When 'Special Ops' first dropped in 2020, it brought with it a fresh wave of intelligence drama, built on the sturdy shoulders of Kay Kay Menon's steely performance as Himmat Singh—the classic spymaster who doesn’t blink, doesn’t boast, and barely breaks into a run.
The second season of the thriller series, titled 'Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story', dives into the past, giving fans a closer look at what made the man behind the mission.
However, this prequel-sequel hybrid, while competent and visually polished, doesn’t quite reach the same highs or emotional depths of its predecessor.
Spread over just a few episodes—a departure from the more sprawling and ambitious season 1—'Special Ops 1.5' focuses on Singh's early years in the agency, his first few missions, and the scars that made him the emotionally guarded handler we met in the first season.
There’s also some backroom drama, a couple of taut action sequences, and predictable betrayals. The pacing is crisp, but the payoff feels muted.
Where the first season gave us a globe-trotting terror chase with layered characters and a puzzle-box plot, the second plays out like a personal dossier: quieter, simpler, and ultimately less gripping. Gone are the multi-country operations and the ticking-clock tension. In its place: a more intimate, origin-style narrative that trades scale for sentiment.
Menon, as always, holds the screen with remarkable restraint, and the ensemble cast does its job without unnecessary fireworks.
Aftab Shivdasani, Parmeet Sethi, and Karan Tacker make notable appearances, but their arcs are underbaked. The writing, once sharp and layered, sometimes becomes formulaic. There’s a feeling that the show knows it has a loyal audience and doesn’t feel the need to push harder.
That said, for fans of the franchise, this is still a welcome addition. Neeraj Pandey’s signature style (realistic espionage with a Bollywood pulse) is intact. The production is slick, the stakes are personal, and the runtime is mercifully short.
Still, it’s hard not to miss the structural cleverness of season one—the back-and-forth timelines, the multi-agent setup, the cat-and-mouse plotting. 'Special Ops 1.5', in comparison, feels like an extended flashback that might have worked better as a film or a bonus episode rather than a standalone season.
Even visually, while the cinematography retains a polished look, there's less grandeur. Season 1 took us to Istanbul, Baku, Jordan, and India, whereas season 2 largely stays grounded, which works for character development, but not for high-stakes thrill.
Here’s the rub: in trying to show us how Himmat Singh became Himmat Singh, the series ends up making him less mysterious, and in some ways, less compelling. The character was more powerful when we didn’t know everything.
Still, for a nation hooked on spy thrillers, 'Special Ops 1.5' is decent binge material. Just don’t expect it to outdo the original.
