Lucky: Anya Taylor-Joy is absolutely fantastic in this explosive story of cons, revenge and kicking ass | television

TIts story is about a girl named Lucky. Early in the morning, you wake up – knock, knock, knock, at the door. It’s the FBI, and they’re after her all over the country because she stole $10 million. Don’t make the mistake I did, pretend this new thriller on Apple TV (out Wednesday), starring Anya Taylor-Joy, is a dramatization of Britney Spears’ “Lucky.” I’ve tried to find a connection between the two, and as you can see, it’s a stretch.

The seven-part show falls into the “final heist” genre – but interestingly, it begins on the morning after it. Our anti-heroine stands on the roof of a Las Vegas casino hotel, having successfully stolen millions, toasting a new lawful life. Within hours, Lucky appears to have been betrayed by the man she loves. She is forced to flee, penniless, from both the authorities and murderous enforcers – who are collecting various debts incurred by her career criminal father. I think what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there.

The last point is smart choice. The crime riffs of the Ocean’s Eleven variety, motivated by personal gain, risk being read as arrogant and meaningless. The hesitant final posturing, embodied in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, has much more depth. Forced by circumstances beyond his control, a reformed bad guy is back in the saddle, relying on the arsenal he gave up. We enjoy their abuse for the sake of a greater good, purchased by the guilt that plagues them.

In her attempt to act upright, Lucky cannot overcome the sins of her father, the smooth-talking conman John Armstrong, who turned her into a criminal. John is always on Lucky’s mind, offering advice on which high-value items to pinch, how to evade the feds and manipulate people. “Read the room. Trust no one. There are no shortcuts.” His fatherly advice sees you through life or death situations. But it’s also the reason behind them, the chain of life she wants to leave behind.

What part of her life is Lucky responsible for? Her predicament is “a series of bad decisions over a long period of time,” as she astutely refers to her mother-in-law—who is also not a great role model, for example. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga proved that Taylor-Joy is tough enough to lead an action thriller, but I’m most reminded of The Queen’s Gambit, in which the wounded chess prodigy uses up anyone within reach and dispatches them. Taylor-Joy seems to enjoy characters who resist being merely flexible, or shy away from beauty.

Lucky literally steals from kids, sets people on fire a lot, and lies as easily as breathing. She plays the female victim with great cynicism, selling out the women who believe her. She’s also undeniably adorable, jumping across the roofs of trucks, sliding in and out of different characters to evade capture or secure a room for the night. She is clever and bold. If there’s one thing we love more than people being kind, it’s them being competent. Just because you’re not good, doesn’t mean you’re not great.

As if to double down on the moral ambiguity, we get Timothy Olyphant as Lucky’s imprisoned Delph. Olyphant can’t help but be charismatic, especially now that he’s letting his hair silver, resembling an arctic fox. I also find his name an unbearable delight. Looks like a Disney character. What exactly is his connection to being an elephant? Was he married or born this way?

Lucky is at a disadvantage when it comes to lying down. She’s played by an actor with a face, so bewildered people in nearby zip codes are sure to be staring at her. It doesn’t matter how much Lucky looks down, hiding behind her hair, which she’s also dyed a clear peroxide blonde. She may also wear a Michael Jackson face mask.

But plausibility is not the point. Excitement is. The show offers cat-and-mouse thrills, improvised weapons, explosive scenes and a Fiona Apple song: a peppy Bond-style song, in which she complains that she was “born by the horns of a bull” and became a bullfighter. The experience of walking between nature and nurture wants to leave her criminality in the past. I want her to keep running and retaliating and kicking as if someone is keeping score. Too bad for her, I guess only one of us will be lucky.