Treadstone Season 1 Episode 2 Review: The Kwon Conspiracy
Paul Dailly
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Can Randolph prove that he's not a double agent?
On Treadstone Season 1 Episode 2, Randolph returned to the CIA and learned the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished.
It wasn't surprising for the CIA to have some reservations about his return after being missing for nine months.
But it felt a bit out there for his boss to tell him that. Wouldn't they have let him return to work, keeping a closer eye on him to make sure?
With Randolph being a half-baked member of the Treadstone family, he was always going to be unpredictable, so the CIA would have been wise to go about that in a completely different way.
Randolph may want to prove that he's not a double agent, but what does he actually know about his time away from the team?
Mick: You don't know how much I missed you, John.
[John smacks locker.]
John: I can't remember my combination.
Mick: Try 09,09, 69. Fortunate Son released date. You wore that record out.
Randolph: Thanks Mick.
He only recalls being gone one week, yet he was gone for nine months. It's entirely possible that more details will get revealed.
However, he's now going to have to hide from his former co-workers as well as Petra and her team.
He's in an awkward position, and while he's proven resourceful, there's no telling what Treadstone will do to him. We have yet to meet Randolph in the present, so there's a chance that he doesn't make it out of the 1970s alive.
The odds are very much stacked against him, and his future will likely hinge on what Petra has planned for him.
Petra got a verbal beatdown as a result of Randolph's decision to bail, leading me to believe that her efforts to find Randolph prove fruitless, and she is sent off to live in the middle of nowhere for the rest of her days until Treadstone kicks off again.
Mick: Never got a chance to thank you.
Randolph: Don't bother. You would have done the same for me.
Mick: Don't play it down, John. The fact is you really did, you let them take you and that gave me enough time to escape.
Randolph: Well, it worked out in the end.
Mick: I always said if we could make it through the jungles of Vietnam, we could handle anything together.
Randolph: Well, it's a different kind of jungle now.
Man: Yeah, you see Matheson out there?
Mick: He just got back. Let him get his bearings.
Man: Hey, man it's easy for you to say. My partner is still out there.
Randolph: I don't know where he is.
Mick: Hey, come on, give him some space, Wilson.
The present-day Petra mourned the loss of the man she seemingly loved, even though she was the one to murder him, and she geared up to return to her old life.
Unfortunately for her, it appears that things have changed dramatically since she retired from active duty, and there's a chance that she's been removed from the database for good.
She was understandably confused that her phone call led to nothing, and that's why she set off on a mission of her own before reconnecting with an old ally.
That ally certainly seemed stunned to hear from her, and given the way he said Yuri would be at the dinner party, we should probably assume that Petra's former lover is dead or wants revenge.
Related: Treadstone Season 1 Episode 1 Review: The Cicada Protocol
There are so many unanswered questions about the 1970s storyline, and the main thing this series is doing well is keeping both timelines exciting and action-packed.
Randolph's actions inside the CIA headquarters delivered a high-octane opening, and the action really never slowed down from there.
Tara's mission to Paris moved at a brisk pace, but something tells me there's more to her character than meets the eye.
She's a badass we know was a journalist, but not much else. She managed to save Kwon's daughter from the villain, but who will she trust from that point?
Randolph: What did they tell my mother?
Mick: Agency protocol.
Randolph: Jesus, so she thinks I'm dead? I was only gone a week.
Mick: John, you were missing for nine months.
Mr. Edwards wants her to trust him, but in this world of espionage, there's no telling who is playing whom, and that's why she will probably try to continue the solo mission on her own.
Then again, she has no idea who is trying to kill General Kwon's daughter, so that could prove to be difficult.
Kwon was open about Tara not trusting anyone, but she will probably need to trust someone if she hopes to complete the mission ahead in one piece.
The car chase was not your typical TV car chase. It was like something you would expect from a big-budget spectacular, further solidifying the fact that we're getting a globetrotting adventure every single installment with this series.
Soyun was understandably confused about how her son came to be in possession of the Game Boy. They're illegal in North Korea, so it's not something that anyone would have.
Related: Castle Rock Season 2 Review: Blending Misery and Salem's Lot Leads to Mixed Results
Now that she knows it was Colonel Shin who woke her up as a Cicada, she's going to have to go on a fact-finding mission to make sense of everything.
For now, Dae has gotten promoted for turning on General Kwon, and now he wants Soyun to stop talking about moving away for a better life.
It's clear Dae is a man of honor, but basted on her actions in the closing scenes, the North Korean lifestyle is not what Soyun wants for her son.
It was like she had a sudden realization that she had lost her husband forever and that Colonel Shin is going to do what he has to to keep her in line.
It's a bizarre storyline, primarily because there's no telling what else Soyun will be ordered to do, but the show handles it all very well.
"The Kwon Conspiracy" was a solid follow-up to Treadstone Season 1 Episode 1. There's a lot going on, and that makes the show a must-watch.
What did you think of the episode?
Which Cicada is your favorite so far?
What does Petra want with Yuri?
Hit the comments below.
Remember, you can watch Treadstone online right here via TV Fanatic.
Treadstone airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on USA Network.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
