This week’s episode of Countdown was a lot. Like a lot a lot. With our emotions bouncing around like a marble in a pinball machine we suffered through the bloody aftermath of Blythe’s stabbing, the uncertainty surrounding his survival, Meachum almost falling to his death from a rooftop, Bell and Shepherd kinda exchanging looks (that was totally a thing right? Not just us?), Finau loosing it when he discovered his wife and kids had not skipped town like he asked them to do, and Meachum and Volchek finally coming face to face, just a beat before Volchek hit the ignition button on his phone. Let’s dive in.
“10-33”, a reference to the police-coded “Urgent Assistance Needed” distress call, kicks off with Blythe, knife in his side and facing certain death, dragging himself to his car to call for help. The team assemble in the hospital waiting room in a scene that feels like an eerie call back to Damon Drew’s death. Meachum (who is at the breaking point of his pain threshold) attempts to get some info from the attending nurse, but is soundly rebuffed. In the end, it’s Oliveras who manages to get the deets from Julio Beltran, an old doctor friend. Who also just so happens to be a Neuro Oncologist (hello?), and who also just happens to be very happy to have run into Amber again after all these years. No, Julio. It will end in tears! Your tears, Julio. Just in case that wasn’t obvious.
While waiting for Blythe to regain consciousness, Finau, Oliveras, and Meachum pay a visit to the crime scene and snurch Astapov’s file on Volchek. We can’t believe Boris took the time to deal with the troublesome Consul General but forgot to take the incriminating evidence with him? Oh well. One man’s trash is another man’s lead on a forger in Reseda who is responsible for all of Volchek’s aliases.
Our trio take a trip to the forger, but end up in a rooftop chase in which Meachum’s tumor takes a moment to remind us it’s the seventh member of the Task Force. The blinding pain causes Meachum to pass out and swerve off the ledge. Luckily, he’s caught by Finau, and dragged to safety, but we can’t help but remember Amber’s warning to him last week about coming clean to the team before he places everyone in danger. Although it’s not exactly Meachum’s fault (Blythe got stabbed before he had the chance to say anything) we are all forced to acknowledge that Meachum is as much a ticking time bomb as anything Volchek is cooking up.
Meanwhile back at the office Bell and Shepherd get the team up to speed on Volchek’s many aliases, including his latest, Karel Novak. Knowing there must be hundreds of people in LA with that name, they dutifully but grimly get to work, one name at a time. Meachum dodges the boring paperwork by retreating to the toilet to throw a few things around and whimper in agony. Oliveras joins him, and helps him breathe through the pain in a well done moment that illustrates how the growing connection between these two goes beyond a flirtatious romance, and why Julio is so wrong for you, Amber.
News of Blythe’s post-op recovery brings the team to his hospital bed where they find their boss in an uncharacteristically tetchy mood. Eventually Shepherd manages to calm him, and he agrees to stay a little longer for observation, but we all know he’ll be back in that well-tailored blue suit, coolly directing business before too long. Oliveras takes a moment to check in with her handsome successful doctor just-a-friend. It turns out Julio teaches at UCLA and is really into clinical studies on emerging treatments for …brain tumors. He gives her his card and suggests that she get her friend with the tumor to call him.
COUNTDOWN FANS, THERE IS HOPE!
Back in the outside world, Finau’s wife Mina totally ignores his plea for her to skip town, and instead waves their two daughters off on a bus headed into downtown LA. In the office Bell takes a moment to tell Shepherd how inspiring she is at her job. She feels really pleased, and we feel really curious about the way his gaze lingers on her happy face for longer than seems necessary for such an exchange. What is even happening here?
However even brilliant Shepherd is having difficulty with the enormous mountain of Karel Novaks. But when Meachum notices a name in the list belonging to a Karel Novak of the film production company “Kestrel Productions” he recalls that “Kestrel Parking” was the name of another of Volchek’s business fronts. When Bell pipes up that kestrels are indigenous to Belarus things begin to quickly fall into place, and the remainder of the episode happens at breakneck speed.
After coming up empty at Kestrel Production’s offices, the team questions Volchek’s need for this company in particular. They are joined by Nathan ‘Rest When I’m Dead’ Blythe who’s back to let us know a little knife between the ribs isn’t going to stop him. Meachum, who started his day badly but who now just can’t seem to lose, has a second lightning bolt moment. Volchek is using the film company as a cover to move his Gallagher Freight trucks into position. A quick check of filming permits issued for the day include one for Kestrel Productions in Downtown. Right where Finau’s kids are having their Poetry Day. FFS, Mina Finau! You had one job!
As the gang hightail it to Volchek’s location, Boris and his one remaining loyal henchman take stock of their situation and their deadly cargo. Volchek reminds his minion — and the audience — of his evil intentions one last time. He’s a man without a country. Blah blah blah. America has treated him badly. Blah blah blah. His name will be remembered forever for this Chernobyl-level event. Belarus will be shamed. Everyone’s gonna die screaming. Got it. Volcheck and his soon-to-be-dead friend clasp hands, as Volchek primes his bombs via an app on his phone. (I like to imagine how some enterprising software engineer henchman had to sit down and actually program that app. Probably try to upload it to the App store. Figure out whether to put it in Games or Productivity…)
The team arrives at the scene and quickly find the trucks. However the race is on to find Volchek on the crowded streets. As Bell and Shepherd attempt to figure out if its possible to defuse the bombs in both trucks, or if there’s enough time to wait for Jerry the freindly bomb disposal guy, from last wee, or maybe only enough time to eyeball each other again, Meachum, Oliveras, Blythe, and Finau begin a desperate manhunt for Volchek.
Tensions are escalated by Finau however when he spots his daughters at their open air poetry event. Losing his cool, Finau shoots into the air to disperse the crowd, and people begin screaming and fleeing in all directions.
The episode ends with Meachum locking eyes on the one person who is no longer anxious to flee anywhere. As both men take stock of each other, Volchek takes out his phone and hits the ignition button on his phone App.
Roll credits.
Next week’s episode is titled “The Muzzle Pile” but we’re not going to add anything further here as the synopsis is a little bit spoilery.
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