US immigration authorities capture a Mexican mother, Alma Castillo and her son Pedro seeking asylum, which immediately sees the child separated from his mother…

It’s not the only unjust detention the episode is concerned with. The mid-season finale left us with Harry’s arrest and it is established that already attempts have been made by McCall’s team to have him released.

The main plot of this episode makes great sense as a choice for the show to tackle, bringing in the controversies of I.C.E detention and child trafficking. The episode places a critical lens on the relevant US institutions, be they military or law enforcement, and points out the need to look close to home with regards to some troublesome policies. This makes I.C.E a more than credible antagonist before the show reveals the ones here as a particularly corrupt unit.

The highest echelons of the military are not exempt from scrutiny either. It is made clear they are aware they have the power to release Harry at any time of their choosing, yet their offer to do so places a condition up on this which would be impossible for him to accept without fundamentally compromising his own principles. To Harry’s great credit, this is not a chosen solution.

Team McCall lose a world-class hacker and use of the Batcave-like I.T. lair (which is sealed up), and the team very soon find themselves facing fresh challenges as tech matters which would have been trivially easy for Harry need the rest of the team taking up the slack. Harry has been able to leave some useful instructions, though there is a time constraint before he sinks deeper into confinement and out of contact.

McCall gets to use her entire repertoire of skills, from cleverly getting Dante involved from the beginning, to reminding us how deadly she can be when cornered and forced to decisively and ruthlessly deal with the villains. Yet she is pushed to her limits when she cannot directly aid Harry and Melody and has to leave matters with Bishop, and hits a breaking point in which our only family appearance, that of Vi, remains a valuable one in the form of an inspirational talk.

Emotion runs deep on this episode, first for the episode subject as it remains close to home in the policy controversies. On an unintended note of mixed emotion, viewers will by now be aware that this is the final episode in which we will Bishop’s final appearance this season and indeed on the show. This does mean that there will have to be a different CIA link on the show moving onwards. However, the episode has a fully happy ending in terms of the resolution, even though Harry’s reprieve comes at the very last minute and comes at the kind of price it is difficult to see being fully paid.

Verdict: A happy ever after for the team – but can they live up to it? 8/10

Russell A Smith