“The Old Man” Recap, Season 2, Episode 5: “XII”

As someone who has covered television for over a decade, I need hard evidence of a character's death. Alia Shawkat's panicked voice, the sounds of screaming and gunfire, and the phone turning off are excellent creative decisions, but what's a 100 percent guarantee that Emily Chase is dead? Excuse me, The old manbut you have to give me more.

For the sake of history, we must assume that she was murdered by Suleyman Pavlovich's mercenaries. That means Dan Chase is out for blood, and at the end of “XII,” he and Zoe McDonald travel to London to see Faraz Hamzad's lawyer, Nina Kruger, their only connection to Pavlovich. But after watching this episode, I'm not too worried about Chase or Zoe – even though Chase is dealing with severe trauma from overhearing his daughter's murder on the phone. It's Harper who seems to be in the worst mental state for this upcoming mission.

Undoubtedly, there are many dark moments in “XII”. Most compelling, however, is John Lithgow, whose veteran FBI character is forced to peel back the layers of his well-suppressed past. As we begin the third act of the season, The old man has reached the point where it's driving us crazy with the message “HAROLD HARPER HAS SERIOUS EMOTIONAL LUGGAGE.” But we're still (literally) in the dark: During a scene in which Harper's late son appears as a stand-in for his father's inner monologue, Chip Harper (Brad Beyer) appears only in silhouette. The decision to have most of “XII” take place on a stormy night with inadequate electricity creates even more tension.

The episode begins with our only images of Emily Chase: she lays Faraz Hamzad to rest with her Afghan family as she writes her farewell via voiceover. For Emily, it's a familiar practice; She too could only say goodbye to her mother through the written word. But the words are aimed more at the audience than at Emily's biological father. She states that Afghanistan is her home and that she is dedicated to healing intergenerational wounds.

This begins with him sending the now-orphaned Farouk away with Tarik, supposedly to the United States – and his failure to avoid the harsh truths that lie before him. She tells the little boy that he will be scared, sad and hurt. It is their first step to break the cycle of the past.

We then switch to the only setting for the rest of the episode: the Harpers' home in the Washington, DC area. Cheryl Harper (Jessica Harper) is dealing with a flooded basement due to a broken water heater (more suspense!). The last thing she needs is her scruffy-looking husband showing up asking for help rehoming two people she's never met (and their Rottweilers).

Our first clue that Zoe, Chase, Dave, and Carol won't be the Harpers' only guests that evening is when Chase says he doesn't want the car sitting in the driveway for too long, followed by Harper's long stare on said car before closing the door. Okay, what's in the trunk, guys?

Zoe and Chase don't have much time to deal with the events of the last episode, although Zoe is shocked after witnessing Morgan Bote's murder. But Chase is too busy to play therapist at the moment: he has to warn Emily about Pavlovich's mercenaries. However, he believes they are still missing a crucial piece of the puzzle, noting that Pavlovich's willingness to kill Bote on U.S. soil means this vendetta goes beyond “making money from mining rights.”

Meanwhile, down in the basement, the cracks in the Harper marriage are starting to show. Harold is devastated to learn that Cheryl has sent her grandson Henry to live with his other grandparents for his safety. Understandably, she's grown tired of playing the dutiful FBI wife who can't ask questions, not even to the two strangers taking refuge in her home. All she is allowed to know is that other The unkempt-looking man is “Angela’s father” and Angela herself is “a fiction”. Sure, no problem.

Finally, Chase contacts Emily by phone. She evacuates the village through a series of underground tunnels because, as the family feared, the Taliban have returned. This is one of the few times we see Dan Chase in complete panic: he knows the danger his daughter faces; The guy is very I know these tunnels. It's a deliciously tense scene, made much scarier by only Emily's calm voice detailing the events as Chase, Zoe, Cheryl, and Harper lounge helplessly on the phone in an unlit living room as the rain pelts the streets outside.

With time running out, Emily uses her precious seconds to say goodbye to her American fathers. She apologizes to the Harpers for forcing her to mourn another child, before assuring Harold that she doesn't blame him for what he did (like killing Faraz Hamzad). Poor Cheryl is so confused. Emily then asks Chase to accept her decision to stay with her Afghan family and promises him that she loves him no less. But there is no time for tears because the Taliban have broken into the hiding place. We hear Emily and her family members screaming, followed by gunfire until her phone goes silent.

Soon after, Chase takes out his guilt on the Harpers' water heater and berates Zoe for not making more of an effort to bring Emily home. He's legitimately a bundle of raw emotions right now, so all he can do is let out decades of pain in a tragic sob as he collapses into Zoe's arms. DAMN IT, JEFF BRIDGES!

With a clear head, Chase goes back into monster mode because, as he explains to Zoe, Emily's call left an important clue: Chase and Harper noticed with their trained ears that the men who had attacked Emily spoke Russian, suggesting that it was Pavlovich's mercenaries and not the Taliban who killed her daughter. That means it's time for some answers, and maybe they'll just sit in Harper's driveway.

Now we know why they were so worried about the car. It turns out that Chase and Harper stuffed the only surviving Russian assassin from last week into the trunk. And now they have to take him to the basement so Chase can torture the nameless Russian mercenary without Cheryl noticing. You know, Spy 101 stuff.

Even though he's the expert, Harper doesn't stop at interrogating the Unnamed Russian Mercenary (URM for short). He knows that URM was probably just enlisted muscle and won't know anything. He also understands that Chase needs to take out his anger someone.

As Chase gently strokes Harper's household tools, I'm relieved that the only evidence of torture is limited to URM's cries for mercy.

Over tea with Zoe, Cheryl admits that she has spent much of her life in the dark. She's no fool, however: she knows Zoe is there to distract her from what Chase and Harper are up to. She also expresses her growing displeasure at agreeing to remain ignorant of her husband's work for so long. So Zoe feeds Cheryl by vomiting The old manLoglines from the last two episodes. Yes, Cheryl deserves honesty – she only knew Morgan Bote as “a friend of Harold's” – and Zoe is the only one willing to offer it. But I feel like Zoe is making a rookie mistake here.

While Zoe reveals most of Chase and Harper's secrets, Harper is upstairs, slowly puzzling. Through a vague exchange with the ghost of his dead son, we learn that the dozens of inventions Harper has devised over the years to protect his family have done more harm than good. There is a truth ready to boil over; I'm just not sure what that truth is yet. During this emotional reckoning, Harper expresses his guilt for not saying goodbye to Chip, Emily, and Henry. He also has an aha moment when it comes to the importance of the last words. Harper then frantically asks Zoe if Bote said something to her shortly before his death. She confirms that he was holding his phone and possibly sending something. I admit, it looked like Bote was trying to call someone, but his actions probably confirm Harper's theory that the old man was sending important information to someone he trusted.

What a perfect moment for Chase to come forward with his own message: URM couldn't confirm that Pavlovich hired him, but he did could Name his other two targets: Henry and Marcia Dixon. Why is Pavlovich after Chase and Zoe? Who knows? Why don't you fly to London and ask Nina Kruger a few questions? They might as well, because (a) Zoe can't wait to get back into spy mode, (b) Chase has some Russian skulls to crack, and (c) we still have three episodes left anyway.

As “XII” comes to an end, I really feel for Cheryl Harper. Her husband drops her off at a hotel before abandoning her again without explanation. The difference this time is that Harper knows his marriage is hanging in the balance – and I appreciate him owning up to his long-term mistakes. I can tell he doesn't want to lose Cheryl, and I believe him when he says he wants to make things right with her. But I wouldn't blame Cheryl if she took this opportunity to bail, not just because of Zoe's chatter, but also because of the fact that her husband hired Chase and Zoe to take her to the hotel.

To be fair, Harper has an important chore on his to-do list. In keeping with the dark tone of the episode, the final scene shows Harper descending into the still-flooded basement. But it's up to us to imagine the daunting task of disposing of URM's body. The saw in Harper's hand is our only clue.