Well, we waste no time cutting right to the chase. Simon's not dead--he's quasi-identified as the mole, as Sterling waits for him to wake up. We get a flashback to 14 years ago, with Sterling acting all lovey-dovey with a woman he loves--only he's a daddy's boy, and when his workaholic CIA-handler dad calls him, he snaps to attention.
Meanwhile, Sean and Leila chat up Madeline and get the dish on Inostranka, the "aliens," and the vast conspiracy that Michael has apparently been tracing for years. The Flight 514 crash was engineered to prevent Martinez from going public while also taking Michael off the board--two birds with one huge flaming plane. In one of Michael's notebooks is an encoded list of names. Sean can crack it, if he has some help. Madeline knows just that sort of guy...
We get a brief glimpse of the elderly guy who's the head of the conspiracy, whatever it may be--he cuts some rare flowers, then orders a hit squad to track down Sean and co.Thomas and Sophia chat, and Sophia takes Thomas to task for his ruthless methods at attempting to get their people home...and then he apologizes to her, because she's his mom (!). I guess when you don't age, it's easy to look around the same vintage as your kids.
Sterling sends agents to gather evidence from the coffee shop where Simon tampered with the chase. Flashback: Sterling's father calls him into his CIA office, and tells him that Sterling's wife is a Russian spy. Uh oh. He's given a little time to say goodbye. Back in the present, Sterling combs Simon's file and finds all of his records impossible to verify. It doesn't look good for Simon. Madeline takes Leila and Sean to another shady conspiracy theorist, who resists letting them in until Leila pulls the "my sister is missing" card. Mystery man tells Sean and Leila that Sam is probably dead, but Sean asks for a few minutes on his highfalootin' well-connected computer. Mystery Man concedes. Cut to Sam tied up in a car, menaced by a woman with a syringe. Mystery Man looks at the code and somehow comes forth with info about lots of girls Sam's age who've disappeared.
The hit squad shows up--Mystery Man ushers them out of his hovel and it goes boom. Thomas plays blood-sample swap dressed as a hospital orderly, and ends up sharing an elevator with Sterling, who tries to bum a cigarette off of him. Fourteen years earlier, we see the final goodbye of Sterling and his spy wife. Sterling lets her go, only to watch her get shot to death in her car by his father. Yow. Back in the present, Sterling apologizes to Simon, who's exonerated by Thomas's blood sample swap. Trunk-guy, last seen being whammied and trunk'd by Simon, is arrested as a traitor instead. Irony!
We get a brief scene of Thomas and Sophia talking about the raw materials needed to send them home, and then we return to Sam and her kidnapper. Sam's brought into a nursery full of other girls her age...ONLY THEY ALL HAVE WIZENED CREEPY HOBBIT FEATURES. BLAAAAAARGH!
End of episode.
So, here's what we learned this episode: 1) Thomas and Sophia are son and mother. 2) Simon's alive, and in the clear. 3) Something's up with Sam, and a bunch of other little girls. 4) Sterling is sort of sympathetic, as jerky agent-men go. 5) Michael is apparently some sort of conspiracy theorist-network guy, although there's zero precedent or foreshadowing of that in any previous episode. 6) The "aliens" and the conspiracy are different, perhaps opposing forces.
See you next week, friends! Keep theorizing; next week promises a bunch of reveals. We'll see how it pans out.
