This episode switched gears in the right direction to refocus on Skinner…at least for a little while. We begin with a man who comes to the same restaurant and only orders steak for protein proposes. Next is an eerie scene with music playing and no dialogue, simply the man calmly walking down the street as chaos breaks out from a rampaging shooter. The shooter is taken out by police while aiming at the man who is unbothered by the mass hysteria. The man even steps over the shooter’s body and continues on his way, which makes me wonder if we’ll find out who this is and how he’ll fit into the story.
Last week, our cat friend kept Hersch company while the team was on the mission to rescue Chris. This week, Chris and Eleina acknowledge the cat and consider him a member of Lazarus, so welcome aboard! While out grocery shopping, Doug and Axel agree that the NSA will likely get rid of members of Lazarus for knowing too much confidential information. Doug knows the fate of the team is being discussed as he speaks and believes there’s a mole on the team. Before the Committee hearing at the Pentagon begins, Abel runs into Captain Hayes, a man he served with in the Green Berets, and Schneider from INSCOM, who walked away before being introduced. He is already giving off shady vibes.
The Committee hearing begins the discussion of the future of Lazarus and states the team’s mission is to capture Skinner. Members of the Committee list various incidents that didn’t lead to or have anything to do with Skinner and mentions a member of the team is a former Russian spy. This is where I laughed because I was wondering when the story would go back to finding Skinner and it seems this Committee had the same question. When Hersch begins to raise her hand, Schneider interrupts, questioning if Lazarus is really looking for Skinner and calls Leland as a witness. Leland answers the questions truthfully, defends saving Chris as she is necessary to find Skinner, and assures the team is not working on other projects. Schneider then asks about Axel being in prison, whose escapes Leland believes are being covered up. Leland handled himself well during his testimony and his honesty speaks highly of his character. I was not expecting Leland to be the mole because he has been through rough situations, showing his dedication to the mission and the team. We do find out INSCOM was trying to turn Leland against Lazarus but did not realize Abel and Leland’s father used to be friends, so it appears their little trick didn’t work.
After Leland’s testimony, the hearing is interrupted because Dr. Skinner has uploaded a new video. Skinner states the world governments are more concerned about the incident in the Arctic than humanity as a whole. Skinner points out there’s 10 days left before the first subject of Hapna dies and reveals he is the first subject. Abel begins laughing at the end of the video, explaining Lazarus is close to finding Skinner and has no time to waste. The Committee allows Lazarus to continue to operate for the remaining 10 days. In a parking deck, Hays and Schneider plan to hire a “ghost” to take Axel back to prison. At least, that’s what I assume because it’s not clear and it makes me wonder if the interest in Axel is just about breaking out of prison or something else. In all, this scene also made me giggle because even Skinner feels like everyone is losing the plot.
The steak man from the beginning of the episode answers an ancient relic called a payphone and is on his way to meet someone. He meets up with Hayes and Schneider, introducing himself as Soryu’s agent and goes by the name “HQ”. Before paying 30 million dollars to HQ, Hayes and Schneider want a test to show he’s worth the money. The test is one man versus a Special Forces team. As a metronome clicks, we witness what I believe to be the best action sequence thus far in the series. This man violently takes out each agent with just a knife tied to a wire, leaving a trail of blood and body parts in the wake of his destruction. As HQ shows the result of the test, an image of Axel appears on his phone as the target.
This episode addresses the issue of deviating from the search for Skinner. However, Team Lazarus does have a lead with Chris discovering the pill she found under a cushion from Skinner’s house in episode three so I hope the next episode will get back on track to find Skinner. I do want to know what Hayes and Schneider plan on bringing Axel in for breaking out of prison or if he will meet the fate of those poor agents who didn’t get sloppy joes for dinner. We have 10 days left and we swing by Leland’s house next week!
Umeko is a staff writer for toonamifaithful.com. Feel free to follow her on Twitter @blu_temptation
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