Shooter Season 2 Episode 8 Review: That'll Be the Day
Jasmine Blu
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Solotov lives to see another day.
Shooter Season 2 Episode 8 gave us the Bob Lee versus Solotov face off that we have been waiting for, and it was unexpected, to say the least.
We also have a better idea of just who is behind Atlas.
It was difficult to determine how the finale would play out with an unexpected short season. There is nothing worse than a haphazard wrap-up that feels clumsy and unsatisfying, but fortunately, that wasn't the case here.
The hour moved the plot forward, set things up for the future, and left us with a nice cliffhanger. For the most part, most of the action didn't pick up until the final 20 minutes of the hour.
One of the most interesting developments was learning more about Solotov, but more specifically, learning about Addison Hayes. We knew very little about him when he appeared before, but now we have a lot more to go on.
We are Atlas.
Hayes
He's a ruthless, conniving son of a bitch who just so happens to be the man behind Atlas. He also has been in cahoots with Gregson, which isn't a surprise either given the past issues with the CIA.
The real shock was finding out that he's a senator!
Did any of you see that reveal coming? I was floored. I figured he had to be someone of importance, but I was thinking along the lines of a businessman or something. I did not expect him to be a politician.
Although, a politician in an organization that does nefarious deeds against unsuspecting civilians shouldn't come as a surprise at all when you think about it.
Does that mean it wasn't a coincidence that Harris was dating Nadine for however long they were dating? Hayes knows Nadine in and out. He must have tasked Harris with looking into her and maybe even made him date her.
It's an unusual but intriguing development having Hayes rescue Isaac from the clutches of the corrupt Mexican prison just to offer him a spot in Atlas. The way that scene played out, switching back and forth between the past when Hayes was recruiting Solotov, and the present with Hayes pitching the same thing to Isaac, was well done.
Isaac: How do I find him?
Hayes: Find Bob Lee Swagger. Find Solotov.
Isaac is a man without a wife, considered a disgrace to his country, and has no real family or ties anymore. According to Hayes, he was the perfect person to join the organization in addition to having a valuable set of skills.
The first task was something within Isaac's wheelhouse and not unlike what he was working towards anyway, capturing and killing Solotov. Because that is something he was already working towards, it's too early to say if he is actually taking Hayes up on this offer long term or if he's only in it for now.
Isaac can be such a wild card that it's hard to tell where he stands. Right now, he and Hayes' interest are aligned, but afterwards, that may not be the case. Would he really consider finally escaping Gregson's clutches only to be under Hayes' thumb?
It was refreshing having flashbacks of Solotov rather than the 8113 for a change. He remains fascinating, and the more we learn about him, the more interesting he becomes. Is it wrong to not want to say goodbye to him?
He'a multilayered villain and a little depth goes a long way. His backstory and how he joined Atlas was one of the best aspects of the hour. There was a time when he was just a normal Chechen soldier before Hayes saved him and then recruited him.
I wish we learned more about his wife and unborn child that he mentioned. He could have easily been portrayed as a sociopath, but he had a past and people he cared about once upon a time, and we still get to see glimmers of that caring nature even now.
Bob Lee: When were you going to tell me you've been having problems?
Julie: I don't know, you haven't been around to know what's going on.
Was I the only one who thought he would threaten or even take out the guy that wants to sue Julie? They went out of their way to show him eavesdropping on her conversation y when she went to Bo's house and tried to appeal to him with Bob Lee's gun.
I fully expected him to handle the situation on his own because of this fascination and fondness he has for Julie. I wonder if she reminds him of his wife? When he spoke of Julie during his and Bob Lee's late night standoff of sorts, it was with reverence.
He also enjoyed being at the church during Mary's communion. Yes, he was wearing a bomb, and he claimed that there was a bomb in the church, but I'm not so sure he would have actually harmed anyone in that church.
For one, it's a church, but also, he has this fondness for Julie and Mary that he can't shake. It's especially interesting given what we know of Hayes and how he prefers his Atlas soldiers to be.
Money cannot buy you everything, but it can buy you justice.
Solotov
He likes people with no connections and no real feelings, but he also doesn't want them to be so cold and callous that they kill without consequence or reason. Hayes' beef with Solotov, and one of the reasons he claims he turned on him so quickly, was because Solotov got sloppy keeping his identity secret.
Solotov also killed indiscriminately. Isaac's wife was an unnecessary casualty, but it's possible that Hayes only said that to get Isaac on his side. I wouldn't put it past him.
Solotov is slipping by Atlas' standards, regardless. Solotov, himself, can even acknowledge that because he kept making comments about how connected and bonded he felt to Bob Lee. An antagonist is only as good as the hero, and the two of them are fantastic together and apart.
Bob Lee taking that bullet for Solotov was one more thing that solidified them as...something more. Solotov did make a good point; he could have killed Bob Lee ten times over by now, but he hasn't.
Their final scene together with Solotov taking the staple gun to Bob Lee....yikes! It was grotesque, to say the least. It's going to be pretty damn awesome watching the two of them somewhat work together against Hayes.
Solotov wants his money and Hayes' money too, and Bob Lee wants to end all of this. They have to work together in some way now, right?
We are bound together.
Solotov
Bob Lee and Isaac are the only living members of the 8113 because Atlas took out Tio. Her days were numbered and it's a wonder she made it this far. One can only hope that Nadine does a better job looking after Julie and Mary than she did Tio.
Although, with Bob Lee gone, and Isaac out for revenge, Julie can look after things herself.
Julie's PTSD storyline had some rough moments, but a Julie and Isaac team up will make up for all of that. Words cannot describe how exciting and badass this pair will be while working together to take down Solotov and save Bob Lee.
Julie will finally get to put her gun to good use.
Did you enjoy the finale? What did you think about the revelation that Hayes is a senator? Did you like the Solotov backstory? Hit the comments below.
If you missed anything, you can watch Shooter online right here via 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.
