Countdown-Bite ‘Em Down, Season 01-Episode 04. Recap & Review.
| Episode | Title | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Teeth in the Bone | Wednesday June 25, 2025 |
| 02 | Dead Lots of Times | Wednesday June 25, 2025 |
| 03 | The Birthday Final | Wednesday June 25, 2025 |
| 04 | Bite ‘Em Down | Wednesday July 2, 2025 |
| 05 | Blurred Edges | Wednesday July 9, 2025 |
| 06 | A Needle or a Bullet | Wednesday July 16, 2025 |
| 07 | Nothing Else Helps | Wednesday July 23, 2025 |
| 08 | The Nail in the Chair | Wednesday July 30, 2025 |
| 09 | 10-33 | Wednesday August 6, 2025 |
| 10 | The Muzzle Pile | Wednesday August 13, 2025 |
| 11 | Run | Wednesday August 20, 2025 |
| 12 | This is His Signature | Wednesday August 27, 2025 |
| 13 | Your People are in Danger | Wednesday September 3, 2025 |
The Mission and All It’s Parts
Unlike the typical status meeting that kicks off the ongoing mission, this episode opens with Damon Drew in the back of an ambulance while life saving measures are being taken to save him. Meachum is in the ambulance with him and while EMS is doing all they can, Meachum keeps calling out to Drew encouraging him to hang on. After arriving at the hospital Drew is immediately taken into surgery and the task force assembles to await the outcome. Tragically, Drew dies of his injuries.
Blythe and Shepherd arrive at Damon Drew’s home to deliver the death message to Damon’s wife Cora. She is understandably distraught and weeps in Nathan’s arms while Evan watches on. Back at the office, Blythe addressed the whole team and talked about Drew and the dedication he had to his work and their mission in particular. He asked that the team double-down on their commitment.
Everything that Meachum came across in Mikhail’s basement was destroyed by fire. When Blythe questions Meachum about what he saw he recalls seeing plans, schematics, notes and maps, but it was too dark to see it all. He remembers one name posted on the wall; Gallagher. The team investigates that name for any connection with Volchek or Novikov.
Heather informs Blythe that she received notice the two LAPD officers (Meachum and Finau) on the task force are being reassigned elsewhere.
Bell discovers the name and home address of Mikhail, last name Durko. The team arrive and find his wife trying to escape. She is apprehended and ends up in interrogation with Meachum and Oliveras. She eventually shares information about what she knows of her husband’s dealings. He used a website to connect with the “unhappy men,” as she calls them. She knows her husband’s username and can use it to reach out to him. They connect with Mikhail and arrange a meeting.
Blythe shows up at Valwell’s office demanding to know why he went behind his back to the Police Commissioner to have Meachum and Finau transferred. Valwell brings up Drew’s death and accuses Blythe of being a failed leader, with an assembled team of malcontents and agitators. Blythe tells Valwell to back off the transfer or Valwell will see a side of him he won’t like.
Mikhail agrees to meet his wife in Chinatown. When he discovers it is a set up, he runs, and the task force capture him. Meachum and Oliveras try to break him in the interrogation room, but Mikhail won’t cooperate. Their next tactic is to seek out Timur’s cousin Dmitry Kotov to see what he knows.
Oliveras plants 2 grams of heroin on Dmitry and threatens him with arrest and possible jail time if he doesn’t cooperate. They tell him that his uncle is involved in a terrorist plot, and they need information. Dmitry tells them Mikhail has an 18-year-old daughter. Upon further investigation they see that Mikhail is using some dummy company to pay for her tuition. They have a picture of her, and she has a strong resemblance to Evan Shepherd who asks Blythe if she can conduct the interview.
Blythe and Shepherd conduct the interview, and they convince Mikhail that if he does not cooperate with them, they will expose his daughter by telling the world that he is her father. She will become a social outcast, lose all prospects for a good life and her family in America will be deported. Mikhail caves.
Mikhail tells them he provided a room for Volchek to work. He needed the money. He knows he is planning something but doesn’t know what. Mikhail said he can lure Volchek out using a method they devised to communicate. Leaving a green chalk mark on the signpost at Hollywood and Vine, lets Volchek know that he has information to share, and for them to meet at the Van Nuys Airport at 8pm to talk. The task force position themselves at the airport, but the man who showed up was some pilot claiming he was told to be there. Volchek was miles away sitting in some movie theatre.
This felt like a significant setback for the team. Blythe gave them all a pep talk, and Drew’s wife Cora was present. She wanted the task force to know that Damon never let anything get in the way when he was doing his job to keep his country safe. She urged them to not let Drew’s sacrifice be diminished; to please finish what they started no matter what. Blythe had a plaque to hang in the office with Drew’s name and the name of the mission, Operation Hurricane, engraved on it.
The Villain
We really begin to see Volchek as a ruthless adversary in this episode.
The day after the shootout at Mikhail’s restaurant, we see Volchek and Mikhail meet. Mikhail tells Volcheck to postpone his plans. Volchek strikes Mikhail across the face and warns him about speaking to him as if he is in charge.
Mikhail argues that he burned down his restaurant, but Volchek grabs him in a choke-hold around the throat and tells him that he is lucky that is all he burned. He threatened that next it could be your home or your wife, or anything that stands in his way.
Volchek tells him to get his mind right. He has been in America too long, and “we see this through to the end.”
When Mikhail is captured by the task force and attempts contact, Volchek was in a coffee shop across from the Hollywood and Vine signpost and witnessed the agents working with Mikhail. He is one step ahead of the task force and fools them all by sending some hired pilot to the Van Nuys airport.
While the task force are at the airport hoping to capture Volchek, he is across town at a movie theatre. He seems to look around at the people in the theatre, with disdain. Perhaps even hatred.
Character Development
◄ Nathan Blythe ►
Episode 4
- As the task force leader, it was Blythe who delivered the news to the team that Drew died in surgery.
- Drew’s death was a blow to the whole team, but it was particularly difficult for Nathan. He and Drew were friends. Drew had been sharing with Blythe the difficulty of losing his son Noah, how he and his wife Cora were coping. They also spoke of Drew’s time as assistant coach of Noah’s little league team.
- Blythe was also aware that Drew held him in high regard, having defended him against D.A. Valwell in their most recent altercation.
- Blythe never seems to miss an opportunity to teach Shepherd the good and the not-so-good duties required of them. He takes her along to visit Cora, so they can deliver the death message. He also lets her conduct her very first interrogation of a suspect.
- Drew’s death strengthens the teams resolve to really go after Volchek and ramp up their efforts as much as possible which is evident in Blythe’s talks as he does his best to keep the team motivated in the face of such loss.
Episode 3
- Nathan and Damon have worked together in the past, but it’s obvious their relationship is deepening. After the death of Damon’s son Noah, the two men make time to check in with one another. Nathan asks how the little league team is doing and offers to grab a beer when the mission is over to talk… or not. Whatever Damon needs Nathan is there for him.
- Forced once again to deal with Valwell, Blythe is clearly a man who stands his ground especially where his team and his mission is concerned. He refuses to buckle under Valwell’s accusations.
- Blythe clearly has the respect of his team, as demonstrated by Drew when he defends Nathan Blythe’s leadership and tactical expertise.
Episode 2
- In his task force leadership role, he seems to attract attention from local law enforcement and political wannabes. He effortlessly dispels their interference.
- Blythe hails from Greenwich, attended Ivy League (Princeton), wanted to be a lawyer, aspired to clerk for SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States), but pivoted after 9/11 and enrolled in the army after the twin towers came down. Army Intelligence.
- Nathan obviously grew up wealthy and Drew teases him about it.
- He is clearly a leader who is all about getting the job done and has no time for political aspirations, which is obvious in his dealings with D.A. Grayson Valwell.
Episode 1
- We know he is a 22-year vet with the FBI and has worked on 5 task force missions, being the lead on 2 of them, and one of them included Mark Meachum.
- He worked as a co-case Agent on the Amerithrax Operation (this was a real case in 2001 involving anthrax spores being mailed to victims, killing 5 and infecting 17 making it the deadliest bio-terrorism attack in US history).
- We learn he worked undercover with the Aryan Brotherhood for a year, earning Blythe’s respect despite the danger.
- We discover he was tipped off by an informant claiming a “foreign player” was trying to buy off DHS (Department of Homeland Security) officers but was denied from initiating a mission until he went to the Director of the FBI personally, which is why their mission is under cover.
◄ Damon Drew ►
Episode 4
- Damon Drew succumbed to his injuries in the line of duty.
Episode 3
- In line with the deepening friendship Drew has with Blythe, he also confides what the healing journey has been like for him and his wife Cora after the loss of their son. “It’s a mountain, but they are climbing it together.”
- Drew really shows his vulnerability here and admits to Blythe that if it wasn’t for Cora, he would have “checked out.”
- Drew has unshakable confidence and respect for Blythe. He is not afraid to defend him when necessary as we see in this episode in their latest run-in with Valwell.
- When Meachum escapes with Novikov, Drew comments to Blythe that if anyone can get the info they need, it’s Meachum. Drew values every member of the team and offers his quiet support and leadership as needed.
- Damon Drew gets critically wounded during the shootout against Mikhail and Timur to save Meachum.
Episode 2
- After 9/11 Drew also enlisted but he went into the reserves.
- Teases Blythe about his “affluent” beginnings, demonstrating a warm bond between them.
- Drew warns Blythe about how politicians can play rough and seems a little concerned about Valwell.
Episode 1
- Damon Drew is Blythe’s second in command.
- As a self-proclaimed man who thrives on competition, Drew comes from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis within the Department of Homeland Security.
- We find out he wants to coach his son’s little league team, however, by the end of the episode we discover that his nine-year-old son Noah was killed by a drunk driver. The coaching effort shows a grieving father’s need to feel connected to his lost son. I thought this was impressively handled with a delicate hand.
- The little league team miss their friend and teammate Noah and honor him by stitching his jersey number (7) on each of their caps and gifting one to Damon when he shows up to their practice session.
◄ Mark Meachum ►
Episode 4
- Damon Drew’s death was of great significance to Meachum for a number of reasons. The first being his presence in the ambulance, witnessing the magnitude of injury to his friend. It was bound to be traumatic. Drew’s death would also rattle him in ways the others wouldn’t experience, because Meachum is looking down the barrel of his own mortality. And lastly, Meachum feels he bears responsibility because he took risks he shouldn’t have taken, and it ended up in a shootout that took Drew’s life.
- The conversation about Drew, shared between Meachum and Oliveras, is a heartwarming one and adds to their deepening relationship.
- Meachum’s temper boils over into physical intimidation as Mikhail feigns ignorance of Volchek’s terrorist plot and blames everything, including Drew’s death, on his nephew Timur.
- Meachum finds out that Oliveras still has heroin from the brick she took from Javi. She told him she was going to flush it and apparently did not. Meachum’s overarching fear is that she is using again.
- The whole team watched with pride as Evan Shepherd conducted her very first and very successful, interrogation of a suspect.
Episode 3
- Mark is having painful flashbacks to recent events, which seems to be a deepening symptom of his condition. He is still in acute pain and is medicating himself regularly to manage it.
- Mark takes another opportunity to tease Oliveras when she questions him about going back into Palmdale. He seems to take endless joy in playfully taunting her whenever he can.
- We learn during Blythe’s video call with warden Gill Thompson that Meachum was lucky to get out of Palmdale alive. He was in there for 9 months, which coincides with the timing of his terminal diagnosis. It’s possible that his wildly reckless behavior is the result of him being resigned to stop at nothing to get his job done while he still can.
- Mark takes improv a little too far, as Finau will definitely get him back for taking a shot at him during the prison transfer and escape.
- Having stumbled into something unexpected in this episode, Meachum is forced on his knees and is about to be executed. As with all things, Meachum faces the inevitable with stoic courage.
Episode 2
- When Oliveras suggests she reconnect with Javi Lopez she tells Blythe she would prefer to work alone, to which Blythe refuses. Meachum seems to enjoy her discomfort and simply smirks when she doesn’t get her way.
- Meachum is intent on winding Oliveras up and getting a rise out of her, as he starts messing with her on the drive over to Javi Lopez’s compound. She is so angry you can almost see smoke coming out of her ears. The whole exchange further fuels the tension between them, which he seems to be enjoying.
- He is still in pain but so far no one knows about his illness.
- When the smuggle operation is complete, Meachum shares a story about his rookie year as the arresting officer on an assault charge. It demonstrates who he is as a cop and a man. It also demonstrates the commitment he has to his principals and those he’s sworn to protect. See Favorite Scene for more details.
- He takes this a step further by expressing his willingness to protect Oliveras in whatever steps she wants to take regarding the truckload of drugs. So much so, he reveals he is willing to put his career on the line, regardless of the consequences.
- Rather than helping her, his exchange with Oliveras leaves him on shaky ground. A grand plan to thwart a huge infusion of heroin onto the streets of LA, is now replaced by her taking a single kilo.
- As opposed to helping thousands of kids on the streets of LA, has he just aided and abetted a heroin addict?
- Now he’s left wondering if he can trust her.
Episode 1
- Mark Meachum is a Detective with LAPD, Robbery/Homicide.
- When Blythe introduces the team, he looks square at Meachum when he says, “No lone-wolf.”
- We learn very quickly that Mark Meachum is everything authority figures don’t like. He’s a maverick. He’s unorthodox, cavalier, risk-taking to the point of reckless. He uses humor as a shield and he’s a smart-ass. He’s not the kind of guy who asks for permission or stays between the lines.
- But he’s also everything a leader admires; he’s brave, courageous, intelligent, astute, has good investigative instincts and will go places others won’t, literally and figuratively. He’s an asset most would love to have, if they can find a way to control him.
- Meachum immediately recognizes that Blythe hasn’t shared all the mission facts and has been working on it for some time before the team was brought in. During this conversation the audience learns what Meachum endured in his previous mission with Blythe.
- Meachum worked undercover for a year, cut off from everyone, to live with a very dangerous group of Nazis known as the Aryan Brotherhood. He got Blythe what he needed to save a woman’s life and get information necessary to make arrests.
- Blythe is so impressed with Meachum that he tells him he’d put up with anything if Meachum could do work like that again. It sounds like it came at some cost to Meachum.
- Just before the episode hits its dramatic climax, the audience is made aware that Meachum has a brain tumor. His doctor has informed him that the condition is terminal. He was diagnosed nine months prior with glioblastoma multiforme, and neither radiation nor surgery are viable options for him. His doctor recommends that he load up on relief medication and live out his remaining time in as much comfort as possible.
- Meachum tells the doctor that finding some beach and checking out is not an option for him. He wants the medication to manage the pain in his head, so he can keep working.
- No one knows that Meachum is terminally ill, or the threat that his condition poses for the team. He is quite literally a ticking time bomb. Knowing his fate, his recklessness becomes the wild card he plays knowing he’s expendable.
◄ Amber Oliveras ►
Episode 4
- The whole team experienced the loss of their fellow agent, Damon Drew.
- Nine months into her career as a DEA Agent, Oliveras lost her training agent in a raid. She demonstrates the singular torture of questioning every move, every decision, every action leading up to the moment her teammate was killed.
- Oliveras shares her experience with Meachum, offering perspective and comfort. It’s a kindness they seem to extend to one another as needed.
- Oliveras isn’t above planting heroin on a suspect to get the information needed to solve a case and this is demonstrated with Dmitry Kotov. Ethics aside, it worked, and it also opened up a point of contention between her and Meachum regarding the brick of heroin she was supposed to destroy.
- The whole team watched with pride as Evan Shepherd conducted her very first and very successful, interrogation of a suspect.
Episode 3
- Oliveras is having significant struggles. Her past is haunting her. Having access to a kilo of heroin has really tempted her to use again and each time she gets close to disposing of it, she gets shaky. Her time as a drug user rears its ugly head and and is torturing her. It’s clear she hasn’t found a way to subdue that monster inside of her.
- While Meachum is revealing moments of concern for Oliveras, she is doing the same with him. She questions the safety of him returning to Palmdale as a prisoner, and he wastes no time teasing her about it. Oliveras claims that Meachum makes it very hard for her to like him. It’s easy to believe she already does.
- Oliveras admits during this episode that she hates doing deskwork and prefers to be out in the field.
- It turns out that her instincts were correct when she spoke with Meachum while he was on the run with Timur. She sensed he needed backup, and the task force responded.
Episode 2
- Two years prior, Oliveras was involved in a mission where her undercover identity was that of a smuggler who worked both sides of the border. She worked with a cartel lieutenant named Javi Lopez, who likely would know who they passed the fissile material off to.
- She got in touch with a runner of his to reestablish contact and offered to set up a meeting. Blythe told her to take Meachum as her muscle.
- She wanted to do it solo, but Blythe refused. It’s obvious that she is still annoyed with Meachum and is trying to avoid working with him.
- Her level of knowledge about the cartel and their smuggling tactics are impressive and obviously come from her own extensive undercover work.
- She and Meachum have that heart-to-heart in the truck about the drugs and he shares some of his past regarding his rookie year on the force. You can see her opinion beginning to soften.
- The fact that Meachum would put himself on the line to play out the drug delivery any way she wanted to, really has an impact on her.
- Instead, she takes a single kilo. Are we seeing the actions of a cop trying to lighten the influx of drugs one kilo at a time, or are we seeing the undeniable temptation of an addict not being able to pass up on an opportunity to take some for herself?
- What is this going to do to her relationship with Meachum, who was willing to lay it all on the line for her?
Episode 1
- Special Agent Amber Oliveras, DEA.
- Blythe shares with the team that she has 14 years on the job and has been involved in multiple operations, some of them undercover.
- She speaks up with knowledge and authority when talking about the cartel, which tells the audience that she has seen some pretty harrowing stuff.
- Oliveras’ opening scene clearly demonstrates she is one tough agent.
- We learn very quickly that Oliveras is fearless facing down bad guys and has no problem defying her bosses orders. She is also unorthodox, cavalier and risk-taking to a much lesser degree than Meachum, but I wonder if this contributes to their clash of personalities. They have more in common with one another then either of them would be willing to admit.
- Oliveras demonstrates immediately that she is bold, gutsy, intelligent and perceptive.
- However, in her conversation with Bell we learn that her undercover operations were hard to come back from, not because they were dark, but because she didn’t want to.
- This is almost immediately supported when another officer in the FBI meets privately with Blythe to offer substantive information that Oliveras has been identified by a credible informant as a drug addict.
- Later that night Oliveras sits in a bar and takes up Finau’s suggestion that she look up Meachum’s last undercover assignment, which was Palmdale prison. In doing so, she also comes across details of Operation Smoke, which is the task force that Meachum worked with Blythe.
- She reads Meachum’s personnel file and it describes Meachum as arrogant, selfish and unprofessional, exhibiting a lack of restraint and discipline, accusing him of “cowboy” behavior that endangers the lives of his fellow officers. At the time Oliveras reads this it validates her low opinion of Meachum. It isn’t until episode 2 that she learns a significant revelation about what is written in his file, and it calls into question, it’s validity.
- While at the same bar, we see a woman nod for Oliveras to follow her to the restroom. The audience is naturally left to imagine that this clandestine meeting is drug related.
◄ Evan Shepherd ►
Episode 4
- The whole team experienced the loss of their fellow agent, Damon Drew.
- Blythe takes her along to visit Cora, so they can deliver the death message. Its an experience she later shares with Bell, expressing how much she wants, as the rest of the team does, to put Volchek in the ground.
- Blythe lets her conduct her very first interrogation of a suspect. She was very successful, got the information they needed to move forward, and the whole team was proud of how well she did.
- Something that Shepherd witnessed that the rest of the team did not, is when some administrators arrived to clean out Damon Drew’s desk and remove his personal affects. As they walk by, the baseball cap of Drew’s son, Noah, falls to the floor. Shepherd picks it up and puts it on her desk, while she conveys a quiet moment of grief.
Episode 3
- Shepherd discovered it is Luke Finau’s birthday and she shares that with Bell so they can plan something for him. It’s kind that she wants to bring some fun to the group when every other aspect of their job is grim. She swears Bell to secrecy so they can make it a surprise.
- Shepherd got some of her investigative skills early. She shares with Bell that while working on her school newspaper she discovered the principal stole the charity money donated to the school and used it to buy himself a new hot tub. She broke the story, and the principal went to jail.
- Evan Shepherd went to Stanford University.
- She delivers the cake to the lunchroom and is just so cute about it, except the bakery spelled Finau as Final, but Bell fixed it with a piece of licorice.
Episode 2
- Shepherd was able, along with Drew and Blythe, to participate in the smuggling operation using surveillance technology.
- She was able to view the border smuggling operation from cameras at the border, and satellite surveillance images.
- When it came time to “blow it up” they did their part in making sure Meachum could generate enough of a diversion to get the truck across the border.
Episode 1
- Special Agent Shepherd, FBI, has expertise in cyber investigation, internet fraud and computer intrusion.
- If I had to pick a reason why Shepherd would not be missed by her department (and hence was chosen for this task force) is because she is so inexperienced.
- Shepherd demonstrates her greenhorn status by raising her hand to ask a question during the mission meeting, talking to Blythe and thanking him for picking her, interrupting Blythe from studying Darden’s financial data on their way to interview Darden’s wife, and being corrected by Blythe on the leadership details of the Amerithrax operation she studied at Quantico.
- Shepherd definitely redeems herself when she discovers the panel truck in the vicinity of Darden’s murder and syncs up all the video to reveal an image of the shooters face.
- I think Blythe sees Shepherd as the beating heart of the team as he seems to involve her in the very human aspects of police investigation, like dealing with the family of fallen officer Bob Darden.
◄ Luke Finau ►
Episode 4
- The whole team experienced the loss of their fellow agent, Damon Drew.
- The whole team watched with pride as Evan Shepherd conducted her very first and very successful, interrogation of a suspect.
- This episode did not include much in the way of character development for Luke Finau, but it did demonstrate his use of brute strength at the Durko residence raid, where he lifted the property gate off its hinges and easily kicks in the door.
Episode 3
- This episode shows that Finau is a happy family man. He tells his wife he’d love to whisk her away to Hawaii if the task force operation was not so crazy. He seems like a loving husband and dad to his two girls.
- Luke’s wife Amina calls to chat about their dinner reservation. He hedges like he’s going to bail but tells her he will be there. Sounds like the “family-first” thing is really important to him.
- During the prisoner transfer operation, Meachum is working undercover as Jack Walker to help Timur Novikov escape. During the escape, Meachum takes a shot at Finau as he lays on the ground. Finau vows to punch Meachum in the neck when he catches up with him.
- The task force are becoming good friends, which is certainly evident in the birthday planning Shepherd is doing for Finau. She thinks it is all secret, but we find out on the prisoner transfer operation that he knew all along.
Episode 2
- In this episode we see Finau take on a critical role, being the driver of the rig that is smuggling the drugs across the border from Mexico to LA.
- One thing I noticed about Finau is that of all the task force members, with perhaps the exception of Oliveras, he seems to be keeping a quiet watch on Meachum and notices his telltale signs of pain.
- He comes off as a stoic friend, not wanting to interfere, but always noticing when something is amiss.
- A small piece of show trivia is that Uli Latukefu proudly rocks his Tongan heritage, and so Derek Haas, assured Uli that his character name in the show could be chosen to honor him in this way.
- Uli Latukefu ‘oku mau ‘ofa lahi atu ❤️
Episode 1
- Detective Luke Finau is from the LAPD and is an 18-year vet with the Gangs and Narcotics division focused on the nexus of guns, gangs, narcotics and crime. When Meachum asks him “Didn’t you get suspended?” the answer was “Which time?” so it sounds like he may have some “suspension” violations? Perhaps he’s been too rough with suspects in the past, however we see no evidence of that.
- Finau moves amongst his teammates as a quiet, keep to himself man who remains focused on the job.
- While Finau doesn’t engage with Meachum about his struggles with Oliveras, he does demonstrate his respect for him by telling Oliveras to read about Mark’s last undercover assignment.
◄ Keyonte Bell ►
Episode 4
- The whole team experienced the loss of their fellow agent, Damon Drew.
- Blythe knows that Bell’s father worked with Valwell and wants to know what his father thought of him. Bell openly shared that his father was working a difficult case and it was a young prosecutor (Valwell) who took a chance and put his career on the line to help him.
- The whole team watched with pride as Evan Shepherd conducted her very first and very successful, interrogation of a suspect. Bell seemed to beam a little more than the others, which is in keeping with their growing friendship.
Episode 3
- Bell is working very closely with Shepherd to find out anything they can on Volchek. Through their investigations, it looks like their friendship is deepening, which is really sweet.
- She delivers the cake to the lunchroom and is just so sweet about it, except they spelled Finau as Final. Bell fixes it with a piece of licorice.
- Bell seems to be paired with Shepherd the majority of the time but often gets pulled into field work with the rest of the task force. He is at the shootout where Drew gets critically injured.
Episode 2
- Entering the building, Bell crosses paths with D. A. Grayson Valwell in the lobby and introduces himself. It seems there is an old family connection, as Valwell and Bell’s father worked together.
- Valwell asks Bell if he is a part of Blythe’s task force but withdraws the question. He could tell immediately that Bell was involved based on his reaction, and Valwell thanks him for his service and “keeping them safe.” You can tell Bell feels proud.
- This feels a little like Bell has inadvertently confirmed to an outside member of law enforcement his identity on the task force.
- Will this prove to be another point of entry for Valwell if he continues to pursue the taskforce?
Episode 1
- Bell is an Agent with the FBI specializing in terrorist threats, homegrown and international.
- He’s a character who seems ambitious but would prefer his path to glory be on his own merit, based on his admission to Oliveras that he was insulted when a coworker accused him of being a “legacy-hire” because his grandfather worked a very famous case back in the day (which was a real case; the Anglin brothers escape from Alcatraz in 1962). It seems his father also had a good reputation, which puts Bell as a 3rd gen agent with the FBI.
- He comes off as elitist when he questions Blythe’s decision to have him hack Spellman’s phones instead of having Shepherd do it.
- As an expert in terrorism, it was Bell who recognized the dangerous elements at the Pier 31 shoot out that has subsequently become the focus for the mission.
Best Performance
My choice for best performance in this episode is another example of what Countdown is becoming known for; action and excitement. I seem to be leaning into these as they often incorporate so many thematic elements and typically involve most of the task force characters.
Mikhail agrees to meet his wife in Chinatown. He arrives but one look at her and he knows it’s a setup. A foot chase ensues. Meachum and Oliveras follow Mikhail into the subway. When he fails to board the train he runs to the next subway platform exit. When he gets back up to ground level, he is met by Finau and Bell and then subsequently tackled by Meachum.
The fast-paced music track ramps up the energy in this scene. There is great camera work, especially in the subway, culminating in the tackle stunt at the end of the scene. It all combines with great performances, contributing to an exciting action sequence.
Shout out to Violett Beane on her performance in the Mikhail interrogation scene.
Favorite Scene
The heart-to-heart with Oliveras and Meachum regarding Drew’s death is my choice for favorite scene. I tend to lean into those scenes that contain a rich helping of character development. It’s during these scenes that Meachum and Oliveras lean into their growing relationship and bond with one another.
Favorite Quote
“What you learn to do is bite ‘em down, put ‘em away and focus on the job ahead.”
Pictures
What Didn’t Land for Me
I had some trouble in a few spots with both dialogue and motivation;
(1) The jury is still out for me on the following point, but I will make it anyway. When Meachum is talking with Oliveras regarding the death of Drew and how he feels responsible, he lapses into dialogue that sounds sulky and self-pitying which is completely out of character for Meachum. Now it is true that no matter how stoic a person is, they can lapse into an episode of self-pity given the right circumstance. So, it is for this reason only that I’m on the fence about this one. All I can say is, it felt wrong to me.
(2) I was trying to find some irrefutable clue in the episode that would determine Mikhail’s motivation for agreeing to meet his wife in Chinatown. If this man was so clearly able to abandon his wife to save himself, it doesn’t seem likely that any reason she would offer, would be reason enough to meet. If instead, his absence offered her protection from Volchek, any reason to meet would have to be compelling enough to risk capture. Certainly not “so I can tell you I love you one last time,” or to obtain a picture of his mother. Those reasons are just too thin to be plausible.
(3) When Mikhail won’t break, they decide to find Timur’s cousin and question him. Common sense would suggest that Dmitry Kotov would have been collected for questioning already. He would have been a person of interest, considering his connection with Mikhail, Timur and the fact that he delivered Timur and Meachum to Mikhail’s property.
(4) When they do corner Dmitry Kotov at his place of work and question him, all they say is they want information about his uncle. Out of the blue, with no dialogue that prompts him in this direction, he blurts out that Mikhail has a daughter. The whole exchange feels contrived. It does serve one plot point however, and that is to facilitate Oliveras planting 2 grams of heroin on Dmitry, which opens up a future confrontation between the lead characters.
In Closing
While the show is very good and I’m enjoying it on every level, I have to admit that episode 4 is my least favorite episode so far. Let’s see where episode 5 takes us.
Episode Rating Grid
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Performance & Casting | ★ | The performances remain top notch, as we’ve seen in previous episodes. Hi marks for chemistry, depth and range. |
| Writing & Storytelling | – | While the action is good and the pace is exciting, the stuff that didn’t land for me was enough to diminish a star here. |
| Direction & Production | ★ | Production value is still high with great camera work and thematic elements yielding cinematic quality. |
| Sound & Music | ★ | Sound and music adds all those invisible layers to the experience. Great work. |
| Emotional/Entertainment Impact | ★ | Again, the high-octane thrills are being delivered. The emotional scenes come through in this episode with Drew’s death and the fall out from that. |
| Total | 4/5 | Rating |
Reminder
Next Countdown episode “Blurred Edges.” It aired on Prime Video Wednesday July 9/25.
- Please note, all media used in this article are courtesy of Amazon Content Services, Prime Video and/or IMDb unless otherwise stated on photos or video credit slides.
Another great article, Gail! I love the character development portion! I hated to lose Damon Drew, but it provided some really good scenes. Another great episode and it had be on the edge of my seat wanting to go straight to the next episode! While I agree with the weekly release theory, it’s a killer! 😂
HEATHER ❤️ Thanks so much for posting. It is the life blood that keeps the site going! Thanks so much on the character dev portion. That took a good deal of HTML coding to get it to work the way I like it. I’m right with you on the loss of our Damon. A moment of silence please. ⏱️😢 I liked him. I love how he defended Blythe. Hopefully Derek won’t torture us again too soon and we won’t lose another one for a while 😨 Cheers!