I have to admit that this episode was not my favorite in the series. Its core storyline is interesting: Brother wants to get brother out of prison, so he steals a computer virus/worm to threaten to crash a nuclear reactor unless said brother is released. Brother is released only to kill the rescuing brother for cheating on him with his wife. With the help of the underage super-hacker they are able to avert the disaster.
I did like seeing the whole team working together. Lillian (Marg Helgenberger), Shenendoah (John Billingsley), and Jameson (Michael Rady) work from Cyber Command while Gabriel (Josh Holloway), Riley (Meghan Ory), and Nelson (PJ Byrne) are in the field in Los Angeles. It’s always fun to watch Gabriel, Riley, and Nelson work together. I really liked how it took them all working together to realize that Gabriel to could create a trap for the worm with a cyber-rendered nuclear plant. There were also some nice moments of humor in the episode. I particularly liked Nelson showing off his new gadget on the plane.
The basic premise of a cyber worm that could take down the power grid and then keep working toward taking down the nuclear plant was pretty cool. There is a way to stop it which involves the “mother ship” or using the computer the virus was created on to pull the kill switch. What really didn’t make sense was that a 17 year old could have thought this all up. Troy (Octavius J Johnson) does suspect that Gabriel is doing something, but can’t figure out what it is. Mind you, Troy also didn’t know that his brother hadn’t abandoned him in foster care and hadn’t stopped looking for him. Gabriel seems to form a pretty quick bond with Troy. One explanation is that they share a close bond with their computers. Gabe tells Troy that a person (clearly Shenedoah) gave him a gift. He told him that one person and one computer can destroy or change the world. Troy asks what the gift was, and Gabriel replies, “He trusted me to choose.” Once again, the show emphasizes the human element.
Gabriel’s cyber-render of the nuclear plant was impressive as was the cyber worm effects. The gunfight and subsequent explosion of the van were both excellent. I loved Riley and Gabriel almost in unison asking if the other is ok after the blast. I also really enjoyed – as always – watching Nelson in the field. It was very entertaining to watch Nelson go from fan-boying “Cortez” to being annoyed with him, to genuine affection for him.
Lillian meanwhile must negotiate the red tape of Washington. She has to lie to the Russian Ambassador in order to get the brother. Weatherly (Tomas Arana) is also concerned about Lillian’s leadership. At the end of the episode over a glass of whiskey, Lillian tells Shenendoah that they have to find the brother who is still at large, or “the hammer will fall.” This sounds pretty ominous. Is Lillian going to lose command? If she does, what does that mean for the entire team?
What did you think of the episode? How much trouble do you think Lillian is in? Do you think we’ll see Troy again? Do you want to see him again? Frankly, I thought the character was fine but the actor was weak. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
