Counterpart 1.09

No Man's Land, Part One

Seven Weeks Ago. Howard Alpha meets Andrei for the first time, in the hospital while Howard was waiting to find out if she would survive. She had just been hit by a car.

Present. Peter Quayle calls Howard Prime. He warns him that Aldrich and his men are coming for him. Quayle tells Howard to come see him, at his home.

Ian confronts Alexander Pope. Ian wants to know where Casper is. Pope has backup to protect him. Pope tells Ian that Howard isn't who he seems to be. Ian ends up leaving without any information on the whereabouts of Casper.

Baldwin visits the three agents. She has finished off their counterparts. She gives them the personal effects and identification that belonged to their counterparts.

Emily, Ian, and his men intercept a coded communication between Casper and Pope. They are able to decipher the message and it points them to a meeting at Potsdamer Platz Station at 11 AM. Howard wants to accompany them but Ian says no. Emily agrees with Ian.

The three agents get ready to assume their counterpart's identity's. One of them is working in the same building where Quayle works.

Greta takes Baldwin clothes shopping. It makes Baldwin uncomfortable. Baldwin is spotted by Sofia, her counterpart's girlfriend. Sofia wants to know what is going on. Baldwin plays stupid. Sofia stomps off. Greta is confused.

Emily, Ian, and his men get ready to grab Casper. Pope's men are also there. They attempt to kill Casper but Emily and Ian keep him alive. She convinces him to come with them.

Howard Prime shows up at Quayle's house. Peter explains that he's the one who told Aldrich that Howard was the one forcing him to work for the other side. Peter pulls a gun on him. Howard tricks him, overpowers him, and then leaves. 

Emily and Ian take Casper back to their hideout, where Howard is waiting for them. They question Casper. He reveals that he was hoping for a chance to move to the other side. He also tells them that Pope is the one who had Emily Alpha run down by a car.

Aldrich come to see Quayle. Aldrich is starting to think that Quayle knows more than he is letting on. He still has his doubts about Howard and wants his men to focus on finding him.

Peter talks to Clare after Aldrich leaves. She is still handcuffed to the radiator in their bathroom. He asks her about the three agents. She plays stupid and then suggests that Baldwin could help them to eliminate Howard Silk. Peter isn't satisfied with response. 

Clare contacts Baldwin on a secret phone and asks her to bump off Howard Silk. Peter gets a call from his boss, Clare's father, asking him why he isn't in the office. Peter apologizes and says he will come in. Clare sees him getting ready to go in and begs him to stay at home.

Howard Alpha and Emily Prime share a moment at the hideout. They talk. Howard decides that he needs to leave and return to his side.

Peter takes Clare for a drive through Berlin. They are tailed by some of Aldrich's men. She thinks that he's going to turn her in. He starts driving recklessly. He runs red lights. The drive ends with him crashing their car into the back of a parked vehicle.

Howard Prime turns himself in to Aldrich at the headquarters building. Howard tells them that Clare, Peter's wife, is the mole and that there are others. Aldrich is still asking questions when they hear gunfire. The three agents have smuggled weapons into the building and started shooting people. Clare's father gets word just before the shooting starts that his daughter is in the hospital. All three are eventually killed but one of them makes it into the crossing, to the borderline, before he dies.

Thoughts

I was confused, at first, when watching the scene in this episode with Baldwin and the three agents. I missed out on the fact that the personal Baldwin killed in the last episode wasn't one of the agents who came over but his counterpart. It took me a minute to figure that out when I was watching this episode.

What was the point of the strike? Was this Pope's way of sending a message to the other side? If relations between the two sides get strained and the border crossing gets closed then what good are the undercover agents? Are there other ways to get word or people back and forth that have not been revealed yet? Where is Pope's counterpart? Will he show up in the next episode? Have the two Popes been working together? Will either Howard get home in the final episode of the season?

I think that this may not be my favorite episode but I did enjoy it. It was a fun ride. I'm eager to see what happens in the final episode of the season but I'm going to wait a week until I watch it.