Strike Back Recap: Episode 1.09
“Wow” is all I can say for the latest episode. It seems the writers have been saving the best for last and with the season finale fast approaching, I’m sure it’s going to be epic. Episode 9 starts off in the aftermath of the previous episode. Stonebridge is on the mend and spending some quality time (if you know what I mean) with his wife. Things between the two are tense and get even worse when she slaps him with an ultimatum. Section 20 or her and their unborn child. Just then his cell phone rings and she takes his answering it as his decision. Ouch!!
Meanwhile, we see a rare glimpse of Grant outside of Section 20 which I found rather refreshing. She’s sitting in a restaurant looking over what appears to be Scott’s military file. It’s been marked to be destroyed, but somehow she got her mitts on it. We don’t get a lot of info from it, but it seems like he was set up and implicated in whatever it was that ruined his career. She seems to make a decision to tell him about it and heads to his hotel room where he’s getting frisky with the gal that Grant hired to get a read on him a couple of episodes back. Once she realizes he’s not alone and discovers who he’s with, she changes her mind. I can’t help but think there is more going on under the surface with her when it comes to Scott. Has she grown fond of him? She obviously knows more than he realizes but it’s more than just that I think.
Back at Section 20, the gang were able to track Latif to what appears to be an underground bunker in Chechnya. It seems he’s also got that woman doctor who was with him last week. This seems to be the break they’ve been waiting for and Stonebridge and Scott are sent in with the Georgian Special Forces. Once they arrive at the bunker they find that it’s deserted and can’t figure out why because according to the satellite feed, no one has left the bunker. Scott goes on a tirade about the lack of intel in Section 20, but Stonebridge comes across a door that leads to another stairwell. Scott helps him get to it and both dive in just as the special forces team gets blown to smithereens. There’s nowhere to go but down so they follow the stairwells and corridors until they find an exit. They find a couple of guards, which they quickly dispatch and they also find what Latif and his female doc have been working on. It’s a biological weapon which they plan to use in conjunction with suicide bombers.
Scott and Stonebridge are ordered to find transport and follow a vehicle that was seen leaving the premises. They do, and it leads them to what looks like an apartment building. The good doc and Latif are both inside and Scott and Stonebridge are ordered to hold their position. They begin to get antsy as Grant tries to figure out just what is going on. Sinclair on the other hand disagrees with her and makes his stance known. This ripple in the ranks doesn’t do much for the boys’ situation as their cover is blown and they’re having to fend off an army of soldiers. With the help of their own craftiness, and a well-timed entrance of the Georgian Special Forces chopper, our boys are able to make it back to HQ.
Stonebridge heads back to his hotel to find that his wife is gone, but at least she left him a note. Scott on the other hand is blowing off steam with that same gal who, in the after glow, makes a tiny mistake in what she says, revealing to Scott that she’s not who she seems. Scott heads down to HQ and storms in on a briefing and tears into Grant for spying on him. She doesn’t deny it, which pisses off Scott even more and he storms out threatening to leave them high and dry. Stonebridge chases after him and tells him that he’s needed and to not quit now. Not when they’re so close to finding Latif. I have to say that this scene did a great job of showing just how close these two guys have become. It’s laced with humor, sarcasm and respect and these two knocked it out of the park.
Latif and his crew are tracked to an abandoned clinic on the outskirts of Budapest. Scott and Stonebridge are sent in and arrive just as Latif is cleaning up…i.e. killing those who helped him with his suicide bomber efforts including to good doctor. Stonebridge barrels through a room that’s been engulfed in flames to get to Latif while Scott looks on in horror only following when he hears gunshots. Back at HQ Grant is trying to re-establish communications with them when Scott walks in….alone. After yelling at him for not contacting them, she realizes that he’s alone and asks him about Stonebridge. He doesn’t say anything and simply turns around. It’s at this point that I sat up thinking “holy shit….they did NOT kill him off did they?!” Luckily they didn’t. We see Stonebridge walk into HQ with Latif in cuffs. It seems they finally got their man! The episode ends as Stonebridge pulls the bag off Latif’s head and we see a look of shock cross Grant’s face. Roll credits.
So what does this mean for the season finale? I think Latif allowed himself to be captured. I think he’s playing a bigger game than what Grant realizes and shit is really going to hit the fan on Friday night. It makes me giddy that they renewed the series for another season, but bums me out that we’ll have to wait for it. I have no doubts they’ll end this in a cliffhanger so I’m preparing myself now. What do you think of this season so far? Let me know in the comments.
Tags: Cinemax, Strike Back, StrikeBack
