Sex, guns, and militias. What more can you ask for?

Eh. You could ask for a lot more, like maybe making bigger strides in the storyline or maybe even delving deeper into the characters. 

Shooter Season 1 Episode 5 had its fair share of action, but for the most part we didn't learn too much. It wasn't a bad episode, it just wasn't a terribly interesting one either. 

You can't have a show about guns without inserting a militia storyline. So Shooter gave us the Tree of Liberty militia run by WWE superstar Randy Orton. 

I'm not a big wrestling fan, so I was more excited about seeing guest star Alex Saxon from The Fosters and Finding Carter, and his oh so lustrous mane. Seriously, that guy could do a Pantene commercial. 

After an admittedly ridiculous but comical scene of Bob Lee retrieving the bullet from the police car, he figured out that only a select few could possess this particular bullet. 

He was able to shoot it through steel and there wasn't so much as a scratch on it, that's not only top of the line, but scary to think about. Almost as scary as Nadine having to subject herself to a pesky former suitor at ATF just for some information.

Bob Lee: You got any connections at the ATF?
Nadine: [picks up phone] I hope this leads somewhere. It took me three months to get rid of this guy.
Bob Lee: So you're a heartbreaker.

• Permalink: So you're a heartbreaker.

I loved that scene a little too much, especially when she mentioned something about how she might be engaged after that phone-call. The things we do to get what we need or help out a friend, am I right?

I'm disappointed that their scene in the car was the extent of Bob Lee and Nadine scenes. I really like the way they interact, they have a camaraderie that could easily fall into buddy-cop goodness.

The bullet leading them to the militia wasn't much of a shock, because as I said, radical militias are the norm, but the fact that Bob Lee was familiar with the Tree of Liberty did catch me off guard. 

If you guys are looking to keep people out, your perimeter's weak.

Bob Lee

• Permalink: If you guys are looking to keep people out, your perimeter's weak.

Does anyone get the feeling that Bob Lee is the "I know a guy" guy? Which is more amusing when you figure he comes across as a lone wolf too. 

Everything from there on out just felt predictable and relatively uninteresting. Of course the militia leader welcomed Bob Lee with open arms, but young Joey was suspicious. 

Of course Joey is the young kid who hasn't had the opportunity to just be a kid, and spends most of the episode feeling picked on by his brother and spouting off rhetoric that he doesn't seem to believe.

No, really, the kid sounded like he was reading verbatim from one of those pamphlets or manifestos. Say it again, but with conviction this time Joey. 

You can't win a war that hasn't started.

Joey

• Permalink: You can't win a war that hasn't started.

It was pretty clear Joey wasn't cut out for this life. He sucked at shooting, he lacked confidence, and he was only there as a way to get acceptance from his older brother. 

What the kid really needed was to go to school, be normal, have friends, maybe date.

Despite the hard time he was giving Bob Lee, I was glad that he took off when all hell started breaking loose. 

Which brings me to, of course you can't have a militia without them plotting something that involves ammonium nitrate. Militias love blowing stuff up for the cause, guys!

One glance at that, meant that Bob Lee had to make a decision to blow them in because he couldn't have innocent civilians being caught in the crossfire of the militia and the government.

So a call to ATF was as expected as Isaac showing up by himself to take another shot at Bob Lee was. 

I don't even... I understand that power and some twisted version of wanting to be respected drives Isaac, but from what I can see he has limited power because Hugh calls the shots, and no one respects him.

So what are his motivations and why is he so invested in this mission that even he admits has blown to bits and failed a million different ways? I would have hauled ass a long time ago, because killing old ladies and being strung up by militia members...none of it seems worth it. 

Isaac: You know, I always thought I'd die in a gunfight.
Bob Lee: Well you're half right.

• Permalink: Well you're half right.

Nevertheless I actually laughed out loud when Bob Lee suggested tying Isaac up a mile away and seeing which one of them could actually hit him. What did Isaac expect?

It was a stall tactic until the calvary came in, but it was still amusing. And if Isaac happened to have gotten shot, I wouldn't have minded either to be perfectly honest.

Isaac did all this talking about how Payne failed to kill Bob Lee multiple times, and hell, failed to kill Nadine too, but isn't he just as bad?

So why don't we put Payne in the wind? Let's see how he likes it.

Julie

• Permalink: So why don't we put Payne in the wind? Let's see how he likes it.

Speaking of Payne, it sucked that Julie put Nadine on the spot and made things extremely difficult for her at the job, but I fully supported her changing the narrative and putting the focus on Payne.

Payne continues to be a pain in the ass. The whole thing with showing up at the bureau and leaving roses on Nadine's desk, and leaving more roses on the bodies of all the men he massacred gave me flashbacks to the years Is spent rolling my eyes at Red John calling cards on The Mentalist.

Payne is such a sadistic character who continues to teeter on the edge of cartoonish villainy. Nadine seems like his new obsession, I know she was being sassy when she was taunting him in the parking garage, but he really might be sweet on her now...he's the obsessive type. 

Hey Nadine, I heard you wanted to see me.

Payne

• Permalink: Hey Nadine, I heard you wanted to see me.

I don't know what to think about him actually turning himself in at the end. Is that part of the plan or has his focus really shifted to Nadine and taunting her?

Nadine has already alienated herself from the rest of her colleagues, and effectively lost the last person who was in her corner because of her inability to let this case go. That is going to make things extremely difficult for her from here on out and with Isaac on to her, Payne taunting her, and all of the pull that Hugh has I'm concerned for her.

So the bullet wasn't from the Tree of Liberty, but Joey was able to tip Bob Lee off on who could be behind the armored bullets. I can't wait to see where that leads him next. 

There was a lot of action but no real movement plot-wise in this episode and it made it feel like a filler. 

What did you think of the episode? Do you have any Shooter theories you'd like to share with us? Let us know in the comments below.

If you'd like to catch up or you missed any episodes you can watch Shooter online right here on TV Fanatic.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.