Old Friends, New Sins review

The setup

Dinner with an old friend should be easy. Niko spends it bragging about how much his wife costs, then quietly admits the business is gone and the money with it. She sizes up the visitor before the plates are cleared, trades jabs with him about whether his wallet is up to her standards, and openly calls her husband dull. When Niko's card bounces, the friend covers the bill and instantly becomes the most interesting man at the table. She leaves him with a pointed question about her price tag.

Episode 2

Episode 2 is the ride home in a chauffeured car, a bold expense for a man who just went broke. Niko is exhausted and grateful, praising his pal to the sky, while his wife works the back seat with lines about who chases whom and what real men skip. At the house he insists the friend stay the night instead of driving. She steers him toward a guest wing and mentions, pointedly, how private it is.

Who's who

• Niko: proud of his trophy marriage, newly broke, and the last to notice anything
• Niko's wife: glamorous, transactional and blunt about it, she treats every compliment like an invoice
• The friend: loyal on paper, flush with cash, and in no hurry to walk away

Verdict: 6.7 out of 10

The setup is cynical in the best way. A man confesses he is broke, and within a minute his wife has recalculated the room. Her dialogue has real bite, the friend answers in kind, and Niko's oblivious gratitude supplies the dark comedy. The second episode mostly repositions everyone under one roof, a holding pattern rather than an escalation. Still, the betrayal is staged so well that the paid episodes feel like a natural next step.

Episode guide