The sole survivor of an office massacre seeks McCall’s help – but why is Colton Fisk at the scene?

This week’s distraught client is the target of an assassin in an office shooting, or at least, so it seems. It does not take long before Fisk makes his presence felt on the case, and we’ve been reminded that McCall has little reason to trust him – he has considerably less regard for the lives of his employees than she is comfortable with, not to mention the guilt he has pinned on her for Bishop’s death – but she seeks Fisk out for answers when suspicion points in his direction.

It has been a while since an Agency-focused episode, and the shady, more ruthless side of the Company is all over proceedings. One of Fisk’s previous operations is key to the case, somewhat reaffirming our perceptions of him as dubious, whilst also reinforcing the element of chaos the CIA is capable of bringing. A known consequence of some of the more volatile operations is that they do not always produce the most balanced operatives, and so it is that we get to see what happens when one of the monsters of their own creation breaks free of their control. But there are hierarchical layers to this monstrosity, and knowing exactly what Fisk and his peers are capable of provides the spark to keep us guessing about where his true motivations lie. It is a welcome reminder of the contrast between that cold win-at-all-costs ethos and McCall’s conscience.

The other spotlight this week belongs to Dante, which has a subtle link at first to the main focus by way of McCall being left solo in the house and Aunt Vi being left to point out the obvious; that it might do her some good to spend some time with ‘that handsome detective’. He has some issues of his own to work out, as it is finally time for his father, ‘Big Ben’, to leave jail, which Dante has no problem with in and of itself. His troubles lie in a fear of the abusive upbringing he endured during his own childhood. Specifically, he is acutely conscious of infecting his own children similarly, something he has pushed hard to avoid for a considerable length of time.

Local gym owner Manny, friend and mentor of sorts to Dante, plays a key role in Dante’s quest for his soul. Dante ponders the situation whilst relaxing with Manny, and the warmth behind this is interrupted by a reminder of his previous appearance being left with a dangerous threat from a drug pusher. A man who himself knew Ben, he too finds himself falling foul of sins of the father as an attempt on his life brings his estranged son on to the scene. Now, two halves of similar tales of generational trauma are laid bare as while Manny reassures Dante he is not like his father in the tough love stakes, he has the opposite issue, in that distance has been placed between him and his own son, Shawn, due to his extended time as a community father figure of sorts at his gym. There are lessons for both men to take from each other, and the threat of being denied the time to settle their respective differences is important to the episode’s resolution. Further, Manny notes that the generation before them suffered too, in different ways, which Manny recognises they attempted to shield them from too. The path is laid for an opportunity for Dante to mend his relationship with Ben.

Earning trust and the price paid to do so ties the episode together, and does so well in its separate parts. It is something the CIA itself can never do with those involved with it, yet component figures of it are a different matter, in this case especially Fisk. It would have been the easy path to have made McCall’s recurring Company contact a near clone of Bishop in terms of personality, but instead Donal Logue offers a more volatile, colder alternative. This is coupled with the inherent distance he has with McCall in that they do not share familiarity of service in her previous role. It means there is much room to get to know each other better – however there is still enough intrigue around Fisk that perhaps it is best we do not fully trust him yet. Meanwhile, the client is in a rare position of being somewhat peripheral to the activity going on around him. Although the personal stake he has in the matter is his own life, the episode both starts and ends with him as having been a victim of circumstance.

Verdict: An interesting episode which ups the action stakes whilst exploring some powerful themes. 8/10

Russell A. Smith