Countdown Episode Ranking

Countdown Episode Ranking – Good Better Best

Before We Get Started

Let’s preamble this piece by stating some obvious points that really influence ranking. First of all, you have to separate the episodes by mission. Episodes for Operation Hurricane, and episodes for Operation Armor need to be evaluated separately.

I also think you have to evaluate the pilot episode, Teeth In The Bone as a standalone piece because it’s mission was introductory in nature. That episode set the tone, introduced the characters, gave the audience some exposition regarding backstory and became the catalyst for character development. It set the bar pretty damn high on what the audience could expect in terms of story. Oliveras’ escape from capture and Meachum’s prison-yard fight were two of the best scenes we could have hoped for to establish action, tension, excitement, danger and the sheer badassery of our lead characters.

The more obvious reasons that the pilot needs to stand alone is because coming into the finale, what made the first season of Countdown so damn remarkable was its characters, the cohesive nature of the whole team and the incredible chemistry between Meachum and Oliveras that offered up that delicious slow burn that kept fans glued to their television screens. Every. Single. Wednesday. There was also one long story arc that was kicked off in episode one, that took the entire mission to come full circle and that was the progression of Meachum’s illness.

I have to say, honestly, that there was not a single episode of Countdown that was not enjoyable for me. The progression of this show from the beginning was cumulative. Each episode built upon the successes of every episode before it. By the time the end of the season approached, I had fallen in love with these characters, what drove their growth and trajectory and above all, my own emotional investment in this story. It truly has been a joy to watch. Often shows need time to breath, to find their footing. Countdown was a love affair from the start. This is astounding for the first season of any show, let alone one that needs to succeed in a saturated market. The competition for viewership is fierce and unforgiving. So, color me impressed, and may I say, well-done Countdown. I hope Amazon Prime allocates to Derek Haas and the whole cast and crew of this show; the playground they need to fulfil this show’s limitless potential. There is so much story yet to tell.

And one final note before the ranking begins; it’s important to establish that there is a difference between episode and scene. An episode could rank low, even while containing the best scene of the season. Individual scenes can represent stellar moments in any show, but the purposes of this piece, we’re ranking episodes only. That said, let’s get to it!

Ranking is hard in my opinion. I’m more apt to evaluate an episode based on how it made me feel, which is deeply personal and completely solitary. If I step out of that then I tend to look at overarching themes. Early on in my recaps, I used a ranking grid, but I abandoned its use because every episode was ranking top marks every time. It became redundant. Here is one from an early recap:

There are nine episodes to evaluate in Operation Hurricane. I am going to break them down into 3 Good, 3 Better and 3 Best. I will be using the above criteria for evaluation, but I won’t go into detail. My recap/review articles are deliberately detailed. That is a habit from doing recaps years ago for shows whose actors had international fans that had no way to watch. So, I will provide a little note depicting my “why” but for full episode impressions, you can link to the recaps from the link grid at the top of the article for all the episode details.

Good

#09 – Episode 4 – Bite ‘Em Down

• Drew dies. Blythe and Shepherd deliver the news to his wife Cora.
• All Meachum can remember from the dancehall is “Gallagher.”
• Mikhail Durko is on the run. The task force descend on his home and arrest his wife while she tries to escape.
• Valwell’s interference is escalated.
• Mikhail’s wife is used to lure him out of hiding, resulting in a subway chase and capture.
• The task force is tricked by Volchek when they show up at the airport to arrest him and he doesn’t show.

Highlights: Chase through Chinatown and the Subway.

#08 – Episode 3 – Happy Birthday Final

• Javi Lopez has been blown up and the team are interested in the name he provided: Volchek.
• Meachum knew an inmate in Palmdale, connected to Belarusian underground. Meachum requests to go back there.
• Palmdale Warden refuses, so a prison transfer/escape is devised to put them together.
• Meachum and Timur escape and go to Mikhail’s dance hall, where Meachum, unbeknownst to him, crosses paths with Volchek and almost gets executed.
• The task force show up and a shoot-out ensues. Timur is killed, Mikhail and Volchek escape, and Damon Drew is shot.

Oliveras tells Meachum “you make it so hard to like you.”

#07 – Episode 9 – 10-33

• Nathan Blythe has been brutally stabbed and crawls to his car to call in a 10-33.
• Meachum is agonizing in his bathroom at home as the pain had become unmanageable
• The task force converge at the hospital and Oliveras connects with her childhood friend, Dr. Julio Beltran.
• The team assessed the alley where Blythe was attacked and obtained a file from Astapov’s car.
• The contents of the file reveal the identity of a forger, who they track. Finau’s quick reaction time saves Meachum from a deadly fall from the roof.
• Finau’s family is in the line of fire at the Vine. Volchek is ready to detonate.

Meachum has an agonizing episode in the men’s room and Oliveras helps him. She asks Julio about Mark, and he offers to do a consult.

Better

#06 – Episode 8 – The Nail in the Chair

• Very Volchek centric episode. We see his transition from angry victim to terrorist bomber.
• Meachum inspects a robbery explosion scene, the burned basement of Volchek’s home.
• Blythe appeals to Astapov for help and is denied.
• Volchek parks a bomb truck outside the federal building.
• Blythe and Meachum go to the federal building, but it all turned out to be a test run by Volchek.
• Finally, Astapov agrees to meet Blythe in an alley downtown to exchange sensitive information and Blythe is stabbed and left for dead by Volchek.

Meachum and Oliveras have the “porch scene” and he invites her to stay.

#05 – Episode 6 – A Needle or a Bullet

• Bell and Shepard find a connection to Shawn Gallagher.
• They discover his whereabouts from his parole officer and visit his booby-trap house of horrors.
• They find his old sponsor and discover he is in Needles in a trailer park. They visit him and Meachum gets trapped inside when Gallagher tries to escape. Meachum gets on the roof of the trailer, jumps to the truck bed, gets to the passenger door and climbs inside to subdue Gallagher. Very dangerous.
• Gallagher is an unhinged doomsdayer but not who they are looking for.
• We see Astapov find and warn Volchek to stop and return to Belarus.

We see Meachum and Oliveras at target practice and learn he is a distinguished marksman.

#04 – Episode 7 – Nothing Else Helps

• Meachum is doing pull-ups in his garage and collapses.
• Finau discovers the border patrol vehicle was a civilian ride, stolen and reskinned.
• Ballistics from the Delphi Security murder scene turn out to be Russian military so Meachum and Oliveras visit a gun dealer and find a supplier who they bring in for questioning. He tells them he supplied guns to a private military contractor called Iskanders. They raid Iskanders with SWAT to find an empty office. They were tipped off.
• Volchek is apprehended by Astapov’s security detail, who are blown up in his basement.

Meachum tells Oliveras he has a brain tumor, and it is terminal.

Best

#03 – Episode 5 – Blurred Edges

• Meachum collapses in the stairwell.
• Two data service workers are murdered at Delphi Security.
• The team visits a caterer to go undercover at the Belarusian Consulate to infiltrate their network.
• Meachum and Oliveras attend the consulate event as a couple. Meachum takes out two security guards.
• Oliveras knocks out Astapov’s head of security. Blythe distracts Astapov. Shepherd installs the root kit.
• Finau acts as their driver. Blythe’s wealthy politician friend, Tim Carmichael smacks down Valwell.
• We learn of Volchek’s ruthlessness as he murders his own wife to save himself.

Meachum has a particularly painful episode in his bathroom and an angry exchange with his doctor.

#02 – Episode 10 – The Muzzle Pile

• Shepherd dismantles the detonation mechanisms in the truck bombs.
• Volchek goes to the roof to see if he can manually detonate the trucks with gunfire.
• Oliveras is injured and Meachum struggles to make it to the roof, but when he does, he is able to kill Volchek.
• Operation Hurricane is a wrap. Bell sees to it that Valwell is arrested.

There was something deeply satisfying about seeing the loose ends of one mission tied off and the start of another. Of all the episodes, this one pulled at the heartstrings more than any other. Meachum, showing up at the hospital alone, rendered such a pang of loneliness. I don’t know if this was my singular reaction, or if others felt it too, but it triggered such a longing for hope, for love, for connection. And then to see him enter the building and find his family of misfits waiting for him. I cried. The piece of music chosen here was a stroke of genius. Haunting. To watch him walk down that hall to whatever fate awaited him was brilliant and heart-wrenching.

The silver lining was that Oliveras would be waiting for him on the other side of his illness.

#01 – Episode 2 – Dead Lots of Times

• At the start of this episode Oliveras does not want to work with Meachum.
• Blythe insists he be her muscle when she visits Javi Lopez.
• We get introduced to Valwell’s meddling.
• In an extremely dangerous interaction, Oliveras and Meachum establish a connection with Javi Lopez.
• They are assigned a drug smuggling job, bringing a truckload of drugs from Mexico into LA.
• Things begin to go pear shaped, and Meachum creates a diversion, getting himself arrested.
• Finau gets the truck across the border.
• Oliveras struggles with the issue of having to give the drugs to Javi, knowing all those drugs will end up on the street.
• In their very first heart-to-heart exchange, Oliveras discovers Meachum is much more than his personnel file lead her to believe. He vows to have her back; however, she wants to handle the drug issue.
• She takes one brick of heroin, and it opens up suspicions about her addiction.
• The deliver the truck to Javi. His car is rigged to explode, and he is killed by Volchek.
• We learn of Volchek’s brother and the circumstances of his death.
• Volchek blows up the man responsible for his brother.

I ranked this episode as #1 because it encapsulates everything that is Countdown. The deep bonds forming between the team members which we know get better and better. Their tough histories, the action, the excitement, the danger. This episode has it all. And the emotional roller-coaster that the audience is just beginning to ride.

Conclusion

Ranking can be such a subjective thing, but there you have it.

Stay tuned for the ranking of episodes for Operation Armor which I will include as a segment of my Finale, episode 13 “Your People Are In Danger” recap/review.

Normally I put an ending paragraph here as a reminder to watch the next episode.😢

Let’s hope all the stars align and Prime hears the fans and orders Season 2 of Countdown.