they will be complete strangers. And it is here where we begin to see the parallels between this prophetic image that hangs in the living room of the house and what is about to happen.
Masaccio’s painting, a fresco painted in 1424-25 for the Brancacci Chapel, in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, recounts a specific moment in Genesis, the expulsion from earthly paradise, the place where Mr. and Mrs. Smith, In an updated version, they are: a luxurious mansion with all kinds of amenities (swimming pool, garden, etc.) located in the center of New York. Like Adam and Eve, they have been created (naming is an act of creation) by a higher entity, HiHi/God, who denies them full knowledge of who he is and the reason for his missions. HiHi is an omniscient and infallible figure, who controls his actions, and constantly tests his faith. In fact, like the God of the Old Testament, he is an authoritarian entity – sometimes incomprehensible, sometimes vengeful – who has offered them a new life: fulfilling their dream as spies after having failed in previous jobs.
Despite starting out as complete strangers, little by little, and between mission and mission, they will meet love and their relationship will strengthen. However, Eva-Jane, more intelligent and ambitious than John, will be tempted by HiHi, who also plays the snake here, and will propose to upgrade her category and find another John, a substitute for her. HiHi will thus cause more and more situations so that he doubts his partner, who makes more mistakes in the missions, wants to start a family, and does not allow him to progress. However, the couple will try to survive, even going to therapy, one of the most unique and intelligent moments of the series, since it dedicates an entire episode to their marital problems. Finally, HiHi will set a trap for Jane to confront John fatally. By failing to get the entity to kill each other, Jane and John will be punished. In this way, and as mentioned in Genesis, where it says: “And after he had expelled the man, he placed in the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the zigzagging sword”, Hi Hi will send precisely others two Jane and John, cherubs in charge of expelling these Adam and Eve, to carry out the final expulsion.
Thus, as we have seen, Masaccio’s painting, which appears at different times in the series (there are also others, such as Warhol’s work Siver Car Crash, which anticipates the collision that will occur between the couple), is revealed as the key that It helps us not only understand this allegorical reading of the series, but also shows how the stories and images from Genesis continue to populate our imagination and are a source of inspiration.
