Lazarus – Episode 09

Episode Synopsis:

Team Lazarus is put “on trial” by the government to determine if their actions are serving the goal of finding Skinner or just making things worse.  Leland is revealed to be a mole within Lazarus.  He provides testimony that, along with the backing of the director, tips things in favor of allowing Lazarus’ operations to continue.  Meanwhile, another faction within the Pentagon and their leader Schneider contacts a dangerous assassin and, after seeing a demonstration of his skill, hires him.

Episode Review:

There’s a lot going on this episode.  It’s impressive in that it’s pretty clearly a setup episode, where the various factions and actors are being aligned for the show’s final arc, but still is a solid and enjoyable watch on its own.  As the episode began, for example, we’re treated to a new character that has been eating the same steak every day.  And at first I said to myself “A bit lazy to introduce a new antagonist in such a cliché way.”

The show built on it well, though, as the same character walks down the street as music plays.  Around him, society’s partial collapse has led to a running gun battle, and the events unfold around him without perturbing him in the slightest, other than having to step over a corpse.  This is both good worldbuilding (the show has at times seemed very light on any practical effects on society from humanity’s pending extinction) and extremely good at establishing this character as very, very dangerous.

The trial sequence is also notable because it’s pretty fun (hearing exasperated officials describe the wake of destruction left behind Lazarus) and grounds things (yes, people are watching what they’re doing and their actions do matter).

Between the aftermath of Chris’ rescue and Leland’s honest but ultimately helpful testimony, we’re also seeing the bonds between the team members grow stronger in a really good way, not just an exposition dump.  The ending sequence of the episode, in which the assassin takes down an entire squad of trained soldiers using only a knife on a string, is a bit over the top but still does a good job of setting up how much trouble our ragtag group is about to be in.  In a show that I haven’t always full-throatedly endorsed, this episode stands out above the pack.  It should be quite the ride to the end.

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