Countdown Season 1 Episode 9 Review: 10-33

Everything that happens in Countdown Season 1 Episode 9 is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s been a rough journey, but the payoff was expected to be great.

Some may ask: Why are you reviewing a show that you don’t connect with? Because after watching hundreds of shows and thousands of episodes, some shows can surprise you.

While many try to grab your attention as soon as possible, others need time to cook. I thought Countdown would be one of those shows that should be allowed their time to cook, and boy, was I wrong. It does the bare minimum, and at this point, I’m not expecting any improvements.

The episode picks up from the cliffhanger in Countdown Season 1 Episode 8 after Volchek stabs Blythe and runs away. Blythe fights tooth and nail to survive, and I’m so glad he does. He might be cold and uncharismatic, but for some reason, I like him.

Eric Dane has a presence, especially when playing powerful characters that someone can’t resist. You can tell he means business. He was part of the reason I watched The Last Ship to the bitter end, even when the show’s quality dropped and it veered into weird ideologies.

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The invisible countdown, which has been ongoing for as long as events have been taking place, finally comes to an end as the team closes in on Volchek.

Volchek’s Plan Comes Into Focus

Countdown has been running in circles for a long time regarding Volcheck’s plan. It might not have approached the team’s investigation into him well, but this is one of the show’s strongest arcs.

In the Countdown series premiere review, I noted how the location feels relevant and part of the story instead of some generic place. There are very few places with LA’s charms and opportunities, and the series does a good job of utilizing everything it has to offer.

The final homage to the city is in Volchek’s plan, where he uses the Gallagher trucks to move bombs around while pretending to be a production company. That can not happen in many cities, but in LA, it’s another Tuesday.

Even more, Volchek plans to use the spectacle that productions attract to inflict as many casualties as possible. That’s genius.

I appreciated that a lot, and for a show I have so many gripes with, this is excellent.

What’s not excellent is the reveal of Volchek’s plan.

Given how industrious he has been, I thought he had something bigger in the works. I’m not saying killing people is not a big, disgusting plan, but what are the far-reaching consequences? What is his manifesto?

I just don’t buy that a man who is clearly morally bankrupt got his feelings hurt, and he wants to blow up a city to make himself feel better. Yuri Borisov is a good actor, and his portrayal of the character makes it what it is, but as a villain, Volcheck is such a loser.

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Hearing him deliver the monologue in the quote above reminded me of how I’ve always found mass shooters – school shooters especially – in America to be pathetic and weak.

Is it worth it to end all those lives to make a name for yourself? What if the media and law enforcement justifiably decide to keep you unknown and irrelevant even in the face of such evil actions?

Countdown Season 1 is thirteen episodes long, and with four remaining, there exists an opportunity to surprise us. I’m not holding my breath, but stranger things have happened.

Meachum’s Illness Strikes at An Inopportune Time

The other major countdown in the show is Meachum’s terminal illness. Oliveras has been going mad slowly, trying to warn him by repeating the same thing, and everything she’s been saying is the truth.

Everyone on the team deserves Meachum’s best, as it could be the difference between life and death.

But tough guy Meach must soldier through everything and cowboy his way through dangerous situations. I’m beginning to get bored with his little winces and grimaces, and was kinda hoping he’d fall off the roof during the foot pursuit.

Oliveras has not given up on him yet and wants him to seek a second opinion. The introduction of this arc reveals what the show aims to do, and I caught on very early.

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They’ll give him a different diagnosis, and just like that, Meach lives. It’s a common tactic TV shows use when they’re not courageous enough to go through with the controversial decision.

The episode ends with the mother of all cliffhangers as Meachum and Volchek come face to face, and the latter is ready to detonate the bomb.

Now, I haven’t watched the next episode, but I’m willing to call it at this point: there will be no detonation because, given all I’ve seen from Countdown, it’s afraid of that extra mile that separates great shows from okay shows.

Or, it could surprise us.

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.

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