That was disappointing. 

Treadstone Season 1 Episode 9 slipped back into the style over substance way of storytelling, leading me to believe the Treadstone Season 1 finale is not going to offer a satisfying conclusion. 

Storytelling has been Treadstone's detriment since the get-go. It's nice to have well-choreographed fight scenes and visually stunning action sequences, but they also need to advance the story for all of that to feel worthwhile. 

The Tara reveal was as predictable as it was absurd. If you watch Treadstone online, you know the character has been in various scuffles and always came out swimmingly.

She might have lost someone close to her, but the reveal that she was a full-fledged Cicada fell flat because we've been building to this point all season long. 

Tara's trip to Russia helped the storylines to converge.

Meeting with Petra could have gone a variety of ways, primarily because Petra has no clue who to trust. 

There are similarities between the two women in that they really only have each other. Petra, though, will probably react negatively to Tara's Cicada status because it confirmed to her that Operation Treadstone is still in session. 

Ellen: What the hell is this?
Dan: Right and wrong, taking a back seat to winning at any cost.

• Permalink: Right and wrong, taking a back seat to winning at any cost.

Will Petra help Tara, or will she kill her? Petra feels terrible about her time nurturing Cicadas, but if she wants revenge on Yuri, siding with Tara would be the logical next step for her. 

It would also hinge on whether Petra will be able to reason with the Cicada side of Tara. These assassins have near-superhuman strength. Petra will struggle to fight with her. There's no question about that. 

The more likely trajectory here is Petra will join forces with Tara, presumably to pay for the sins of her past. Her involvement with the KGB is what started this whole mess in the first place. 

A part of her will want to rid the world of Yuri. He wins the award for the biggest slimeball on the small screen. The only reason he was all over Petra in 1973 was that he knew she held a torch for Randolph. 

Randolph breaking Mathison out of the facility was another predictable development, Still, the thing that did take me by surprise was the other Cicada confirming that Petra had been to that particular facility. 

Randolph has a lot to think about, and given that we've yet to meet him in the present, the most plausible direction for his arc to conclude is for him to sacrifice himself for the greater good. It would be in tune with the character and would explain why he's been M.I.A. of late. 

Saving Petra, despite her flaws, would not be much of a shocker. Even though he's slowly learning she's not as innocent as she would like him to believe, he knows there is some good in her. 

As for Doug and Sam, they bored the life out of me. The very notion their relationship would be able to withstand all of these bombs coupled the lack of chemistry between them is ridiculous. 

I am looking at illegal acts of war on multiple fronts.

Ellen

• Permalink: I am looking at illegal acts of war on multiple fronts.

They're both going in two very different directions, and it would be surprising if either of them survived Treadstone Season 1 Episode 10. 

Despite having some good moments in the early episodes, Doug is nothing more than a one-dimensional character. Had he been fleshed out a little better, he could have been one of the best on the show. 

But no, he's all action and no character development. 

The resolution to SoYun requesting the meeting could have been so much better, but instead, we got another poorly cobbled together string of scenes of her being promised citizenship in the U.S. 

Little does she know that Dan is playing just about every character on the show, so why not add another person to his list?

The show is desperately painting Dan as someone who has been pulling strings all along, but that's hardly an exciting direction when you consider he's spent the whole time on the periphery. 

Ellen's pain as she weighed her options was one of few plots that resonated. Even though she made some tough calls, she could never have anticipated what Treadstone actually is. 

Dan wants her to be there when the truth comes out so that he can come out smelling of roses while she heads to prison. It's a lazy way to take things, and I hope Ellen manages to get the upper hand. 

With one episode left, it's scary to think about how these storylines are going to be wrapped up.

If we get a little payoff and some huge cliffhangers with the hope of getting a second season, that will be problematic. 

Tim Kring has yet to master the art of spreading out the storylines. He did a similar thing with Heroes, and look how that ended up. 

Hopefully, I'm wrong, but it seems Treadstone is not going to be remembered for being all that great by the time the curtain drops on the season. 

What are your thoughts on the number of unresolved plots? Are you growing frustrated?

Hit the comments below. 

Treadstone Season 1 concludes Tuesday, December 17 on USA Network. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.