The Devil You Know
Scott and Vanessa are at odds with each other over Vanessa’s plans to interview Eddie Walker. Tara is also in the middle of a heated argument with her students about whether or not to put pressure on Newman.
Walker confirms that he was in New York because he loves the city and is cagey, but doesn’t seem remotely phased by his arrest. He strongly believes he hasn’t done anything wrong and goes into explicit detail about his sexual encounter that night. According to his statement, he slept after the act and then got an early flight back to the UK.
Eddie’s parents are brought up and his demeanor changes. Walker reveals that his Dad is in LA and his Mum in France. Vanessa decides to let him go, keeping surveillance on him just like the others. Scott though is not impressed, believing they were just starting to get through to him. ..
Walker is suspicious of Aadesh and he heads off, buying a brand new phone. Unaware that he’s being watched, he shows up to see Aadesh. The pair discuss Vanessa and the investigation, both of which adamant that they didn’t kidnap Leo.
Walker decides to team up with the other two (Tara and Natalie) to join forces and go public with how they’ve been framed for this. The thing is, Walker is smart and realizes they’re being followed, so they proceed through on foot, across busy markets to try and remain undetected.
Natalie is remaining undetected by the police because she is working with them. It’s not like she has a choice either. Scott promises to get rid of some of her charges in exchange for communicating with Sean, which she does. They manage to arrange a meet too, although Sean does urge her not to show with decoys or anyone else.
But as soon as they get their hands on him, they realize that he’s not the real Sean. They have to work hard to find out who he is and bring him in before he can hurt anyone else.
Vanessa makes a big call and decides to indulge Sean’s tactics, rerouting everyone to this new, exposed locale. Sean shows up on a motorbike, with Vanessa urging Natalie to step out the car and hand over the envelope. As she does, Sean shoots her down and then takes off on his bike, evading the police and managing to get away with the money.
Natalie is wearing a bulletproof vest and survives, but Scott is livid that they’ve managed to let Sean slip through their fingers. Katherine Newman is not happy either when she finds out, deciding to take drastic measures and hold a press conference. ..
As Sean makes his way back to London, he’s attacked by a man who he thought was his contact. Sean manages to kill him and unlock his phone, reading messages about another meet at 10pm. As he’s injured in the ensuing conflict, he heads to his safehouse to patch himself up.
Katherine Newman, the woman who stepped up to say she was the one who received part of the money from selling an apartment in London, has admitted that she didn’t know about a connection between the buyer and the US treasury. When it came to her attention, she should have told authorities and didn’t. This is a clear example of how not to handle a situation - by not telling anyone what was going on, Newman put herself in danger.
Newman confirms that she has written to the president and is withdrawing from the ambassador position. She also brings up how much she cares for Leo, which works surprisingly well to rile up the crowd.
The kidnapper shows a new video that threatens Eric Cresswell if he doesn’t speak up soon. If he doesn’t, Leo will die. The voice ominously declares, as the video ends.
As the episode closes, Aadesh, Tara and Walker are all taken and thrown in the back of a black van, where Natalie and Monique also happen to be there too. They’re all taken to the airport where they’re threatened and forced to open up and reveal where Leo is. However, another car comes racing up, holding Sean Tilson inside, who shoots the assailants dead and saves their life. Only… Monique is shot dead in the ensuing skirmish.
As the plane takes off, Sean demands they all get in his car. Monique is left behind on the runway, with armed guards on the plane stirring. They’re forced to flee together as the plane takes off.
The Episode Review
The episode begins with a bang, as the Leo Newman case takes a turn for the worse. The detectives are able to identify a suspect in the case, and they are quickly on the hunt for him. However, they are not able to catch him easily. This pressure cooker situation only intensifies as more and more evidence comes in against the suspect.
There is a time limit on Leo’s life, but that whole subplot involving Katherine and the politics detracts from the main drama and at its worst, makes it difficult to see any of these random guys from the street as the ones responsible. ..
So far, the show has been largely focused on introducing the characters and setting up their relationships, with little development or action. This is likely due to the fact that Walker is used as an exposition device, bringing the characters together but not providing much more to the show as a whole. ..
Despite that, the series leaves things open for an exciting episode to come next week, with the plot just starting to open up and reveal more surrounding who took Leo – and why. ..
