WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 6 OF COUNTDOWN!
Episode 6 of Countdown (A Needle Or A Bullet) is a realistic look at just how convoluted the pursuit of someone like Volchek really is, which I appreciated. Showrunner and writer Derek Haas has said that he values that realism – enough that he’s been candid about none of the characters being “safe”. It’s realistic, given the task force’s situation, that any of them could be killed at any time, and I like that the show has put that on the table (as much as I might hate seeing any more of them die!) It ups the stakes and increases the suspense, and that’s a major part of what makes ‘Countdown’ compelling.
This episode also deepens the relationship between Meachum and Oliveras in some unexpected ways, which leaves me very curious to see how things unfold going forward.
I also like that the tension doesn’t just come from the will-they-or-won’t-they-survive question. The ‘countdown’ clock in Mark Meachum’s head is also ticking more and more loudly, which gives an underlying urgency to the episode. I find that character-focused personal countdown more compelling than the ‘save LA’ one. It’s usually the characters and their individual dilemmas that draw me into a series, much more than the “big story”. So I appreciate that ‘Countdown’ is taking us a little deeper into the task force members’ personal challenges. There are a lot of them, so I still don’t know much about some of them, but I’ve gotten enough tidbits that I’m curious to know more.
We know Meachum the best at this point; Ackles was my entry point for the show, so that works for me so far. (Side note: We also got an Entertainment Weekly cover story featuring Jensen Ackles and Jessica Camacho this week, so it was a good week for Countdown fans!)
Side note: Dean Winchester homage? That would be just like Ackles.
We do get a tiny bit of backstory for Finau and Bell in this episode too. In Finau’s past, he found a kid with his head stomped in, from a gang initiation, and vowed to “bust up shit like that”. What they’re doing, he says, feels important. He’s so Mothers Milk coded!
Bell confides that there’s never been a black Deputy Director of the FBI – he’s going to be the first. That ambition is part of what’s driving him to throw his all into the mission.
The episode’s beginning and ending are both perfect – it starts with a bang. Literally.
We get Mark Meachum at the target range, protective shades making him look even more badass than usual, taking turns target shooting with Oliveras.
She challenges him and he coolly raises his pistol and hits all five targets one right after the other.
Meachum: Marksman, highest ranking. But I would never say that…
It’s interesting to see the evolution of their partnership in how she responds to his not-bragging-but-bragging. She doesn’t get annoyed; this time there’s grudging admiration and maybe even a bit of fondness. I mean, there’s no question that Meachum is endearing, is there?
(Or that he’s an expert marksman. Good thing his medical condition isn’t impacting his precision, even if that’s a little hard to believe. Procedural memory (aka muscle memory) is pretty resilient, though, so I’ll go with it)
Jensen Ackles Gets His Tom Cruise On
The main adventure of this episode sees the team go after a guy named Sean Gallagher (because of the “Gallagher” that Meachum saw written on the wall) who was arrested with Timur and is out on parole. Must be the guy, right? It’s a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, starting with Meachum and Oliveras trying to get his whereabouts from Sean’s quirky parole officer.
Parole officer about Sean: He’s a real fried egg.
Meachum: What does that mean?
That exchange doesn’t sound all that funny in print but I assure you, it was on screen.
Turns out the guy’s a doomsdayer.
Parole officer to Oliveras with a bit of a flirty smile: Want me to text you his address?
Meachum: Oh no – we can just do this (takes a photo of his screen)
Meachum’s annoyance verges on protectiveness, another sign that the two are becoming true partners.
Now that they’re closer, Oliveras has seen one too many instances of Meachum grabbing his head and grimacing in pain. She asks him what’s wrong and he lies that it’s “like when you drink an Icee too fast”. I mean, yes, that does hurt like a bitch, but Oliveras doesn’t buy it. Also, he’s not drinking an Icee!
They go to Sean’s house, Meachum smartly noting that he’s a prepper so it’s likely to be booby trapped.
He pulls Oliveras back just in time before a board full of nails comes flying at them as soon as they open the front door.
Oliveras: Oh, that would’ve sucked.
I feel like that’s an understatement.
Finau and Bell get the more civilized assignment of tracking down Sean’s most recent phone contact, Meachum grumbling that he got trip wires and they get to go to the mall. Finau offers to bring him back a pair of Jordans.
Meachum: Size 12. If they have it!
The little bits of humor that are interspersed between the action scenes and the emotional moments are a nice (brief) respite from the tension that is always underneath each episode, intentionally. And Ackles, as we all know, is proficient at making even a little offhand comment sometimes laugh out loud funny.
They learn Sean is living in a trailer park in the high desert – which, as you recall, is where Mark Meachum grew up.
Finau and Bell: Meth capital of the state, Needles California…
Meachum: Ah, that’s my people.
I want to know so much more about this kid who grew up in the desert in a trailer park, racing cars and getting in trouble and desperately wanting to get out. I hope we get more backstory!
The adventure continues out in the high desert at the trailer park. Meachum dismisses doing rock paper scissors for who will step through the likely booby trapped trailer door, saying “I’ll do it, no use all four of us getting our nuts blown off”.
Oliveras is suspicious, asking “why you?” but he’s already headed to the trailer door. It’s empty, and he turns around to say they must have missed the guy when suddenly the trailer lurches forward, the pickup truck it’s hitched to taking off.
Meachum: Oh shit!
(A moment of appreciation for Mark Meachum getting to say “oh shit” repeatedly because it’s priceless every single time).
The team chases the truck and trailer as it races around curves, Mark thrown around the trailer and looking like he doesn’t even mind it with the occasional “Wooh!”
Jensen Ackles gets to play proper Tom Cruise as Meachum climbs out the door, gives a shocked Oliveras a thumbs up, and then climbs on top.
Oliveras: Ohmygod!
He stands on top of the trailer as the guy swerves, hanging on just barely, and then jumps into the bed of the pickup truck – Ackles apparently actually got to do part of the stunt with the vehicles not moving, which he clearly enjoyed the hell out of.
At the Supernatural convention last weekend, he talked about doing that stunt.
Ackles: Full disclosure, my stunt double did the one where the truck was actually moving. They wouldn’t let me do that. So the way that we recreated that for me was we put the whole truck on a gimbal, so the whole thing was moving. Then they set up these Ritter fans, these giant airplane propellors, throwing as much wind as possible at me. Then I had a wire on my back and I’m up on the thing and they’re like, start the gimbals! The whole thing starts rocking, the wind goes up, I can’t hear anything, there was a rock that got into one of them that shot me – I felt like I got shot in the shoulder. I was like, who’s shooting at me!? And then it was 3-2-1 go and they had a pad in the back of the truck, so I got to do that a few times. I mean, that’s just fun stuff!
Here’s my tweet from that convention if you’d like to see the short video:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1944795514236449007
Meachum manages to climb into the cab to fist fight the guy, the truck swerving wildly, before the team boxes the trailer in and finally stops them. Their target scrambles out of the truck, yelling “get me away from him, he’s outta his fucking mind!”
Oliveras to a grinning Meachum: He’s right, you are outta your fucking mind!
In spite of Meachum and Oliveras showing off their acting skills pretending to be doomers like him, and Nathan playing threatening cop, Sean insists he doesn’t know Volchek.
Bell to Meachum: Are you sure that’s the name you saw?
Meachum suddenly jumps up out of his seat and explodes at Bell, yelling “that’s the fucking name I saw, right there — Gallagher!”
Is that a side effect of the glioblastoma too? Or has he always been that volatile when someone doubts him? Hmmm.
Apparently they don’t have the right Gallagher, unfortunately. I kinda like that they went down a dead end, because again, that’s realistic. You don’t just wrap up a complicated case like this in a neat little bow very easily – or quickly.
Meachum and Oliveras Put Their Cards On the Table (Kinda)
The most interesting part of this episode for me is the evolution in Meachum and Oliveras’ relationship.
Oliveras confronts Meachum again when she sees him holding his head as he puts gas in their SUV.
Oliveras: All right, time to level with me, something’s up – you’re squinting your left eye more than the right, it took you 20 minutes to go 12 flights of stairs – don’t fucking bullshit me, I know junkie behavior when I see it and you’re acting like a user!
He defensively quips back that’s something she should know a little bit about, but she doesn’t fall for it. Finally he agrees, saying they’re pretty much partners, they should put their cards on the table.
Oliveras does. Turns out she’s from the Chicago suburbs, so working undercover was a huge challenge – one that does something to your head, she confides. When faced with the choice of either do some black tar or get shot for being a cop, she knew what she had to do – hence the episode title, choosing between a needle and a bullet. She insists she hasn’t used since, but confesses to thinking about it, wondering if that will ever go away. She also tells him he’s the first person she’s told that story to.
I so hoped that Meachum was going to confide in her too. He tells the truth about not being on anything, but insists his pain is new onset migraine.
Meachum: I’m not on anything. The adrenaline gene, I got that for sure. The other one? Drugs? I don’t have it.
It’s a half truth. Maybe a quarter. He says the doc won’t give him anything stronger for the migraine pain unless he tells “the brass” and he knows they’d put him on desk duty, so he’ll have to deal with it.
Meachum: The mission is too important.
Oliveras: Well, I guess we’re both screwed up.
Meachum: I guess we are.
That much is clearly true, and it’s nice they’re bonding, but she’s inevitably going to feel betrayed if she was 100% honest and he substituted migraine for brain tumor.
After Meachum’s explosion at Bell, Oliveras follows him into another room, asking if he’s all right. He admits he’s not.
Meachum: Drew’s dead and we’re just chasing our fucking tails, not one inch closer to Volchek!
Oliveras silently hands him some pills – the heavy duty prescription pain killers he’s been wanting most likely.
Oliveras: Get your head better. Because out in the desert you were acting like you had a death wish.
“I need you,” she adds.
He takes it in, popping some of the pills gratefully.
The Perfect Ending
As I said, I loved the beginning – the episode literally started with a bang. And I love nothing more than a nicely bookended episode, so I was extra happy to have a great ending too.
Volchek is on his own fact finding mission, after making a lucrative deal in the US and then unexpectedly being found and confronted by the consul, who wants him back in Belarus and not causing trouble in the US.
Volchek, sounding like every movie villain ever: He will not spoil my plans to bring this country to its knees!
That means figuring out if he’s got a mole in his organization, perhaps a foreshadowing that the task force might have to deal with the same.
This episode’s ending was perfection.
I’m not going to spoil it here, but in the last sixty seconds, we find out something important. Something I didn’t anticipate, so the reveal was delicious. And it plays out with some great music once again.
I sat there smiling in appreciation of how well the episode played out the twists and turns and dead ends, and waited until the final second for the reveal. Kudos Derek Haas and company!
Stay tuned for episode 7 next week on Prime Video!
Additional screencaps by javkles, lynnnnyish, whatsinaname7, etherealackless
-Lynn
You can read Jensen Ackles’ thoughts on fandom
in Family Don’t End With Blood, and on Dean
Winchester in There’ll Be Peace When You Are
Done (and on Soldier Boy in Supes Ain’t Always
Heroes!) Info on the home page or at:
