Countdown Season 1 Episode 11 Review: We’re Already In Season 2!

Apparently, Countdown is done with the Volchek storyline and has already moved on to Season 2’s arc.

“When they (Amazon) told me it was going to be 13 episodes, I thought, ‘That’s a really long stretch for one case,'” series creator Derek Haas shared with TVLine. “And then I thought, ‘How interesting and novel would it be if I started a second case within the first season?'” he added.

As a result, Countdown Season 1 Episode 11 feels like a brand new season as the team shifts focus to catch someone planning to assassinate the president and a governor.

And for someone who Countdown lost after the season premiere, I’m sorry, but they have me back with this storyline. It’s just a shame that it took ten long, boring episodes to get to this point.

Still, I don’t want to celebrate too early because things could go south really quickly with this show; we’ve seen it happen.

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However, everything feels rejuvenated as the team reconvenes and Oliveras rejoins them. Having Oliveras back makes the team easier to get behind. Not just because she’s my favorite character, but she makes the case progress.

The only problem is that she comes as a package deal with Meachum, who is just such a child. Why is he sulking because Oliveras has a boyfriend now? Did he want her? Why didn’t he say it, resorting to high school games of weird looks and acting out?

The New (Old) Dynamics

Countdown has disappointed me a lot, but developing a romantic arc between Oliveras and Meachum is the worst thing they’ve done. Oliveras would simply not touch a man like Meachum with a ten-foot pole.

She knows his history with women way too well to be fooled by the deep voice and puppy eyes. Her thing with the doctor is good, and she would be wise to stick to it. Now that Meachum is no longer dying, all he can bring to her is trouble.

And this is why I dislike seeing strong female characters paired with such guys on TV. It lowers them to the level of the male, and at that point, I begin to lose respect for the character.

However, they hash things out, and that is done and over with. Fingers crossed that it remains that way.

But for all his faults, I’ll admit that the new Meachum is more exciting to watch. There is now some ease within the team that didn’t exist before. The jokes are organic and funny, and Meachum cracked most of them.

If he tones down his cowboying, I might just like him.

Meanwhile, there is some friction on the team between Keyonte and Shepherd. I don’t understand why the latter is so angry with the former because of her sister.

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It has nothing to do with Keyonte’s actions and everything to do with their unspoken feelings for each other. Why was she convinced that Keyonte was hooking up with her sister? That’s Meachum’s thing.

For a show that doesn’t dwell on the private lives of the characters, it spends too much time on feelings drama. I’ve never been a fan of coworkers dating or hooking up, as it can lead to complications.

And when your job influences the chances of someone living or dying, then it becomes all the more important.

The show needs to resolve this sooner and move on because some strong suits are being watered down.

The New Antagonist

For example, the secondary storyline involving characters whose names I didn’t catch is quite interesting. The casting teases some really bad guys. Grant Harvey, Jefferson White, and Caitlin Carver bring the trinity of bad guys you can smell for far.

Harvey’s portrayal of his character comes close to rivalling Bogdan Yasinki’s Volchek.

But for some reason, this character feels like a bigger threat than Volchek because he is very relevant to the world currently.

He’s a disenfranchised white man who is built like Jack Reacher and can shoot like Jack Ryan. He is suffering from severe loneliness and what appears to be some mental illness.

Finally, his diet consists of junk food and junkier politics. That’s a ticking time bomb.

The episode follows him two years prior as he tries to survive, but everything around him is hellbent on breaking him. His relationship with his girlfriend feels like a chore; she cheats on him, and the politics he’s consuming would break the sanest of minds.

The character is emotionless and highly trained in handling weapons. The team has a huge task ahead of them.

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Still, no matter how good this storyline promises to be, three episodes are not enough to explore everything properly. We’ll be left with a cliffhanger, which isn’t ideal for a show that I don’t expect to be renewed for Season 2.

Given that we’ve seen an attempted assassination during this last US Presidential Election period, it rings way too close to home that somewhere, someone is being radicalized through their news feed and a radio show in their car.

Stray Thoughts

• I’ve been waiting for a major plot twist, and now it’s dawning on me that it might have already happened.

• Will Fitz ever shut up?

Over to you, Countdown fanatics? Was this a good episode, or was the bar too low?

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