Knowing that someone smuggled in the radioactive material into Los Angeles, eyes turn on the police cruiser that got away. Meanwhile, Countdown season 1, episode 2 brings us some backstory from 2008.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Countdown season 1, episode 2.
There are two storylines running concurrently in Countdown season 1, episode 2. While we watch the task force attempt to figure out who is behind the nuclear weapon, we have a storyline in 2008 that follows an American and two men from Belarus.
When men take matters into their own hands in Countdown
We start the episode in 2008, with a man getting home from work when his brother comes rushing in for help. He’s beaten badly, and he shares that “The American” is after him.
Well, this is all a big ploy to get his brother to meet with The American. The man wanted the brother due to his workplace, needing specific emails from the business. Now if only the guy’s brother didn’t end up shooting himself, and The American would have probably got away with it all. Instead, he ends up detonating a bomb in his toaster.
The task force haul pig feed across the border in Countdown season 1, episode 2
In the present day, Blythe wants to get to the bottom of the police cruiser he saw leaving the port at the end of the first episode. Security cameras found it abandoned, and Blythe makes it clear that while the people in it were white, he wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a lineup. He gets everyone working their talents in the hope of finding him, which is when Oliveras offers her talents.
She worked an undercover op across the border, and she is in touch with someone from that world. Maybe she can get some answers if she can work back into the crew. As much as she wants to work this alone, Blythe makes it clear that won’t happen, and he sends Meachum with her as backup.
Meachum’s headaches are starting to become a problem on the job, but he isn’t going to open up to anyone about what’s going on. Instead, he keeps brushing off the concerns, keeping focused on the task at hand. The task force needs to run an op to pick up pig feed from Mexico and bring it back to the United States.
Of course, the trip back doesn’t quite go to plan, as the border officer won’t let the truck past. Fortunately, they all had a contingency plan. Blythe calls in a report of a suspicious vehicle, which happens to be the car Meachum is driving. He creates a scene, which leads to Oliveras arresting him and Bell is able to open the border for Finau to get the truck through. Bell then eventually bails Meachum out of the Mexican prison.
With the feed over the border, they can now check out what’s in it. Of course, there’s drugs in there, and Oliveras feels awful that she’s going to have to allow that stuff to go out on the streets.
Only she’s not. At least, not fully, as there’s a twist of fate at the end of Countdown season 1, episode 2.
Oliveras and Meachum try to get a name in Countdown
As Oliveras proves that she can be trusted by the cartel, she makes it clear that she wants in on the bigger jobs. She wants to be part of the job to smuggle nuclear material over the border, which the cartel notes is in conjunction with someone from “one of the Russian countries.”
Just as he’s walking back to his car, it blows up with one of his friends inside. Meachum gets to the cartel guy, who says one name as he’s dying: Volchek.
As he’s saying the name, the camera pans back to 2008, where we see the man who had been pulled into everything by The American and just lost his brother. He had set the explosion in 2008, and he likely set this explosion in the present day. He’s the one behind the attempt to destroy Los Angeles.
Countdown is available to stream on Prime Video, with episodes airing on Wednesdays.
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