If you’re new to the world of Sam Fisher and decide to dive into Netflix’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, prepare for an intensely violent, somewhat exaggerated, but undeniably gripping eight-episode spy series. For long-time fans who have cherished the Splinter Cell games for over two decades—and patiently (or impatiently) awaited a new title—this animated adaptation offers a bittersweet experience. It’s everything you’d expect, yet it also highlights what we’re still missing.
Let’s start with the “sweet”: the show is genuinely impressive! Each character is entertaining and crucial to advancing the plot. Liev Schreiber delivers a phenomenal performance as the voice of Fisher, seamlessly stepping into the shoes previously filled by Michael Ironside in the games. The pacing is so effective that I found myself compulsively hitting “Next Episode” until I devoured all eight installments – not just once, but twice. The “bitter” truth, however, is that while this series is a treat, it doesn’t bring us any closer to a new Splinter Cell game. Moreover, given its advanced timeline, we might have limited adventures left with our beloved sardonic super spy.
Indeed, Deathwatch catapults us decades past Splinter Cell Blacklist, the last game in the series. We find Anna “Grim” Grímsdóttir at the helm of the clandestine US government agency, Fourth Echelon, while Sam Fisher is supposedly enjoying a peaceful, goggle-free retirement on a Polish farm. Surprisingly, Sam utters only two lines of dialogue in the entire first episode. The series kicks off by following rookie agent Zinnia McKenna, voiced by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, caught in a disastrous operation. Her target, a fellow agent, is found brutally tortured and dead in Lithuania. McKenna’s youthful impetuosity leads to a critical error that a seasoned Fisher would never make, quickly spiraling into chaos and forcefully dragging Sam back into the high-stakes life he believed he had escaped.
By the end of the second episode, Sam is undeniably the star of the show, and the first season thrives because of it.
By the close of the premiere, I was completely hooked and eager for more. I was also immensely relieved to see Sam firmly established as a central figure in Deathwatch. It was clear that showrunner Derek Kolstad, renowned for creating John Wick, wasn’t merely bringing Fisher back to pass the torch to McKenna and a new crop of Fourth Echelon agents. Instead, by the end of the second episode, Sam fully reclaims his leading role, making the first season all the more compelling.
For a dedicated fan who has played every single game in the Splinter Cell series—yes, even Splinter Cell Essentials on PSP!—Michael Ironside will always be the definitive voice of Sam Fisher. It would have been particularly fitting for Ironside, at 75, to reprise the role of an aging Fisher in Deathwatch. However, Liev Schreiber ultimately took on the mantle, and he delivers a truly exceptional performance. Schreiber masterfully captures Sam’s signature dry wit, his hardened resilience, and his underlying human empathy through interactions with his team, adversaries, and even his dog, Kaiju. He imbues Fisher with the crucial gruffness and toughness that defines the character. I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal and eagerly anticipate more of his Sam Fisher if a second season materializes.
It’s also important to highlight the show’s intense violence, which far surpasses that of the games. While players could opt for lethal force in the video game, Deathwatch doesn’t shy away from depicting gruesome details. Expect to see explicit scenes of violence, including scalpels (and fingers) piercing eyeballs, knives lodged in skulls, point-blank headshots, and blades driven into torsos, among other horrors. This isn’t a criticism; in fact, I found the brutal realism of the violence enhanced Deathwatch, effectively conveying the life-or-death stakes faced by these shadowy, lone-wolf operatives.
Shifting back to the shadows, this iteration of Splinter Cell certainly features ample spycraft. If we were comparing it to Blacklist, McKenna would be executing a Ghost-style playthrough, while Sam would be going full Panther. Fisher accumulates quite a body count over the eight episodes, which I found amusingly ironic given my own preference for non-lethal gameplay in the games. Nevertheless, these agents engage in impressive stealth maneuvers in the dark, perform silent takedowns, and utilize various gadgets. However, fans might lament the absence of classic Splinter Cell tools like the Sticky Shocker, Sticky Camera, or the iconic SC-20k rifle.
Returning to Sam’s supporting cast, I appreciated the unique contributions each member brought to the team. Grim is her usual no-nonsense self, offering little patience and zero tolerance. Jo provides a calm anchor that Grim often lacks, managing operations from Fourth Echelon HQ in Copenhagen. Thunder, a newly recruited Canadian hacker, quickly earns his place within the team. McKenna, a highly skilled agent, finds herself deeply invested as the mission becomes personal. On the antagonist side, Deathwatch reintroduces a name familiar to Splinter Cell enthusiasts: Douglas Shetland. Though appearing only in flashbacks, Shetland is long deceased. The show’s narrative, however, centers on his daughter, Diana Shetland, and her mission to transform Displace International from a private military contractor into a leading cleantech company, with their ambitious Xanadu project poised to revolutionize global renewable energy.
Does the plot become a tad convoluted near the climax? Absolutely, but then again, that’s a tradition the games themselves often embraced. Interestingly, and likely intentionally, Deathwatch subtly references key missions from Chaos Theory—arguably the franchise’s pinnacle—without directly rehashing them. The final two episodes are even titled “Chaos Theory: Part 1” and “Part 2.” Other nostalgic nods include not one, but two instantly recognizable sound effects: the iconic click of Sam’s tri-lens night vision goggles, and, delightfully, the radio/comms activation noise pulled directly from the original Xbox era of the franchise.
Deathwatch skillfully alludes to several missions from the highly acclaimed Chaos Theory, widely considered one of the best Splinter Cell games.
Returning to the bittersweet essence of this series, while Ubisoft (the show’s producer) and Netflix could theoretically sustain animated Splinter Cell for years through flashback seasons exploring Sam Fisher’s espionage prime, it’s more probable that this older iteration of Sam won’t be a long-term fixture, given where his life begins in the show. If this holds true, it suggests either the series itself will be regrettably short-lived, or Schreiber’s Fisher will pass his responsibilities to Howell-Baptiste’s McKenna. Audiences might resist such a handover, perceiving it as akin to replacing Batman with Robin. I suspect the former scenario is more likely; Netflix, after all, only granted The Legend of Lara Croft (which, to be fair, wasn’t a strong series) two seasons, and even the superb Castlevania ran for just four. Historically, Sam Fisher is Splinter Cell.
For now, though, I’m simply savoring the return of Splinter Cell into our lives. This show offers a fantastic, albeit fleeting, ultraviolent thrill ride, spanning just over three hours across eight episodes, each lasting 22-27 minutes. Perhaps, just perhaps, its success might finally spur Ubisoft into action on the Splinter Cell remake that was announced four years ago but has remained in radio silence ever since.
Verdict
While this excellent Splinter Cell animated series doesn’t grant us extensive time with Sam Fisher, every moment is worthwhile. Bolstered by Liev Schreiber’s superb portrayal of Fisher and a fast-paced narrative filled with engaging characters, it’s an absolute page-turner—or rather, a binge-watcher. The half-hour episodes whisk by, concluding before you know it, leaving you thoroughly entertained by this grittier, older iteration of our beloved secret agent.