If last week’s episode of Countdown could be counted as a solid win for the team, then this week’s is surely a draw…ish?
Wednesday’s “A Needle or a Bullet” (A reference Oliveras fans will no doubt immediately recognize, but more on that in a minute), saw an incensed Volchek attempting to put slimy Belarusian Consul General Astapov in his place. Meanwhile, as Oliveras and Meachum bonded at the gun range, Bell found himself on the wrong side of Blythe’s temper, and the name “Gallagher” sent the gang into the desert on a wild goose chase. And by goose we mean trailer.
Let’s dig in.
Following a cute opening featuring some flirtation at the gun range between Meachum and Oliveras (we’re enjoying this slow burn), in which Meachum opens up about his sharp-shooting past with the Rangers, the team takes stock. The name “Gallagher” has finally yielded some results, thanks to Shepherd’s hard investigative work. As it turns out, Gallagher was a prison friend of the unlucky Timur. (Remember him? The nephew of Mikhail, who ran the “Dance Hall” restaurant that volchek was using as a base of operations?)
Meachum and Oliveras set off to Gallagher’s last known address but find a “booby-trapped house of horrors” that the pair are forced to tiptoe their way through while searching for clues. With Gallagher clearly in the wind, their only lead is Wade Trippett, a regular visitor of Gallagher’s during his prison stays.
Finau and Bell pay a visit to his place of work, where they learn that Wade was actually Gallagher’s AA sponsor, and not his partner in crime. Wade tells the team that Gallagher, a “Catholic Irish alcoholic” has been “dealt ALL the bad genetic cards” but surprisingly nobody calls Wade out on his stereotyping of the nation of Ireland, with its rich literary tradition, UNESCO cities of literature, leaderboards in renewable energy, highly educated population, and vibrant cultural heritage. Perhaps they’re too confused about how being Catholic or Irish is a bad card? Or how being Catholic is genetic? Or why creating an Irish alcoholic character in the first place is such an old-fashioned TV and film stereotype that it feels really weird and out of step in 2025? Especially on a great show like this? Maybe Wade will sit down and think about why he is the way he is later?
Meanwhile, Meachum is finding it harder and harder to hide his worsening condition from the sharp eyes of Oliveras. However when the pair challenge each other to lay their cards on the table, it’s Oliveras who most honestly recounts her experiences of being forced to take heroin or risk being shot while deep undercover. When Meachum is prompted to come clean about his own behavior, he side-steps the truth, telling her instead that he’s suffering from debilitating migraines that would see him benched if he admitted to them. Meachum’s story is so close to the truth that Oliveras believes him, even going so far as to fetch him some powerful prescription medication to help with the pain. This is all going to make for a very awkward conversation later.
With a solid lead from Wade (We haven’t forgotten what you said, Wade!) the gang take off into the California desert to find their man, ending up at a makeshift trailer park where Gallagher has been holed up ever since he left his house of horrors. Fearing another series of traps, the team hesitates about how best to enter the trailer without getting skewered or blown up by one of Gallagher’s devices, but Meachum surprises everyone by taking the lead and entering first. The trailer proves to be just a trailer, but before anyone can sigh with relief it takes off at speed, still hitched to the get away truck that Gallagher is now driving, hell for leather. Determined not to let this key lead get away, the gang give chase, but Meachum takes control by climbing out of the trailer door (giving a solid thumbs up to the gang as he goes), onto the roof, and dropping down into the flatbed of the truck. As Meachum climbs through the front passenger door and body slams the driver there’s a loud girlish scream of surprise and fear, and I’m still not altogether sure if it’s mine or Gallagher’s.
Back at the office, disappointment reins in the celebratory mood somewhat. No, it’s not Wade back to deliver another tired stereotype about Irish people, but it does involve Gallagher. As the team tries to find out what his specific ties to Volchek actually are, they begin to realize this idiot actually knows very little. In the end, after Blythe uncharacteristically loses his temper and shouts(!) at their detainee, they have to concede they have the wrong Gallagher.
Bell quizzes Meachum about whether he actually saw the word “Gallagher” written on the wall in Mikhail’s basement at all. Could be be wrong about that? An exhausted Meachum snaps back at Bell, and later offside, Blythe does too, telling the younger man that he should come up with his own leads before criticizing the work of others. Ouch! Why do we get the feeling that this incident might push Bell, a man with ambitions to become the first black Deputy Director of the FBI, closer to the opportunistic Valwell later on?
But what about Volchek, you ask? What has our handsome but humorless villain been up to this week? Well, a lot as it happens. “A Needle or a Bullet” sees Boris making payment for a mysterious consignment at the start of the episode. What could it be? We’ll find out in the episode’s closing seconds.
Meanwhile, Volchek is enraged to be paid a visit — in the open air no less — from Belarusian Colsul Iosif Astapov himself. Astapov has discovered Shepherd’s rootkit on his servers, and has cut her off from further snooping. However, Astapov comes with a warning for Volchek. Come home to Minsk at once and stop embarrassing Belarus on the international stage.
Of course Volchek is having none of it, and arranges for Astapov to be taught a little lesson for daring to “throw rocks at a bear.”
But wait! There’s more. Volchek is also suspicious that one of his henchmen might be a mole for the Belarusian government. They’ve all been pretty good at henching so far, so it’s not obviously apparent why he’s is suddenly so wary, but that’s why he’s the TV villain and we are just the enthralled audience. Volchek tells each one of them a different secret story about how he plans to plant a trap for Astapov based on his regular daily movements. When Astapov changes his habits relating to a daily visit to a bakery, Volchek knows it was young Henchman Danill who betrayed him. The episode ends with poor Danill getting executed, just as Volchek’s secret consignment rolls through the doors — a number of cargo trucks bearing the name “Gallagher Freight” on their cabs.
Oh!
Oh no!
Next week, the team splits up to pursue a trio of promising leads while Astapov’s security details attempts to persuade Volchek to abandon his plans… by force.
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