Content warnings for this episode for suicide attempts and sexual violence discussion.

McCall is hired to help a young political intern whose father is worried about her.

This episode is a tough watch. That said, I would also state that this is one of the strongest episodes of the season, in every possible sense. No firefights – and no Bishop or other Company connections – but hard hitting all the way through.

Things I found a little strange with this episode initially made sense a little later on. They smartly subvert their own formula as our ‘client’ Maya is introduced to us with a suicide attempt, and although I thought there might have been stronger continuity with the previous episode on Delilah’s friction after almost exposing Robyn’s secret life, the family subplot this week manages to remain sufficiently important without becoming overbearing on the rest, which deserves attention.

Something I found particularly clever was the way it initially looked like it might have been cyber bullying at the heart of the plot, which would have been a solid enough premise, and may return to be in a future episode, but it gets deeper when we realise we are drawn, just as the show is rather good at, into stakes raised further. Elijah Reade holds massive political power as the ‘Queenmaker’, though that exposes the nature of the villain for us early enough. Rapist and serial abuser as it is soon made abundantly clear that Reade is, Melody makes the point that this is why women rarely report such, because they are not believed, especially when up against such powerful men.

However in that same scene, Melody reveals through action that she too is a rape survivor. And after a couple of weeks of periphery, she and Harry steal the show with their interactions throughout this case. They could easily have written Melody as wishing to have gone down a route of bloody vengeance, given the skillset we know she has, but they do not take this path. Instead, she is still integral to the case, but through providing critical support to Maya which McCall cannot in the same way, as well as being very much willing to get in on some tradecraft. She balances inner strength with unsuccessfully attempting to hide her hurt from the others, but this is where Harry is masterfully played in subtlety also. I have called the couple adorable before, but the knowledge that they have had conversations about this, been through how he has been there for her and knows perfectly when she is suffering and how to react feels almost perfect.

Dante also makes a welcome return as a foil for McCall and although McCall remains a little uncomfortable with her behaviour around him, it’s a lot softer this time around because it is much clearer that Dante is warming to her and her less by-the-book methods. If anything, there were some shrewd moments of sexual tension between the two as intelligently resolved as the family drama in the episode. And once more we see McCall showing a fallible side with her missteps with both Delilah and especially Vi. Vi, ever the voice of conscience, once more proves herself invaluable to McCall, if only for the purpose of keeping her on the right path. McCall’s young past comes back to haunt her and receives a mirror in Delilah’s friend.

Mayoral candidate Sinead Keller is a crucial element in the episode’s setup and resolution, and her appearances knit the strands of the episode together nicely.

Verdict: Although written without overcomplicating the challenging storyline it never shies away from and balances neatly between emotion and message. And it epitomises the kind of aid The Equalizer can offer. 9/10

Russell Smith