Episode 2 of Countdown oscillated between Minsk in 2008 and Los Angeles in the present day. In the flashback half of the narrative, we were introduced to an official of the Belarusian Defense Ministry, Borys. His brother, Anton, was in a spot of trouble as he was being harassed by an American, Dennis, because Anton owed him money. Anton roped in Borys to help him, and that’s when they learned that the whole thing was a ploy to get Borys to steal email exchanges between Belarus and Russia. Borys did as he was told to save Anton’s life, but since Anton died by suicide, as he couldn’t live with the pain of putting his brother through such hell, Borys killed Dennis. In the present day, Nathan’s task force joined hands with a lieutenant of the cartel, Javi, and smuggled some drugs for him in the hopes that that’ll get them in his good books and he’ll give them the name of the guys responsible for shipping radioactive material into LA. However, Javi was killed for unknowingly colluding with federal agents, and before taking his last breaths, he uttered the name Volchek, i.e., Borys Volchek. Did Nathan and his crew come close to catching this terrorist in episode 3 of Countdown? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Volchek Is The Target
Countdown episode 3 opens with a recap of the events of the previous 2 episodes in order to show all the chaotic stuff that Mark has been through in a span of 24-48 hours. He calls up Amber to check how he is doing, because she was with him when the car bomb exploded and killed Javi. But Amber doesn’t pick up the call because she is struggling with her addiction and fighting the urge to open the packet of heroin that she had “confiscated” from Javi’s stock under the guise of “keeping drugs off the streets.” In addition to all of that, we learn that it’s Luke’s birthday. By the way, in the last episode, when Luke’s hand got slashed while loading the pig feed into the truck, I thought it’d lead to something substantial, like a fatal infection or something. But in this episode, you can see that he has healed completely; no scar, no nothing. Is this a continuity issue or a hint that Luke has magical healing powers? I guess we’ll never know.
Anyway, all three of them join Damon, Evan, Nathan, and Keyonte at the office to look into the attack on Javi. They’ve managed to narrow down Volchek’s nationality to Belarus, which is correct. Hence, Mark is of the opinion that he should get in touch with Timur Novikov (not to be confused with the late Russian artist), an inmate that he became familiar with during his time at the correctional facility in Palmdale. Amber thinks it’s dangerous because he has been pulled out of that prison under dubious circumstances; putting him back in there might lead to some raised eyebrows, which could lead to him getting shanked to death. Mark appreciates Amber’s concern but maintains his stance that going back to Palmdale is the only way forward. Nathan and Damon are seen having a brief chat about how the latter and his wife are coping with their son’s death before focusing on how they’re going to execute Mark’s plan. Almost immediately they face a setback, as Warden Gil Thompson is unwilling to cooperate because the last time Mark was in there, he turned it into a hellhole by inciting several riots. But once Nathan butters up Gil properly and tells him that the meeting between Timur and Mark can happen without the latter setting foot in the correctional facility, Gil eases up. By the way, amidst all this planning and plotting, Evan and Keyonte are seen multitasking as they try to sift through mountains of data to see what they can get on Volchek while also trying to figure out a way to give Luke a surprise birthday party.
Mark Teams Up With Timur
As per Nathan’s request, Gil arranges for Timur’s transportation to another location. The van that’s being used to complete the task is being driven by Amber and Luke, and yes, it has Mark in it too, pretending like he’s being transported to a new facility along with Timur. Once Amber and Luke are sure that Mark has won over Timur’s trust, Luke triggers a malfunction in the van so that it crashes, thereby giving the fugitives a chance to escape. After “locking up” Amber and Luke in the van, Mark and Timur make their way to a construction site in Van Nuys, where they cover up their prison uniforms with the help of some boiler suits and then head over to Timur’s uncle’s place, because he can give them safe haven while the cops are out looking for them. In the meantime, Luke and Amber free themselves from their confines and return to headquarters, where Evan and Keyonte are still planning how they should deliver Luke’s birthday surprise while also analyzing all available information on Volchek on the side. Amber gives an update on Mark, while Luke makes birthday plans with his wife, even though he doesn’t exactly know how the day is going to turn out.
Grayson shows up again at the HSI office to annoy Nathan, this time regarding the Palmdale fiasco. Nathan stands his ground and refuses to bow down to Grayson, and he is joined by Damon, who also gives the “Aspiring Governor” an earful and then proceeds to kick him out of the building. The focus of the episode then returns to Mark and Timur, who are trying to get their hands on a cellphone so that they can contact the latter’s uncle. They target a poor guy at a coffee shop, and a few minutes later, they are picked up by a guy named Dmitry Kotov and taken to Burbank, where his uncle, Mikhail, is waiting for him in his palatial house. Mikhail is not happy to see Timur and Mark, though, because he thinks his nephew has led the police to him. While those two have an argument, Mark excuses himself so that he can call in the cavalry after confirming whether something shady is going on in there. And, well, he gets more than he bargained for.
Damon Is Hurt
At the end of Countdown episode 3, Mark reveals that, despite telling Timur to discard the phone they had used to call Dmitry to avoid being tracked, he has actually kept it in his pocket to contact Amber with. He tells her to tell Evan to locate the phone that he is currently calling from, but he doesn’t ask for backup. This understandably confuses Amber, Nathan, and Damon, because if they wait for Mark’s signal and if things go sideways, they won’t be able to save him. If they get there too early, they might get some info regarding Volchek, but they won’t be able to catch anyone red-handed. Now, while they mull over this decision, Mark makes his way into the basement and comes across a room full of electronic gadgets, blueprints, maps, and several other documents that indicate that the planning for some major operation is happening in there. Mark tries to get out of there undetected, but he comes face-to-face with Volchek himself. Volchek gives Mikhail the order to kill Mark because he has seen too much. Mikhail seemingly has no option but to follow Volchek’s command, so he takes Mark to the rear of the building to put him down. Timur protests this turn of events, but it falls on deaf ears.
In the meantime, Volchek gets busy destroying all the material in that basement that can be tied back to him and then makes his escape. This leads to an explosion, which is big enough to distract Mikhail. Mark uses that window of opportunity to overpower the man and flee the scene. Conveniently enough, Damon and the rest of the task force reach Mikhail’s lair and begin shooting at the gangster to get Mark to safety. Timur dies in the shootout, while Mikhail manages to escape in a car that was in the parking lot. But he does manage to inflict some damage on the task force by taking down Damon. For a second, it does seem like Luke has been shot, but I guess his birthday luck saves him from harm. Damon isn’t that lucky, though, and he catches a bullet right in his chest. Even though Damon’s character hasn’t been properly fleshed out, this seems like a really tragic moment, because the man and his wife have been coping with the death of their son. If he dies, it’s going to be too much for his wife to take. That said, it’ll make the stakes of the show a little more grounded. A nuclear threat has become too common in this genre. So, the task force’s motivation to neutralize it was feeling a little too weak. With Damon’s death, the mission will become personal. Mark will undoubtedly go after Mikhail, and now that he has seen Volchek’s face as well, he’ll stop at nothing until he is caught and arrested for his crimes against humanity.
