What Makes Us Who We Are
After these details are made clear, Maggie pulls OA aside. She explains that her husband was an investigative reporter for the journal and one of his biggest cases was a Wall Street expose. He loved what he did, never backed down and worked long hours trying to make sure that the truth was always told. She can understand why Fletcher did what he did. It’s a moment of understanding for our duo. Maggie further reveals that one night she was working late in an organized crime unit and couldn’t answer her husband’s phone call. She missed the call and less than five minutes later, on his way home, someone ran a red light and he was killed.
This scene is brutal. I’ve been waiting for the details on how her husband died and it hurts. The raw emotions are real here and Missy Peregrym shines again. I did not expect his death to be accidental (well I suppose vehicular manslaughter isn’t necessarily accidental, but I digress) and something more sinister. Oddly, this only makes it sadder. There isn’t much time for the audience to mourn with Maggie, though we do have a few moments bonding between the two again. Please keep this going, writers! They make it look effortless.
Nothing Left to Lose
OA and Maggie move to interrogate Valerie who is hesitant to admit she was involved. They use the guilt of killing her best friend to get her to reveal details. Inspector Bryce Miller used Garret to lure Cameron to the plant. He is the one who killed her. But, they must prove it and they know that Miller will be too suspicious and won’t confess to them. They have to set up an ambush. OA says they need someone who has nothing left to lose. A slight smile. Fletcher’s going in for the set up.
This might be one of my favorite scenes in the show thus far. I also might be a little biased because of who Fletcher is played by, but it is such a good scene regardless! They set up the ambush at the pool where Miller is working on another drill of sorts. All the employees are in white hazmat type suits, so Fletcher is able to come and blend in with the others. Miller is speaking, and Fletcher calls him out. There’s words exchanged. A lot of angry words, where Fletcher is able to get Miller to admit his involvement in Cameron’s murder. Fletcher’s anger is starting to unravel, and Miller realizes he’s been set up.
The Final Countdown
They scuffle, and the team moves in. Above the pool, Fletcher and Miller fight, wherein Fletcher is thrown over the side, barely holding on. Interestingly, it is OA who comes to his aid while Maggie pursues Miller. “Put the gun down or die.” BADASS FEMALES FOR THE WIN.
OA grabs the arm of Fletcher just in time before he slips into the radioactive water. Maggie and the security guard from earlier (awesome moment, for the record—that security guard’s expression alone deserves a raise!) stop Miller and arrest him. OA pulls Fletcher to safety and our scene cuts.
You do what you were put here to do. Keep everyone safe.
Maggie and Fletcher have a moment as he is taken into custody. He says Maggie reminds him of her. If she believed in something or someone, she’d never let it go. Fletcher asks Maggie what will he do without Cameron? I don’t think Bell realized how close to home this case would take her. “You do what you were put here to do. Keep everyone safe.” Is she just speaking to him, or from her own experience? Gutting.
Then, OA also comes up to the car and knocks on the window. It is rolls down and OA extends his hand. Fletcher glances at his hand then at OA’s face. He shakes it. Then, another great line: “You just be the pain in the ass I know you can be”. There’s respect in his eyes. In both of their eyes. There is something powerful about this moment and I think in this scene I want Fletcher at some point to return to the show. I don’t know in what capacity, but I don’t think OA and Fletcher’s story is over. They could do more with him.
We cut to the final scene of the episode and if you haven’t needed tissues yet, you will now. Bell is sitting alone at her desk, staring at her phone. She plays a voicemail; it’s the last voicemail from her husband before he died. His last words were that he loved her. She starts to cry, and the episode solemnly ends.
What I Liked:
- I’ve been waiting for this episode. As a huge fan of The Brave, I was thrilled when Hadi Tabbal was announced as a guest role. I have so many things I could say about this, but I’ll try to keep it short. I loved the character he played. First, he wasn’t some typical Muslim terrorist character stereotype (in fact, his name was the most surprising to me) nor did they stick to a bland or typical storyline.
- In today’s world, I think this is hugely important. I would think and hope that those behind FBI know the positive impact that Hadi had with his role on The Brave and see the similar role that Zeeko Zaki is now portraying with a larger audience. I’m sure Zaki knows this too. The availability of positive and varied Muslim characters is so important in today’s political climate. I truly applaud the producers, writers and other staff of the show for this.
- This is why I would LOVE to see Hadi return to the show in the future. There is now backstory and chemistry between the two characters and a reasoning for the actors, too. I could not be more thrilled (especially following my lackluster feelings toward last episode’s storyline) with how this episode turned out.
I Liked A lot…
- Maggie Bell’s backstory. I enjoy backstory. Furthermore, I think to truly have an audience care for your show, they must care for your characters. There is a fine line between doing this well and making your storylines more about their background than their current scope. I’m here to watch a show about a team in the FBI, not their personal lives. So, revealing information and giving our characters the chance to be three dimensional is important and delicate. Most importantly (for me), it usually makes or breaks a show. I’m not here to watch a soap opera. So far, they’re doing this perfectly because each scene within the episode where Maggie gave information helped the episode but also gave us empathy for her character and OA’s. It was never just to make her a poor widow or someone to simply have sympathy for. Overall, it gave her the ability to see the case differently than OA. If not for this viewpoint, they might not have ever seen the truth.
- Because we need a little humor in our lives, I would like to state that security guard’s look when confronting Miller was hilarious. He was so tired of his cameras not functioning and the bullcrap that went on there. You go, security guard, you rock your job!
What I Didn’t Like:
- Episode was great. There were a couple short reviews on IMDB that stated this episode was slower than the rest and less intense and I could not disagree more. Above all, I love a good mystery with an action-packed ending… so this was perfect to me.
Questions I Have:
- First, when is Hadi Tabbal coming to reprise his role as Jake Fletcher? Okay, kidding aside… I’m not kidding. Find a way to bring him back. I’m only slightly biased. Hadi is a great actor and deserves to be on TV.
- Secondly, this episode was heavy on the duo bond. We’re about midway before mid-season… what’s building for the next few episodes? Will something bring our duo closer, or tear them apart? Hoping for the former, not the latter. So, producers and writers alike: if you’ve got something good going, don’t ruin it so soon. There is much they can do with these two.
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