Well, the cancellation axe has fallen, fans. And we just have a handful of episodes left. Too bad, too, because this one actually brought the action, teases, and suspense in a way that could've saved the series a few weeks ago. Also, the irony of this episode being called "Crashed" is not lost on me.
A US stealth fighter plane takes off from Turkey, goes off course, and goes down in Chechnya. The Blooms and Hoyt are tasked with sneaking into the country, finding out what happened to the plane, and recovering the pilot and the weapon of mass destruction he was transporting. It turns out the pilot's been given some sort of mind-control implant, and the whole thing's a setup--the mindwhammied pilot gives the bomb to a separatist terrorist to use at a state wedding. There's lots of curious details, though: who reprogrammed the pilot? The plane was a stealth plane--how'd it get shot down in Chechnya? And who was the mysterious man with the scarred hand who shows up to execute the pilot after he's handed off the device...only to not shoot Sam when given the chance?
Lots of intriguing hooks here--and we get the standard action we're used to. There's an excellent sneaking-through-landmines sequence that probably gave LOST fans a little bit of joy for its "Arzt-ing" of a redshirt cast member, and the Blooms get to use their catering skills on-mission in infiltrating the wedding. Also, Hoyt actually acts like a trained agent and not some intern in the mail room, which is always good to see. At episode's end, Shaw is on the phone with his shadowy boss, concerned about how much the Blooms may know. And we get a glimpse of bossman's hand...showing the same scar as the assassin earlier in the episode.
See? Good stuff brewing. Now, I'm just hoping the next five episodes are good enough to make me really miss this show when it's gone. Sigh. See you when the next episode airs, friends.
