Counterpart Season 1 Episode 3 Review: The Lost Art of Diplomacy
Carissa Pavlica
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It was the Emilys turn up at bat on Counterpart Season 1 Episode 3, and their story delivered!
Not only were we brought into the loop of Howard's Emily and her "accident," but the final reveal(s) was quite shocking, as well.
Did you suspect Emily might have been an agent, or did it come at you like a slap in the face?
My highest hope after learning all of this new information is that by the end of the season or sometime into Counterpart Season 2 Emily will be out of her coma and the foursome will be working together.
The only thing better than two J.K. Simmons is two J.K. Simmons and two Olivia Williams working together on one show. Oh, the talent!!
There were so many floating pieces that stuck out at me, and I'm afraid if I don't mention them up front, I'll neglect to do it down the line. A phrase in Emily's letter to OHoward about protecting her Howard as she believed his Emily did for him.
It touched OEmily a bit to read that line and got me wondering about how the couple entered into their profession. Are the Emily's at the center of the spying in the family and the Howards fell into it through the Emilys? It seems that way, and I'm eager to find out more.
With Baldwin in custody, this side engaged a guy named Roland Flancher, apparently in charge of things at the Embassy, and the Ambassador from the other side, Claude Lambert, to barter for her.
That was going to go down while Howard tried to get Baldwin to talk and OHoward tried to get Claude to do whatever he could to ensure Baldwin would come out of the situation alive.
The discussion between Baldwin and Howard proved Baldwin is a lot more like her counterpart than she realized, even if she pointed out to Howard he's going to learn how much more like OHoward he is than he believes.
You think you're better than him, but someday you'll find out what I mean. You cannot escape who you are.
Baldwin
The way she described it was he'll find where the two meet. It's not that she had a lot of experience in the area given the brief time she had with Nadia, but perhaps their meeting point was the death of their fathers, and that was all they needed to feel as one.
It's also possible Howard won't be the one to discover how different he is out of the two, and OHoward will find he's not as happy in the life he's chosen as he thought. Just kidding! I doubt the Howards will become house husbands to their kickass wives, even if I would be okay with that.
OEmily and Shaw hit the Embassy to track down Howard, and if that was all she needed to realize why he was so infatuated with the other side, then we haven't seen enough of their side yet to understand why people want to abandon ship yet.
The early glimpses on Counterpart Season 1 Episode 1 and the pre-movie warning about people with illnesses speaks to the possibility of a pandemic in the past or present, but with what we've seen of the nightlife, it doesn't look so different than our world outside of the architecture and futuristic gizmos.
The other information that got tossed around the table in relation to Baldwin included a cure for Hep C that Flancher didn't find in the least bit interesting. He's only interested in big world currency, which at this point I don't understand because there are so many unknowns about the two sides.
OEmily also warned OHoward about Alexander Pope. He was the person who put out the rendition on OHoward, supporting my theory he's no friend to either of them. Who is he, why does OHoward trust him, and why hasn't a man of OHoward's skills seen through him by now?
Emily was OHoward's contact on the other side. Contact for what, I wonder. What are the people trying to do behind the backs of their governments as a group?
Emily discovered that and was immediately...killed? If she was killed, then whatever Emily and OHoward were doing was put into action by Alexander Pope. Whoever made it look like a suicide took the letter, and if the government gets the letter, OHoward is screwed.
Yet it wouldn't be OHoward because Howard is going back across in his place. Yikes. Things are about to get even more complicated.
If she's dead, it means Howard arrives to the funeral of another version of his wife. If she's not dead, it means Howard arrives to the hospitalization of another version of his wife.
Howard has some very shitty luck with Emily. Then again, does he even know she's alive yet?
If you watch Counterpart online, you recall OHoward initially told Howard his Emily was dead. It will be quite a shock walking into whatever situation will be awaiting him after he crosses.
At least he's getting used to being thrown curve balls now. When Clare rescued Baldwin, Howard just ducked for cover. You'd think a man with so little worldly knowledge would at least scream when the bullets started flying. Nope, he kept his cool.
He may be a lot more like OHoward already. At least Baldwin is free to ponder more about her life. I'm still up for her switching sides.
Is it getting more fun for you the more you learn about the two sides? Will the more you discover help you engage for the long-term? What would you like to see? What would help you buy into the story so I could keep you around? Hit the comments!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
