McCall comes to the aid of a young gang member who’s being manipulated…

This week’s episode pays particular attention to continuity and consequences. The recap is more important than some in that we are presented with a specific call-back to the last episode of Season 1, in which Delilah faced a heavy tragedy with the loss of one of her school friends, Jason, to crossfire as an innocent bystander. Rather than let that remain in the background, the choice is made to centre an anniversary memorial and a spotlight on how she is coping with the loss, which is a particularly smart one for two reasons. The first is to reinforce the significance not just for her, but for the viewer. That death means something, perhaps more than any on-screen in the show to date.

The second is that the event serves as a cue to the current threat faced. Malik, a smart teenager, is in obvious bother running errands for a dangerous local gang. His mother, concerned by his behaviour, contacts McCall who rapidly discovers Malik’s involvement came about as a result of underhanded coercion from the DEA.

Between the two, episode 3 complements the previous season finale well, specifically in relation to the respective lives of Jason and Malik. Both have in common being a young Black male victim of circumstance and in particular having the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Malik’s case, the result is not immediately fatal but the danger he is placed in by the DEA’s manipulation put him in a terrible predicament. Despite having forged himself a promising future, it is one currently being stymied by his situation and instead finds himself facing a systematic disadvantage which either ends in destruction of his prospects, or his own death.

The authority figures using him as an asset, “free, expendable and easy to intimidate” reckoned without McCall, yet we get the clear message that Malik and his handlers are only one case of many more. There is an almost bleak realisation as to knowing that even if she saves Malik, this is one rescue attempt against a far wider problem. Any self-doubt McCall had from the season opener is long-gone by now, as she knows she is the only hope against such a heavy tide. As such, the team take their final reckoning beyond that of rescuing Malik.

Meanwhile, Detective Mallory steps up his hunt for McCall, and perhaps learns what he is truly up against. With the District Attorney keen to collar the mystery vigilante, he firmly fits into the role occupied for a time in the previous season by Dante. The difference is that McCall did not have a friend in the police department that time, one who keeps her a step ahead of Mallory in the hunt. However, his efforts grow more dangerous each time he is foiled, and it is soon Dante who will need to stay on his toes.

The episode is aptly named, for although it starts with the DEA blackmailing, Team Equalizer (less Bishop this week) conduct a high-stakes hustle, taking a lesson from one of McCall’s old missions with her former employers. The writing is tight and achieves all it sets out to do in the time allotted. There is even time to follow Harry’s subplot of his gradual attempt to reintegrate with society, with a brief but subtle scene of Melody altering his appearance by way of some personal grooming.

Verdict: A fine episode, leaving the audience with plenty to mull over. 8/10   

Russell A Smith