If you would like to read a recap of the last episode, click here. The last episode was the best episode so far this season as it started to move things along. The story had been pretty much stagnant so far with no clear resolution in sight but seeing that this is the midseason finale, it promises to resolve certain things while still still giving us reason to keep watching once the show returns. Promos promise a shocking betrayal so let’s see what happens.
Past:
It’s been awhile since Alex and Ryan had time for themselves but it doesn’t last long once he receives a call from Nimah asking him if he’s alone. Alex stays and Nimah is surprised to see her. She confronts her about what has been happening. Shelby has been absent and she is wondering about why they are having separate meetings. Nimah tells her that the mission is simply evolving.
Once she leaves, Nimah tells Ryan to not tell her about his recruitment. She tells him to keep going with it and to do whatever they say. They believe that he wasn’t the only one recruited. They go over a few names including Sebastian who has been acting differently ever since the torture scenario and Dayanna for whom the scenario has brought out a darkness within her. Ryan mentions Leon but Nimah reveals that she has her own source on him (which was Shelby).
Shelby is working Leon over in bed by trying to get him to open up to her by telling him a story about having a gun and being a patriot but he doesn’t buy it. Nimah asks about Harry but Ryan thinks it’s unlikely because he works for MI6. Alex briefs Harry at a bar. He tells him to trust her as she has trusted him and also offers to do some digging for her. Ryan has been distant with Alex Ryan tells Nimah that he will do his best to get more information before everyone leaves for Thanksgiving break.
Lydia is going out on another tour. She wants to spend time with Hall as long as he gives up his crusade. Today’s training involves coming up with a fake backstory to tell their families when they go back there for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Ryan gets a text telling him to go to a certain location.
Shelby’s approach with Leon isn’t working. Nimah suggests that she appeals to his survivor’s guilt. Hall tells the recruits that they can’t leave until they craft their story. Everyone does fine but Harry decides to attack Sebastian’s story. Hall wants Lydia to stay for Thanksgiving. Everybody passed except for Dayanna. Because there will always be someone who won’t let things go, Hall tells them that their last task before the break is to cut ties with one person who can’t let go. Dayanna failed on purpose since she doesn’t want to leave. Ryan blows off Alex’s plans. He wants her to talk to Miranda. She thinks he’s leaving her out too.
Harry’s in England spending time with a brother and sister named Jean and Pip where one of them is possibly his handler. Pip puts their kids to bed. Alex is following Nimah. Lydia wrote Dayanna a cover story so she can go to her family. Hall is home and can’t find Lydia. He look into her bag and finds a suspicious letter. Leon gets call from Shelby, explaining herself for earlier. She tells him another story about needing the gun so she wouldn’t feel guilty for letting her father abuse her mother. She opened up so it was time for him to open up or he has to find someone else.
Nimah arrives at Shelby’s, followed by Alex. Harry was developing assets for sources for when England leaves the UK (because of Brexit). They can stay informed of what is happening in the US. The woman justifies the self-destruction of the UK, claiming that it now allows MI6 to perform selfishly again. He suggests Alex and Ryan as possible assets and that Dayanna is a possibility but a slow burn. The woman notices that he left out Sebastian. She knows because they have been spying on him too. He asks her for information and hands her a coded note. She burns it once Pip arrives.
Ryan goes to the meeting location and a cyclist runs by him. He gets another text to look in pocket. He know has a stun gun. He texts what to do with it and gets a response telling him to take the nearby garbage man to another address. Alex confronts Nimah and Shelby about what has been happening. She learns about Shelby’s new mission. Alex no longer has a handler because she has been pulled from the field. Miranda was supposed to tell her. Alex feels betrayed. Shelby is being frank and tells her she just didn’t cuit it and she failed.
Pip catches Harry sneaking out. He’s not in the field anymore. He gave it up for his family. They talk about Harry’s dead boyfriend named Elliot who was related to Jean and also Pip’s father-in-law who may have been responsible for his death
Ryan ties up the garbage man and is then told to leave. Leon comes in and is told to pick up the gun on the table. Hall confronts Lydia about the letter. The names on it were fake. It was just a test and she determines that his crusade will always come first. Leon shows up at Shelby’s upset and tells her that he’s just killed a man. He tells her that it was self defense.
Ryan asks to talk to Alex. He doesn’t know where else to talk. She asks him how do they get through it. They’re already keeping so much from one another. She doesn’t like secret but answers. Ryan tells her that he might not always be able to give her them. He asks her to marry him. He wants to build something together and that he’s willing to give it all up for her. She says yes.
Lydia is leaving but she gives him his answers. He got burned for what he did. He let an asset die because of him and he got burned. Miranda apologizes to Alex but she doesn’t want to go back. She vows to take them down herself.
Ryan meets Leon near in woods. Dayanna also shows up. They all receive a video of what happened. Ryan kidnapped the man, Leon killed him, and Dayanna cleaned up. They get another text saying that now they can trust them but they are also threatened with the video in case they don’t comply.
Present:
They are all tending to Dayanna. US Northern Command, led by General Richards (Laila Robbins) show up and Miranda is not pleased. Shelby gets a call from Alex. Shelby tells her that the cell phone jammer is on again but they still detect something that look like a receiver for a weapon. She tasks Alex and the others to disable it for leverage against the terrorists.
Alex is convinced of where the terrorist are headquartered. As she is taking off the bomb collars off the others when they hear activity outside. Since it is a biological weapon, they can maybe disable it by heating it up and killing whatever material inside. They decide to make a blowtorch. Leon is worried about Dayanna but she assures that she can take care of herself.
A terrorist walks into a room with Raina. They sit down and they unmask themself to reveal that they are Nimah. She wants to tell her everything. Nimah joined willingly because she believes in their cause. She wants to liberate them from America. Equality is a lie and there’s no way we’ll stop fighting each other. They have to fight dirty to survive.
Shelby mentions to Richards that Alex is on the inside but she says that they have things under control. They learn that the weapon on roof. In order to get around the terrorists, they have to go through the vents. Miranda lets Shelby in on meeting where they overhear that Richards wants to call a drone strike against the building where they are held.
Raina is wrong about Nimah. She believes Nimah is her shadow, her darkness. She’s not fighting for a cause but rather fighting for herself. She’s carried burden harder. They joined FBI to fight hate but she felt hate. Raina feels responsible. Miranda lectures Richards on wanting to take everyone out. Shelby brings up Alex again but Richards is skeptical. She gives them 48 minutes to do something.
Alex still doesn’t trust Dayanna. Leon offers to stay behind with her. Alex tells him to call the FBI if they are not back in 30 minutes. The terrorists can’t find Lydia. They think they’re being played by Alex. As they are going through the vents, they get to a gap, causing Sebastian to drop the blowtorch and almost fall out. They pull him back but Harry suspects him of being a terrorist. Alex decides to go with Sebastian to find the dropped blowtorch while Harry tries to find another one. Harry tells her to watch him.
Alex and sebastian find the weapon and figure out that it was only meant to kill people inside. They are now down below. They find Harry with another blowtorch. Leon and Dayanna show up. They tell everyone that their bunker was destroyed. The terrorists have them cornered.
Nimah called back. She tells Raina that she’d rather die than join her. She asks them to keep watch on her but she is shaken. Richards checks in on Alex but she still has time. A terrorist pulls Alex away and they fight. They get unmasked and it’s Ryan. He places her within a wall of lasers and claims that if she tries to escape, she’ll trigger the weapon.
Overall, the twist of Ryan being a terrorist was a mild surprise seeing that the path was plausible considering his recruitment but his saving of Alex means that there may be another motive there. We now know how the mission in the past kind of ended with Alex being pulled out but she still wants to hang around so it will be interesting to see how long that will last. The connection between the past and the present is getting clearer but there are still mysteries left to solve. Everything is still going in the right direction and I can’t wait to see how it turns out, including how Miranda is involved.
Score: 8.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.