Writers: Simon Burke & Tim Vaughan & Michael J. Bassett
Director: Michael J. Bassett
Previously on “Strike Back”:
There was a moment in this week’s “Strike Back” where I thought that the show was getting away from its more realistic depiction of violence by letting Section 20 get through another firefight unscathed.
Then someone took a bullet to the head.
While an instantaneous death probably would been more real, that one is probably going to haunt this show for the rest of the season. And maybe beyond.
There are full spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of “Strike Back,” so you should probably skip this review if you haven’t seen it or else Colonel Locke will have to get his boots dirty.
Mossad agent Rebecca Levi (Lyne Renée) is dead. Although Rebecca could have been convincingly killed off in the immediate aftermath of last week’s cliffhanger. Sgt. Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) was able to rescue her from the capsized boat and he had one last round of lovemaking with Rebecca before their ill-fated final mission together.
It’s still kind of a joke to see how the “Strike Back” creative team is so willing to throw in a sex scene every week for Scott. But Scott’s fling with Rebecca was different. He was already emotionally attached to Rebecca during their first encounter last season. This time, Scott and Rebecca seemed to have more of a connection as they enjoyed each other’s company.
Rebecca lingers for a few minutes after her fatal wound and she dies in Scott’s arms as she tries to make peace with her God. It was hard to believe that Rebecca could survive that wound for any length of time, but it was worth it to see Scott so devastated and vulnerable over her demise. If “Strike Back” really wants to make an impact here, Scott should be feeling this one for a long time.
The reason that Rebecca’s death registers more strongly than Baxter’s is that the series actually took the time to develop Rebecca and give her a personality. There are currently only three members of Section 20 whom the audience really cares about. Although Sergeant Julia Richmond (Michelle Lukes) and Colonel Philip Locke (Robson Green) have potential. I’m not sure about Kim Martinez (Milauna Jackson). Although it was pretty amusing to see Martinez and Richmond deflect some unwanted attention by pretending to be a couple.
Major Rachel Dalton (Rhona Mitra) got another chance to shine this week as she managed to track down Sebastian Gray (Martin Clunes), an ex-British spy turned rogue operative. Getting Dalton out into the field has given Mitra an opportunity to show off her action skills and she is amazingly fun to watch. If Mitra leaves “Strike Back” after this season then maybe its time that she headlined her own action TV show.
It seemed like a waste to bring in Clunes for only two scenes, but Gray offered up an interesting vision of the future. What if Dalton turns out just like him? Someone so disillusioned by his or her government that they simply become loyal to only themselves. There’s also some foreshadowing of Dougray Scott’s new character, James Leatherby; whom we haven’t met yet. But it sounds like he’s a younger version of Gray.
The chase sequence between Dalton and an unnamed assassin was very exciting, but it was almost a letdown that the sudden appearance of Locke ended the sequence. Having an ally run over a threat is an action cliche at this point. But it’s almost redeemed by Dalton’s lack of overt gratitude. The closest she comes to thanking Locke is a slight nod in the car.
Back in Columbia, the episode started out with a fairly light tone as Sgt. Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester), Scott, Rebecca, Martinez and Richmond planned a bank robbery to get the location of the safe house where Leo Kamali (Zubin Varla) was hiding. Scott’s giddiness over the heist was infectious, although Stonebridge noted from the start that these capers always go wrong.
In a brilliant bit of black comedy, Scott bullies the obese brother of Miguel Gomez (Raoul Trujillo) into suffering a heart attack in the bank vault before attempting to convince Stonebridge to provide CPR “for Queen and Country” because Scott had already revived Rebecca. It was Rebecca herself who tried to revive the man, but it was Scott’s boot that brought him back from the brink of death.
Director Michael J. Bassett delivered the stand out sequence of the episode as Scott, Stonebridge and Rebecca attempted to shoot their way out of the cartel bank while facing down a private army. It was an amazingly well staged scene that had more excitement than almost anything else in the episode. Rebecca’s lingering death did seem to drain some of the fun out of it. But that bleak turn made it feel more powerful.
Last week, I guessed that Kamali was working with British intelligence under deep cover. But I was only partially right. When cornered by Scott and Stonebridge, Kamali outs himself as a CIA agent just as Gomez’s armed thugs surround the safehouse. The most telling part of Kamali’s story was that he seemed genuinely concerned about Rebecca’s absence. And faced with certain death, Scott and Stonebridge had to take the chance and trust Kamali.
That led to the extended torture sequence that’s been teased in the trailers for weeks. Even though I’ve seen it many times, Scott’s “I’m not British and he’s certainly not intelligent” line is still hilarious. But in the context of the scene, it was gallows humor. The cattle prod led torture of Stonebridge and Scott was pretty brutal. And their only savior was… Kamali?
Kamali was instrumental in their escape, but Scott and Stonebridge still brought him in as a captive. No one has forgotten that Kamali killed Baxter to preserve his cover. Although Kamali argued that he was showing mercy by granting Baxter a swift death before torture. Kamali’s CIA handler turned out to be the stereotypical American a**hole, but even he was taken aback by the footage of Kamali killing Baxter. At least enough to allow Locke to blackmail the CIA into using Kamali as their asset against al-Zuhari.
Kamali’s long term survival on this show seems doubtful, but he seems to have depth and it should be interesting to see how he works alongside Section 20 considering that they all have reasons to hate him. Kamali doesn’t even seem to realize that he’s so far into his cover that he needs to redeem himself for what he’s done to stay there.
For the second week in a row, “Strike Back” hit it out of the park with a great episode. If the rest of this season can maintain this quality, “Strike Back” won’t just be the best action show on TV… it could be one of the best shows, period.
