McCall is contacted by a woman whose husband has come home covered in blood…

Domestic terrorism is at the forefront this week, introduced to us through a wife concerned about the blood her husband is covered in and some chilling words he utters about the near future. All of this leads him into operating as a foot soldier for a group known as the Truth Trappers, an alt-right conspiracy cult he found himself descending into.

Television thrillers have come a long way since every terrorist on screen would have been a foreigner of colour. The episode is direct in its message showing us entirely white male figures in the organisation coming into terrorism in directly comparable ways to Al-Qaeda operatives. Our knowledge of the cell from a character perspective is down to two men, both of whom holding a vital role in ensuring the story reaches its exact intended destination.

Elias Wilson perfectly embodies the lost soul whose wife Amanda calls the Equalizer in an attempt to save. His desperation comes through clearly, showing the path to a dark side through a perfectly good man who has hit a number of misfortunes in life and been introduced to a scapegoat for it. Convinced he is fighting the good fight, he is prepared to kill to make a better world for his family – or so he has been persuaded to think.

However, Elias is not free of doubt about it, and that gives McCall something to work with. It also gives us, the audience something to work with in that every step he has taken upon his path is presented to us, in part through the background understanding of the heroes, and also through the poison of his ringleader, Murtaugh. The way McCall showcases her interrogation skills is some of the best I have seen on television, putting across the internal conflict Elias has been facing beautifully. He is sufficiently sympathetic that we can see a path to redemption for him. Where this truly succeeds is that he does not receive an underserved and jarring happily-ever-after ending, but instead earns the right to pay penance first. It is a highly effective approach.

If Elias represents a soul in need of salvation, Murtaugh embodies the Devil himself. He brings a real believable edge as a willing murderer who brings leadership, expertise, intelligence, and a remorseless conviction in his cause. Worse still, he’s a seasoned cop. This is an affront to Dante’s dedication and perhaps the worst nightmare of the honourable detective.

The setup provides a brilliant hook for him to grudgingly work with McCall again, coming in hot on the back of Dante promising that the next time he saw her, he would be obliged to take her in. Yet she needs his help to find who the dirty cop is and, as a man of his word, his honour, some matters transcend the personal.

Murtaugh’s positioning forces Dante to look in the mirror and question where exactly his loyalties lie, which proves pivotal at the end of the episode. One interesting observation is that Murtaugh is not presented as overtly racist, yet just enough seeds are there that it would not be hard to make that leap. He instead represents the worst of cops, believing himself untouchable no matter his crimes. His problem with Dante is that he sees him as a traitor for not backing his fellow cop, which is incredibly topical of late.

Meanwhile, McCall makes a misstep large enough to potentially cause significant damage, whilst appearing to be entirely relatable. Knowing that intercepting the bombers is time sensitive, she rushes into an encounter with Murtaugh she underestimates, whereas a little patience would likely have seen Dante’s surveillance and backup prevail. The encounter is clever purpose because it’s hard to argue with Dante’s take on the situation, yet at the same time opens up a certain regrowth of professional trust between himself and McCall. This is neatly seeded early in the episode where he learns about her previous career in military intelligence, a skill set which comes into its own against this particular opposition.

This has an excellent payoff in that later, he has sufficient faith to place his life, and those of many others, in her hands. And although his sense of duty leads him to betray her temporarily, it is only when he gains the opportunity to keep his word and take McCall down, he finally understands what she is about, and has to ask the same of himself.

It is strongly hinted that we have not seen the last of the Truth Trappers, with pains being taken to inform the audience this is merely a cell of a larger organisation. Any return in a future season has them well placed to be an even more dangerous threat should they resurface.

The episode superbly balances the potential to have been relentlessly grim with several well-timed moments of levity. There is laughter and dancing, and notably not a single moment of real family tension for McCall this time around. Aunt Vi’s new-found knowledge of McCall’s true career make what would have been a source for tension in the earlier episodes into a moment she has a full understanding of now. In addition, Harry and Melody shine in their support roles as they balance providing comic relief along with covering vital areas in the mission dynamic, from the usual technological surveillance and analysis to Melody perhaps having my favourite alias of anyone in the show to date. As well as being a fashion icon, the entire scene with Cody Beamon, owner of the social media radicalisation hotspot, was an absolute joy to watch. The support roles are even connected in that social media commentary is still at the forefront, Harry’s grumblings about the troubles with Tik Tok still finishing with well-placed humour.

I was seriously impressed by the episode pacing, managing to finely balance the plot, the subplot and the audience message with precise dialogue and story timing. You can really hear the voice of the creators coming through at almost every turn, and yet at no point does it feel intrusive. The episode itself offers us a teaser preview of that, which feels as if the show itself is excited about the upcoming conclusion. I have to take this as a good sign.

Verdict: This was easily one of my favourite episodes of the season, leaving us with a perfect calm before the storm we know is coming with the season finale. 9/10

Russell Smith